Is it more or less stressful to work PRN??

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What's your opinion on working PRN [or per diem as I've heard it called]? I'm completing my CNA training in June. After that I'll be in a LTC for at least a year. I'll be working PRN if I can, but I'd like an idea of what it's like- especially as a new CNA. I'm a little worried that I won't get the hang of the job for a very long time if I work PRN?

So- your opinions? Pros? Cons? Rants and Raves? ;)

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I have worked full time, part time, and PRN positions. PRN has the good and the bad, so here's how it goes:

Being PRN is MORE stressful because you will always get the worst and the hardest assignments. Regular staff always take a break and throw the bad assignments to the PRN staff since "they don't have to be here every day." They think we are somehow immune to the pain and suffering of the bad halls. :) I wish they realized that PRN staff get the bad assignments everywhere they go and sometimes THEY are the ones that need a break from it all.

It's also stressful because things are constantly changing while you are gone. The facility gets new admissions, care plans are changed, etc. One day you are working and Mrs. Smith is an AAO x3 one-person transfer, and the next time she's a AAO x1 two-person care lift and has no idea who she is. It's like "What happened??????"

Whenever census is low, PRN staff are the first to have their hours cut. If the census becomes and remains low, you may find yourself not being able to work for a few weeks. Been there, it isn't fun at all.

Being PRN is LESS stressful because you don't have to deal with the same shift drama every single day. I'll tell you, it has given me great comfort to know that when a coworker is acting like an immature first-grader, I know I won't have to be there the next day to put up with it. It gives you a nice long break to let go of it and de-stress from the mess. :D

It's also great that you don't have to worry about asking for time off and having conflicts with other obligations.

Oh yeah, and the extra $$$ you get for being PRN always helps to make things less stressful.

As a newbie CNA, I think you'd be better off working full time (or at least part time) for a few months. You really need that time to hone your skills and get used to your new role. When you are PRN and are given an assignment, you will be expected to just go off and work it. There won't be time for you to ask how to hook up the sling to the Hoyer lift or how you are supposed to fill out the ADL sheets.

You don't need to be completely autonomous, but you definitely need to be capable of being an independent person when necessary.

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WHAT IS AAO?????????

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AAO = Awake, alert, and oriented

There are 3 (sometimes 4) criteria used to determine their mental status:

1. Person

2. Place

3. Time

4. Situation

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Thanks for your response, Coffemate- it's good to know what I'm getting myself into. It makes sense that you get the more difficult assignments. The experience thing is what I'm the most worried about. It seems like it's stressful enough to be a new CNA as it is- let alone a new CNA who doesn't get much experience.

Really, I'm hoping to find a facility who is willing to let me work part time. The problem is that I have kind of a goofy schedule to work around. I know all the days I can work for the year [quite a lot] it's just that those days don't follow a regular pattern from one week to the next. And I have class 2 days a week. So I'm not counting on anyone hiring me p/t with those parameters. PRN seems like the only option.

Mostly, I want the experience of CNA work before I go to nursing school. I'm not willing to be a nurse without having done the harder job of being an overworked and underpaid CNA :)

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Specializes in ER, progressive care.

I'm a nurse tech, but I work PRN. It sucks because there are no benefits, but at my other job (where I worked as a PCNA, basically a CNA without the "certification") I got paid more because I was PRN and was not receiving benefits. At my current job they only hire techs on a PRN basis, but it's nice because we can work when we want, whenever we want. We can even work off-shifts, they just ask we work for at least 4 hours and a minimum of 24 hours/month. I love the flexibility because other jobs aren't so flexible with nursing school.

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wow.... that sounds like an awesome schedule! maybe someday I'll be able/experienced enough to get something like that. I have to work in LTC for at least a year, or I have to pay back my CNA tuition [which isn't to say I wouldn't, if something like what you're describing came up- I would take that in a second]

Benefits are not an issue. We already have coverage, and fortunately we rarely need it.

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Specializes in Geriatics.

I wouldnt suggest a PRN position with a new CNA because you are new to the game and its kinda hard to work with a vast majority of pts. that you are not experienced in

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