Employee benefits we don't get in Pdn

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · May 21, 2015

Cheap health benefits is relative but otherwise I get all those benefits as a contracted full time employee with my one agency. I get holiday pay, shift differential, modest raises, pto/vacation pay relative to number of hours worked. Many employers no longer offer tuition reimbursement but both offer scholarships of up to $1500 towards collegiate or continuing education and discounts for certain educational programs. One offers free CEUs

smartnurse1982 · May 21, 2015

Cheap health benefits is relative but otherwise I get all those benefits as a contracted full time employee with my one agency. I get holiday pay, shift differential, modest raises, pto/vacation pay relative to number of hours worked. Many employers no longer offer tuition reimbursement but both offer scholarships of up to $1500 towards collegiate or continuing education and discounts for certain educational programs. One offers free CEUs

I know of 1 agency that provides 1 full Pto week for every 2000 hours worked.

You also have to write an essay,and have the Clinical manager recommend you to even be considered.

As far as being Full time,i find that even if i work 60 hours i am still "Per diem".

That is very hard to explain to Bank Loan Officers and car salesmen.

They see one paycheck with $1000 and the next week a paycheck from the same company for $200.

That has resulted in me being denied a car loan.

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · May 21, 2015

I know of 1 agency that provides 1 full Pto week for every 2000 hours worked.
You also have to write an essay,and have the Clinical manager recommend you to even be considered.
As far as being Full time,i find that even if i work 60 hours i am still "Per diem".
That is very hard to explain to Bank Loan Officers and car salesmen.
They see one paycheck with $1000 and the next week a paycheck from the same company for $200.
That has resulted in me being denied a car loan.

I had no problem getting a car loan using my W-2. Those who are full time are guaranteed hours and "normal" benefit rates, plus quicker accruing pto.

There is a lot of mutual respect with the field staff and the clinical nurse managers so often the recommendation is offered without a field nurse even having to ask. My other agency if I work 25hr a week I accrue pto. If you are a 36-hr contract nurse that's the hours you are scheduled supplemented by other work if a client is hospitalized such as chart audits or helping another office.

It's not perfect but not as dismal as the company you work for b

caliotter3 · May 21, 2015

Haven't heard of agencies that pay benefits for those doing visits, but not for those doing extended care. That is a new one on me. I once found out that my agency was offering paid vacation and who knows what else to people, but somebody official sure didn't bother to tell me! I was with that agency almost from day one in that area. So, wondered why new hires were eligible for vacations, but I was not. Probably went along with the fact that they would pay another nurse on the same case several dollars an hour more than me. Finding out that one is played for a patsy on several fronts sure doesn't make for a good day.

When you can no longer justify the unequal treatment with the benefits of working in extended care, then it is time to consider a new area of nursing.

smartnurse1982 · May 22, 2015

I had no problem getting a car loan using my W-2. Those who are full time are guaranteed hours and "normal" benefit rates, plus quicker accruing pto.
There is a lot of mutual respect with the field staff and the clinical nurse managers so often the recommendation is offered without a field nurse even having to ask. My other agency if I work 25hr a week I accrue pto. If you are a 36-hr contract nurse that's the hours you are scheduled supplemented by other work if a client is hospitalized such as chart audits or helping another office.
It's not perfect but not as dismal as the company you work for b

One of the agencies i work for were bought out by another agency based in Texas,and they not only cut out ALL benefits,but they are also lowering hourly wages.

They do not have any "full time" filed nurses.

Everyone is Per Diem now,whether you work 4 or 40 hours per week.

Sounds nice.

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · May 22, 2015

Sounds like an agency I know

It looks like I'm leaving my second job (formerly a full time nurse) except they keep upping my rate to try and match my now primary job. Im uniquely qualified for certain cases and the parents have started requesting me by name. Not really my problem now though. I've seen the good the bad and the ugly and I'm running from ugly.

poppycat, ADN, BSN · May 22, 2015

Here's what just happened with the agency I work for: I'm in Illinois & our wonderful governor recently made large cuts to Medicaid reimbursement for home care (I think it was 16.74% cut). All the PDN nurses in my agency received a letter stating that as of 5/10 there will be no more night shift differential, no weekend differential, & no holiday differential. Each differential was $1.50/hour. I work weekend nights so there goes a good chunk of my paycheck. Those differentials were the only "benefit" we got.

Even though I'll be getting paid less than I'm used to, I'm very thankful the agency just didn't cut jobs.

OrganizedChaos, LVN · May 22, 2015

That's why I left & never will go back to PDN. I have a family to support & my husband's job is unpredictable now. If something were to happen I would be the one who would have to provide the health insurance & any agency I worked for never provided any health insurance.

As a PP mentioned regardless of how many hours I worked, I was always a per diem employee. I guess that's how they don't have to offer any benefits. But they have ads up everywhere, not that there are jobs. I know that. They just want to pull warm bodies in. Smh.

Nibbles1 · May 24, 2015

Haven't heard of agencies that pay benefits for those doing visits, but not for those doing extended care. That is a new one on me. I once found out that my agency was offering paid vacation and who knows what else to people, but somebody official sure didn't bother to tell me! I was with that agency almost from day one in that area. So, wondered why new hires were eligible for vacations, but I was not. Probably went along with the fact that they would pay another nurse on the same case several dollars an hour more than me. Finding out that one is played for a patsy on several fronts sure doesn't make for a good day.
When you can no longer justify the unequal treatment with the benefits of working in extended care, then it is time to consider a new area of nursing.

I have a saying: Don't let your loyalty become a slave. It infuriates me to no end when I hear a new hire that comes on the case makes more money than I do, especially when I am driving 60+ miles one way.

Nibbles1 · May 24, 2015

I am at a new agency that offers insurance and PTO (after one year) plus if the client goes into a hospital they will let set up to work at a health clinic. Of course the pay is like 10.00 per hour. I was so excited about the insurance until I found out it's supplement insurance and market place insurance.

CloudySue · May 26, 2015

I got a $4 raise when I went from being a F/T employee in a nursing home to PRN PDN nurse. The difference was because I had no health care benefits, but I didn't take them at the nursing home either (we went through my hubby's insurance) so it was fantastic for me. I get a week paid vacation for every 2000 hours worked, which takes me about 14 months, since I take summers off. It's not great but it's something. There are scholarships available, just $500-$1000 at a pop, but again, it's something. 401k is avail too but I have foolishly not signed up for it yet.

As for health benefits, as I said, I didn't need them through my company. When my hubby's RA became too much and he was approved for SSDI and lost his employer benefits, we turned to my agency but the benefits were awful and very expensive. We then turned to the Health Care Marketplace, AKA Obamacare, and ended up with the same company we had before (Highmark BS) with similar benefits, at a similar price. it wasn't quite as great for me and hubby, but we were required to go through CHIP for the children which is an amazing program!! for $61/kid we get very low co-pays and deductibles for everything they may need. $5 doctor visits! $10 specialists! $25 emergency room visits!

The thing many people don't realize is that they don't need to get insurance through their employer anymore. We are no longer required to be married to our F/T jobs anymore to get decent health care. I can stay a PRN and keep the flexibility if I budget my money for the months I don't work. It's awesome to be a PRN.