Per Diem - No guaranteed shifts or Xtra pay??

[nothingtolose]

Hope somebody can offer an opinion about my situation...I'll try to make it brief. I am a new RN, recently hired to perform LPN duties (at LPN pay) at an LTC facility.

I was initially told I was being hired "part time per diem", and even though I wasn't exactly sure what that meant, I was soon on the schedule working full time.

Long story short - on the current schedule, I'm only getting 4 shifts in a 6-week period, a Friday, 2 Saturdays and a Sunday. When I called Human Resources to ask about the per diem policy, I was told that I would not be guaranteed any shifts at all, and that I would only get base pay. That goes for shifts that are on the schedule, as well as shifts offered at the last minute to cover for nurses that call in sick.

BTW, I work night shift, with a shift differential of 75 cents per hour.

I am located in New York, where the cost of living and salaries are usually high.

Does anyone have any opinions? Thanks so much!

[yuzzamatuzz]

Per diem shifts are as needed, and from what I understand they are not guaranteed at most places. On my floor we have a lot of per diem nurses. During the winter many of them work full-time because our patient census is much higher and there are many more shifts available. During the summer they only are able to get a few shifts here and there because our census is much lower. They aren't guaranteed a certain number of shifts in any given schedule. They do get a higher base pay than I do as a full-time nurse because they do not receive benefits. If you want guaranteed full-time hours then I would start searching for a full-time position and keep the per diem job for extra pay on the side.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

don't you have a contract? Ours are paid only when they work and not guaranteed any hours. If they work more than 40 hr per week we have to pay OT.

[wherewillugo]

per diem means they pay you only for the days you work. some place will guarantee their per diem workers a set number of hours and have conditions that must be met to stay per diem. For instance, they may require you to work one weekend a month, or one nightshift, or at least 20 hours per month. Usually per diem are payed at a higher rate per hour than other workers, but they don't get any benefits. The benefits of being per diem are that you can say no when they ask if you want to work certain days (in theory). If you work as an agency nurse you really do have that freedom, but if you are new nurse I would not recommend working for an agency, you need experience first. The benefit of hiring per-diem staff for the hospital is that they have a list of nurses they can call when they need to find coverage due to sickness, vacation, call-in's etc of their regular staff. You should indeed keep searching. I'd recommend going to a larger or teaching hospital . They usually have excellent orientation training which is vital for a new nurse. That type of training will help you for years to come. Other places will give you 2 or 4 weeks orientation and then you are on your own. Keep filling out those applications and you will find a job working as an RN not an LPN which is what you need to be doing and not per diem. Best wishes

[nothingtolose]

Thanks for the replies, Nurses! I do understand the concept of working per diem, but am not sure how to feel about there not being any pay incentive...(no benefits, either.) Especially if I'm being called in on a moment's notice. I guess it's better than nothing, but not by much.

Looking for a full-time RN position, but not easy to find!!

Thanks again...I appreciate your responses and would welcome some more!

[NicuGal, MSN, RN]

Most people work PRN because they need to be really flexible with their hours. Our PRN don't make more than us, receive no benefits except they stay in the PERS system. They are also the first to be cancelled if we are slow. We do call them if we are short and it is up to them if they want to come in our not.

[hiddencatRN, BSN, RN]

Thanks for the replies, Nurses! I do understand the concept of working per diem, but am not sure how to feel about there not being any pay incentive...(no benefits, either.) Especially if I'm being called in on a moment's notice. I guess it's better than nothing, but not by much.

Looking for a full-time RN position, but not easy to find!!

Thanks again...I appreciate your responses and would welcome some more!

If you're working as an LPN for LPN pay with an RN license, it doesn't sound like you have a lot of other options? It sounds like an un-ideal situation in many ways. Keep looking for an RN job and in the meantime I guess be grateful you at least have the per diem LPN job?