Home Infusion- Per Diem?

Asystole RN · Nov 17, 2013

-Is the per diem status based on how many days you work in a certain time period or is it based on how many patients you see in a certain time period?

Per diem should be differentiated from part-time. Generally, part-time employees are defined by a certain amount of work days/pay period hours/or rarely a particular workload. Per diem employees are generally not defined and may work a wide variety schedules or assignments. Part-time employees are generally scheduled where per diem employees are generally not. It is basically an "on-call" type of employment within many systems. That being said, I have a coworker that work per diem for 10 years within a hospital and worked full-time hours. She did this for the increased pay and not having to ask for particular vacation days or holidays off. In the home infusion setting you may be asked to pick up certain patients but most likely you will be used to supplement or cover for particular nurses and would assume their patients.

-Does the flexibility of the job come from being able to choose the days YOU choose to work or are you able to schedule the actual infusions at times throughout the day that YOU choose?

In per diem positions you generally pick the days you want to work. Keep in mind, the pickier you are the less you are picked. The infusion times usually rotate around the needs of the patient and already established schedules. A full-time nurse can bargain with the patients and help establish times, a per diem nurse is usually picking up already set schedules from the full-time nurses.

-Are you able to pick a certain pt population to work with? (I.e Pt's needing IVIG vs pt's needing Remicaid vs pt's needing antibiotics)

Generally no.

ashfost, BSN, RN · Nov 18, 2013

Thanks for the feedback. Are there designated shifts in Infusion nursing? If so, what are some of the common ones? Thanks!

Asystole RN · Nov 18, 2013

Thanks for the feedback. Are there designated shifts in Infusion nursing? If so, what are some of the common ones? Thanks!

Depends upon the employer. Sometimes there are shifts, most of the time there are not. Sometimes you are paid per patient, most of the time hourly.

You really need to ask these questions from your prospective employer because the variety of working conditions is staggering.