PRN Nurse Hours Reduced?

[KCase, ASN]

So I've been working PRN in an outpatient oncology clinic in Florida for three years now. And I absolutely love my job. I started out full time but became pregnant with my oldest daughter pretty early into starting and when I came back from maternity leave initially, I needed the flexibility. 
 

So I've been PRN for three years now. First of all, we are always short staffed and crazy busy. I'm one of three PRN's and two of us typically get fairly regular hours. There is always a need for us so that's not the issue here. I usually work four days a week, 8 hour shifts(9-5) with weekends off. 

There has never been an issue at all until now with me getting hours.
 

Today my manager informed me that corporate is saying that the PRN nurses can't work more than 19 hours a week(with 8 hour shifts, that's barely 2 1/2 days). That has never been something that has ever come up in my 3 years of being PRN until now. I do not ever remember anything ever being said about there being a maximum amount of hours I could work until now. It's very suspicious.
 

And basically I'm being told that even if there is a need in the clinic for me and even if I'm available they will reduce my hours or I was informed that I could go part time(I lose the flexibility of PRN, I lose the extra pay, I still have no benefits, and it's 24 hours a week and if I need the extra hours and money, I'm screwed). I really don't like basically having my job threatened or hours threatened. I understand PRN nurses aren't guaranteed hours but that's not the issue. They have a need and I have availability but the corporate office is saying they can't work us that many hours. Nothing like that was ever said to me three years ago and now it's being changed. 
 

Can they do this? Any advice? 

[Lina_C]

Why give a PRN nurse all the hours when they can have a steady, consistent , full time nurse?

[KCase, ASN]

I'm not taking any hours away from a full time nurse. That's not how PRN nurses work. I'm not filling the position of a full time nurse. We have full time positions filled. My offices see's over 300 patients a day, with over 100 in the infusion room at the any given time. We all take from 10-12 patients a day. And that's including my lead nurse and the other PRN nurse. If they take our hours away, the full time nurses would be taking a dangerous amount of patients. It's not safe for anyone. We are dealing with chemotherapy and mistakes can and will be made.
 

PRN nurses work on an as needed basis. They have need of me. I worked PRN in the hospital prior to this. I could work however much I wanted. I could work 0 hours one week, and 36 the next as long as I was working the minimum but they never told me I could only work a set amount of hours a week. Sure, I was the first called off, but more often than not they called me right back in to float somewhere else. 

[JKL33]

Quote

I understand PRN nurses aren't guaranteed hours but that's not the issue.

For better or worse it is precisely the issue. They don't have to give you any hours, regardless of how many available hours there are or how many you estimate need to be covered by someone.  As is the meaning of 'per diem,' your employment agreement with them is by the day: If today they wish to engage your services and you agree to work, then you have a deal. If tomorrow they don't wish to use your services, no deal--regardless of whether you want to work or not.

I've worked many, many hours per diem in my career...for years. I understand that this is frustrating but working under per diem employment terms is all about accepting the potential downsides in order to take advantage of the upsides.

You do not have a contract or any type of employment agreement with them other than day by day by day, one day at a time. After today/current day, if they don't wish to engage your services again...EVER...or not until sometime next week, that is their prerogative. They owe you absolutely nothing else in terms of available hours to work.

They might need X number of staff on duty to reasonably care for their patients; it is their prerogative for corporate to decide that they wish to prioritize the utilization of RNs who are employed under agreements other than per diem and to minimize their utilization of per diem nurses if they wish to do so.

This is not in the spirit of personal criticism, but you do seem to have a misunderstanding of what per diem means. We often refer to it as "PRN" or "as needed" and that's a fair casual description--but it does not convey the legal implications. The legal implications are that they have zero ongoing commitment to use your services with any particular frequency--or at all. Per diem does not mean that if one could reasonably say that a nurse is needed then that nurse must be ME.

You will have to look for alternative employment if they are serious about this and you can't do without the money this role has been bringing in. It was good while it lasted; now it isn't. This is how per diem can suck sometimes. Sorry it's happening to you.