Are we being taken advantage of?

[wannabmidwife]

Hi all!

I finally landed my first RN med/surg job at a local teeny tiny hospital. A large group of us, about 12, were all hired at the same time as per diem employees. Being that this is my first experience working in a hospital I understand that we must all pay our dues BUT... I think that we are being taken advantage of. I thought that as a per diem employee we could tell them what days we would be able to work. We are put on the schedule and can not make any changes to it. We must work whether we have another job or other responsibility. We can not cancel ourselves or we get reprimanded. Now, I took the job with the understanding that I had to be available day, night, and weekend but we can't make any suggestions as to when we would like to work. Some of us have a second job and are having conflicts because of the schedule. We get canceled on a whim but still have to be available 24/7. Is this normal? Is this how it's supposed to work? I am glad to finally have gotten a job but I'm getting tired or working every single weekend too while my family is out having fun. Am I just being crabby? I want to work per diem because I thought it was supposed to be flexible and would be a more part time schedule but this doesn't seem to be the case. Is it me or is there something wrong with this picture?

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

Nope. Not normal and not how it is supposed to work.

[elkpark]

Different employers have different ways that they handle per diem or prn positions. When I've worked per diem, it was up to me to say whether or not I was available on a date that the employer wanted me. However, once I had committed to working on a particular date, it was a big problem for me to cancel in advance or call off. Other employers do things differently. Lots of employers have a requirement that you work X number of shifts per pay period, and/or X number of holidays a year, or you get dropped from the prn list. It is fairly standard to get cancelled with little notice, and it's pretty standard to get the less desirable shifts and assignments. I would not be happy with the situation you describe (would not be willing to work under those circumstances). However, you have to keep in mind that the whole point of having prn/per diem positions is for the hospital to meet its staffing needs.

[wannabmidwife]

Thanks for the reply! I don't have any experience working in hospitals but I think that this is on the verge of being unfair bc they know how difficult the job market is right now. I'd love to continue working with this hospital but I need more flexibility which is a major reason why I went into this profession to begin with.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

Yet another illustration of why it's important to get the conditions of employment in writing before committing to the job. If there are other institutions within driving distance, go do your per diem there.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

FWIW, before entering into a PRN position as a 'second job', it's important to see whether it is actually going to work with your other obligations. The organization's first obligation is to their committed staff (FT & PT). PRN staff are used to fill in when needed.

Sounds like you didn't have an accurate understanding of the way the requirements for PRN staff - was this your fault or theirs? If they deliberately misled you, it's their fault... but there probably isn't much you can do about it except resign. Otherwise, it is one of those valuable learning experiences that we all hate.

[wannabmidwife]

They want me to work every weekend, which I really should have asked about but didn't. Lesson learned.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

Agree with Elkpark: different places do things differently. For my first per-diem job, I was required to provide a schedule of my availability 6 weeks in advance, put in for at least one evening or night shift per week AND put in for a weekend shift every other week. Cancelling was possible if necessary but frowned upon.

For my second per-diem job, they call me when they need me.

[DoeRN]

It's different everywhere. I'm PRN and I have to work 24 hours within the pay period. I'm not required to work weekends or holidays. So basically 4 shifts per month. I can cancel myself the day before and of course I'm the first to be canceled. I've also had a PRN job where I had to work 4 days per month and two of those days had to be a weekend. But always get the PRN policy in writing before you take a job. I applied to another PRN job that wanted me to work one weekend day per week and either a Monday and a Friday for the same week. I turned that job down.

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