Full Time or Per diem (But Full time)

OldDude · Feb 12, 2018

Yes you'll lose your 401k benefit...the decision is up to you otherwise.

Sour Lemon · Feb 12, 2018

I'm per diem and have a 401k. You need to ask your employer. It doesn't matter what anyone "thinks" about the issue. Your employer is the only one who will know.

Irah0526 · Feb 12, 2018

Thanks for the infos

MilliePieRN · Feb 12, 2018

Also depends on how you feel about being put on call, cancelled and floated (which usually will be you as a prn)

Sour Lemon · Feb 12, 2018

Also depends on how you feel about being put on call, cancelled and floated (which usually will be you as a prn)

True ...I've been floated for the past six weeks. I haven't been on my home unit, at all. I've also been canceled for two months at a time when the census is low.

RNperdiem, RN · Feb 12, 2018

I agree with the others, and there is no reason you cannot open up your own IRA and fund it yourself. If you are fine with not having guaranteed hours, I would recommend PRN hours. It helps if you work the less popular shifts if being called off is a worry. Sometimes to stay in your same department, your manager needs to have per diem positions available.

Jedrnurse, BSN, RN · Feb 12, 2018

As per diem, your being scheduled for three shifts a week can change on a moment's notice...

Lisacar130 · Feb 12, 2018

I used to work per diem on a busy medical floor and I rarely got low censuses... the most it happened in a couple of years was three times in a 2 week period. I also still got 401K benefits that my employer funded and matched. Instead of getting the match per pay period like everyone else, I got it in one lump sum at the end of the year because I had to work over 1,000 hours a week to get the match. 1,000 a year is like 20 hours a week and I always made that because I pretty much worked full time hours. They allowed full time staff who requested low census to have it if they wanted it and that really helped me have my hours. Where I work now, I wouldn't dream of working per diem because I can tell that I would get low censuses a lot. It is a much easier unit with low turnover. So it's up to you and what kind of unit you work in.

Crush · Feb 12, 2018

Years ago I worked with a nurse who only worked per diem but had 3 jobs so if she was cancelled at one she had 2 other options. I believe she was scheduling herself for 48 hours a week between the 3 to cover possibly getting cancelled and if she did get all the hours she said her bank account looked good. She had a 401K but not sure if it was through an employer or her own. She loved it.

llg, PhD, RN · Feb 12, 2018

The "rules" of per diem employment vary from place to place. So be sure to research all the details of your particular employer's rules. I've known a lot of people over the years who make assumptions about switching to per diem and live to regret it -- and others who prefer per diem.

In addition to investigating the retirement plan situation ... also consider the monetary value of any sick time and vacation time you will probably be giving up. This is why some people regret switching to per diem. They lose their accrued sick time and don't earn any more sick or vacation time. The get sick or injured at some point in the future, and there are no pay checks coming. Another way the paychecks stop coming is that your employer's census goes down ... or their staff turnover goes down ... or they hire more people ... etc. Suddenly, they don't need you as often as they used to and you don't get as many shifts as planned. There goes your income. Every time you take a vacation = no income. Every time you get sick = no income. People often fail to include those calculations into their financial planning. They get used to a certain level of income, and forget that they won't get any income when sick, injured, or on vacation. The financial value of accruing sick time and vacation time is often underestimated.

But for people who can afford to have 0 income periodically throughout the year ... per diem can be a great fit.

theRPN2b · Feb 12, 2018

I don't know about the 401k (I'm Canadian)

But I work per diem with full time hours and I love it,can pretty much set my own schedule can choose not to work certain days/shifts,and can go on vacation whenever I want (no need for my vacation request to be approved like the full timers). No benefits this way,but I don't need them right now and per diem/part time staff where I work get in-lieu pay instead of benefits so that's a little extra money.