per diem

1. anybody ever feel dumped on being the "per diem" nurse. please tell me your stories so that i won't feel all alone. at my med-surg job i almost always get the first admit, the pt. no one wants for one reason or another, am sweating and running while others are charting. at my post partum job i almost always get the fresh c-section, or once again the pt. no one wants. i am a good per diem nurse, give my 4 days on ms, plus some, am scheduled right along with the staff on pp, month and a half in advance, so not much flexibility. just wondered if anyone else is experiencing such things....been at the ms job 3 years, pp 1.......

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2. 

   About cokie

   Joined: Dec '02; Posts: 118; Likes: 1

   6 Comments

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3. 
   Mar 27, '03

   I can honestly say I don't recall one instance of this when I was in the float pool. I can say some UNITS I went to were overall cra**y but no individual assignment.
   
   When I was Charge Nurse on my own unit, and I made assignments for the next day there was no dumping. One team may have more admissions, but that was the luck of the draw as the team room numbers always stayed the same. RN/LPN/Tech per 10 rooms.
   
   If this has been happening to you, speak up. Maybe they aren't thinking when the assignment is made.
4. 
   Mar 27, '03

   I would talk to your manager. We also have alot of per diem staff, and assignments are always made out to be equal. If you feel like you're getting dumped on, speak up. Obviously, the other staff members that you are encountering are not realizing that you are there to help them, and are trained in the same way and deserve the same working conditions that they do.
   
   I wish you the best of luck, and I hope your situation improves.
5. 
   Mar 27, '03

   Yup, you gotta speak up for yourself.
   
   I've seen it sometimes, when we're making out the assignment and someone will say, "Ugh, give that one to so-and-so, they're only per diem, they make more/hardly work/can handle it."
   
   But the point is, they'll only do it if you let them, so stand up and say, "you know, I don't think this is a very evenly distributed assignment."
   
   If it continues, take it higher, but I'm guessing that alone will nip it in the bud.
   
   Good luck.
6. 
   Mar 27, '03

   Nope--- but then they know I would never stand for it. This is partly WHY I work as a per-diem nurse. To avoid garbage at the workplace.
   
   Remember sjoe's now-famous tagline:
   
   "we will get exactly as much crap as we will take."
   
   Do not allow this. Or move on. There are too many opportunities for you to have to take this stuff. Good luck.
7. 
   Mar 27, '03

   I haven't seen it, but I've heard it "why do they always give the floats the hard assignment". My answer is "all the assignments suck tonight, we weren't picking on you". Also, perhaps people who work on that unit have been there all week are familiar with their assignments and more organized, and it only appears the floats and per diem are mistreated.
   
   I think it's more of a personaility thing. You get the patients no one wants because, one you don't speak up for yourself, and two they know you can handle it because you are such a good nurse.
   
   Sometimes there is that unspoken "they make more money than me so I'll make them work harder and they better shut up about it" attitude in scheduling.
   
   Good luck.
8. 
   Mar 27, '03

   I have seen this happen when I worked in the hospital years ago, but then these people dumped on some of their regular staff. Some people just like to dump on others. They stopped dumping when people started jumping back on them.

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