New RN: Per Diem While Full Time

You'll be better served with a full year, but some places are pretty desperate and will take anything they can get. Especially if they are lower-acuity hospitals and you have high acuity experience. I got hired for a PRN job when I had nine months of experience under my belt. It's not impossible.

I advise you to do it. It's a perfect way to get your foot in the door. In a couple of years you may very well want to work close to home.

6 months in a high acuity ICU is hard core experience, and a Per Diem job in a smaller place will only add to it.

It's really nice to have a PRN job in your back pocket. My hospital seems to be going in the wrong direction, then my beloved manager quit. The next day I had a job at my Per Diem place, and I'll stay PRN where I work now.

Go for it; your experience in a large-hospital iCU will serve you well. Are you at a teaching hospital? Do you work a lot with interns and residents?

I ask those questions because one thing to consider about moving to a community hospital is that it requires more independent assessment and judgment. You may not always have a doctor (even if it's only an intern) right here the way you would in a teaching hospital. Some more discretion with paging/notification is usually required, because the attendings in a community hospital do not want to get FYI pages every 5 minutes because the patient passes gas (I'm exaggerating to illustrate a point, but hopefully you catch my drift). You may also find that some tasks that get dumped on interns and residents in a large medical center become the nurses' responsibility at a community hospital.

Again, go for it, but consider the change in environment.

I admire your stamina at even contemplating taking on a second job. 12 hour shifts plus three hours of driving would have me knocked to the couch on my days off.

Most hospitals look for at least a year's experience in ICU for per diem staff. Just be aware also about what the minimum amount of time you would need to work.