Per - diem aka extra income

[Had2dawg]

I have been working on a med surge unit in a NYC hospital for almost 2 years right now and with over 60K in RN school debt its becoming harder to make ends meet. I am looking for suggestions on finding per diem jobs in this area. Approx. hourly rate would be cherished. All info and advice valued. feel free to tell me how difficult or easy you find the job. How much availabilty there is and so on. Pros and cons of each jobs will be greatly appreciated. Thanx in advance

[amoLucia]

Per diem in your facility would probably put you into an overtime situation. You've likely seen how OVERTIME is negatively viewed by so many facilities on this site. So unless your place has no qualms about OT, you might want to look into another agency or field. I did just a little bit per diem for a while and it did give me some $$$ breathing room. (YES)

But you will have to be able to dedicate some time for orientation at any new place. I have a lot more experience than you, so I was able to negotiate some very unique orientation time. I stayed within my LTC field so it wasn't too much a problem for the new employer.

Another unlikely benefit is that the second position offers you a potential position should you need to leave your current one (and in today's environment, that's not too shabby!). Going AGENCY might give you some leads. I know it's frequently rough in the beginning, but you just might find a really good place that you become comfortable with (and agency usually pays well).

My extra per diem time really wasn't too burdensome --- like many others have said 'you do what you gotta do'. It was worth the $ and for me, the opportunity to see other places. Good luck.

[DoGoodThenGo]

Just a few random thoughts.

While working overtime/per diem or whatever to make extra money one has to consider the tax consequences. Regardless if one is a nurse, LE, fire fighter or whatever earning a certain amount over present income will trigger marginal tax rates. So while the extra money may seem good, you can end up paying more in taxes to the point it really isn't worth the bother beyond a certain point on paper.

Before the credit melt down/financial crisis and facilities closing/laying off staff left and right it used to be easier to pick up extra days if not at one's own gig then elsewhere. But at least from what RN friends are telling me they are often in the same boat as you. Their steady gig isn't cutting it and they are having a hard time picking up days elsewhere. Part of this is of course related to what seems to be a glut of nurses in NYC at the moment. The other reasons relate to low census and tight budgets.

Have you tried any agencies?