Can Someone Explain Per Diem for me?

llg, PhD, RN · Jan 17, 2012

The exact conditions of per diem employment vary from employer to employer. So what is true in one place is not necessarily true at another.

"Per diem" literally means "per day." If the employer needs you that day, you have the opportunity to work. If the employer does not need your help that day, you don't have the opportunity to work. Employers like having some per diem staff members so that they can have some extra people available to call upon when they get busy or the regular staff is not available (e.g. sick, injured, on vacation, etc.) But if the employer is not busy and the regular staff can handle the work, then they don't have to pay you anything to stay home.

There are usually no (or very few) paid benefits (such as health insurance, vacation time, etc.) with per diem positions -- but they often pay a little more in cash up front -- and require less of a committment from the nurse.

Whether working per diem is a good fit for you depends on the particular situation. If you don't need a regular paycheck and can afford to not know whether or not you are going to work (and get paid) any given week ... then it can be great. Similarly, if you don't need the health insurance, paid vacation time, paid sick time, retirement program, tuition reimbursement, etc. ... then per diem might be right for you. The freedom to not work might be worth it to you to give up those benefits/advantages of regular employement that involves a greater committment on your part.

I've known a lot of people who loved working per diem. In particular, a lot of married women with children like it because they like being able to stay home with their kids during school breaks, etc. -- and their husbands provide the health insurance, etc. But I also know a lot of people who try it and decide it's not best for them -- when they don't get to work enough shifts to earn the money they want or they realize that the costs/benefits of all those benefits they gave away is actually greater than the "extra" cash they earn with the higher per hour cash pay.

As I said, it all depends on the details of your situation.

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Jan 21, 2012

I need someone to explain how "per diem" works. I was originally told that these are non-benefited positions and as such they pay much more per hour than the same position that is benefited. It also has the flexibility to work as much or as little as you like as long as you work the minimum required hours. Is this all true?

As the previous poster said, it depends on the employer. I, personally, have never heard of an employer that guarantees a minimum number of hours for per diem employees. Per diem positions are non-benefited and, in general, per diem staff would be the first staff to be canceled if there are too many staff scheduled that day. Per diem staff do not get paid to stay home while permanent staff would be paid per their PTO if they were canceled. My unit eliminated nearly all of our unit-based per diem staff a few years ago.