I have a silly question

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okay new LPN here and having a very hard time finding a job{2 months looking}no one in NJ wants new nurses,no not even LTC but I have been hired for Pool,what is the difference or is there even a difference between per-diem or pool???my husband thinks per-diem is a day rate while pool is per hour??

also has anyone ever done pool in 2 places instead of 1 full-time job?I don't need any medical beni's so this would not be a problem and do you do a full-orientation at both,like one told me I will get 5 days more if needed and the other 2 weeks..the one place told me she could probably give me at least 3-4 shifts a week and I would know these days in advance while she would call me if there were call outs,the other has not told me yet how they would work it so I commited to only one place right now but I need some in put,also one is nursing home and the other is rehab/ltc more to learn which I want................gee things would be so much easier if I could just get hired full-time somwhere but I have to take what I can at this point

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Specializes in School Nursing, Pedi., Critical Care.

I know lots of nurses who worl prn and 2 different hospitals. However every institution has a different definition of their requrements for pool, per diem, or prn. Our pool nurses work at our hospital full time but have to choose 3 areas you can work in and cover in those areas. You could be working in a different area each day of the week you work. I woul just check with where you are applying.

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Specializes in CVICU, Burns, Trauma, BMT, Infection control.

Hi,it's not a silly question,jobs are hard to come by but I would only take one and get oriented.After you feel somewhat settled there maybe think about trying another place in addition to it. Starting 2 jobs w/ orientation and such when first staring out is just asking for trouble.

I haven't looked into the pay differences lately so I don't know that.

Good luck!

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i agree with belle about getting established in one job before taking on another one..it may work out to be more hours than are available now

my personal opinion is that a pool-nurse should be a more experences nurse..it takes a lot of adaptablity to go into a strange situation

good luck

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Thanks everyone,I will see what happens with my orientation with the 1st place before I call the other,I never though it would this hard to find a job,I hope to get enough hours that I don't need to take a 2nd job but I need to get 40 hrs a week or I will never be able to pay back my loans!!!

as for salary new nurse in my area LPN-20.50/hr 1st shift with 1.00 more per other shifts in most places I have gone too{about 20!}and pool 25/hr

this is in LTC not sure how much in other places I would imagine that 16-18/hr in Dr.offices

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i agree with belle about getting established in one job before taking on another one..it may work out to be more hours than are available now

my personal opinion is that a pool-nurse should be a more experences nurse..it takes a lot of adaptablity to go into a strange situation

good luck

This is what I would think but alot of the places I looked at wanted experience on the shift and would take no experience on the pool because they will provide you with an orientation ,as for agency thats a whole different game,you need 1-2 years because you could be anywhere.

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I know lots of nurses who worl prn and 2 different hospitals. However every institution has a different definition of their requrements for pool, per diem, or prn. Our pool nurses work at our hospital full time but have to choose 3 areas you can work in and cover in those areas. You could be working in a different area each day of the week you work. I woul just check with where you are applying.

It must be different in LTC because there really is no other area to go into.

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Specializes in Medical Surgical.

At the local hospitals float pool mean that they will float the nurse ANYWHERE with no home floor. Heart floor, rehab, intensive care, labor and delivery, fresh postops. Hmmm, well yes, they float the rest of us like that, now that I think about it, just not every time you work. Per diem here means no benefits, first to get pulled, at least one shift a pay period that has to be evenings or nights, and two holidays a year that have to be evenings or nights. Also supposed to be one shift of week-end a pay period. But all of that can be combined, so a Saturday evening can count for both off-shift and week-end.

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