full time/part time/ unscheduled/casual etc....

[Marie12]

Hi Everyone,

Am still in RPN school, but regularly trawl the job postings at major hospitals in my area. Please excuse my ignorance, but I wonder if anyone can clarify the following questions for me regarding the meaning of the following job descriptions:

-unscheduled

-casual

-Am I correct in thinking that 'full time regular' and 'part time regular' means you have a guaranteed number of hours you work a week, i.e. 37 or 22.5 respectively??

-Finally, If you had to choose between a 'part time perm' job or a 'full time casual' job at an acute care facility, which is best to take if you are looking to get a foot in the door and full time perm (obviously the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?)

Thank you all in advance for your input and apologies if the answers to my questions should be obvious.

[Fiona59]

Full time casual in my system means you are a full time member of the staffing pool. You are a full time nurse with no home unit. Your home is the service staffing office. Each day can/will be on a different unit. You are there to cover vacation shifts, scheduled events like CPR and other education days, booked sick leaves.

I have a friend who has this position and she loves it. No need to get involved in unit politics is how she sees it.

Full time permanent would be a full time line on a specific unit.

Casual is just that, you get called to cover the shifts that are left over. You may be called the night before, at 0545 for an 0700 shift or in some cases prebooked (subject to being cancelled). No guarantee of hours per pay period.

[Marie12]

Thanks for posting Fiona- that helps a lot!