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Discussion

Question about going PRN

I recently turned the corner now and have about 18 months of nursing experience. I asked my mgr if I could go PRN and her answer was negative. She claimed I would never get the shifts, and that we are overhired, but our unit is constantly begging for us to work overtime. Is there some requirement to be PRN and am I asking too early? Do you really have to have a bunch of experience under your belt to do it?

All I want is a higher pay rate in exchange for giving up benefits. I don't need the benefits and would just rather have the higher rate. I dont' want to leave my unit, just want to be paid differently.

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I have no idea what your hospital policy is for PRNs. I would not recommend it if you count on the health insurance or a steady paycheck.

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While I can't be sure ... your manager may have been trying to help you avoid making a mistake. You are under the belief that you would make more money by working PRN. Your manager seems to have been saying that you would end up making less money because you would not be able to get to work as many shifts as you do now.

Another possibility is that your manager knows that if she gives up your FTE hours in her budget (by converting them to PRN), she may not be able to get them back. Your old position might be eliminated, leaving her with less staff to work with in the long run. She may be managing her budget by keeping a certain proportion of budgeted positions vs PRN. If she gets too many PRN positions and not enough FTE positions, it may cause her budget problems in the long run.

In short ... this may have absolutely nothing to do with you or your qualifications. Your manager may simply not have the flexibility in her budget o convert your hours from "budgeted" to "unbudgeted."

Why don't you sit down with her and ask her to explain her situation to you?

What about considering going to your hospital's float pool?

1. Is their a prn position posted for your unit

2. If you are doing extra OT and or asked frequently than they need holes filled...

possibly she is afraid you will not work FT hours once you go PRN...leaving her to pay more OT to others...

3. I would ask..and do what is best for you...

Be careful. I know a nurse who went prn for the extra money, and then got practically no shifts on her own medsurg floor, picked up hours in the ER just to get some. Could have been a punative action by the unit manager and charge nurse, not the nicest people.

PRN generally get cancelled first, get floated first, are not really considered part of the staff, get the heaviest assignments and the problem patients, work when someone else wants the shift off on the floor from hell (and you don't want to be there either) and if a scapegoat

is needed, make an easy target.

I do PRN for my own reasons.

Just make sure you know what you may be getting into and giving up.

Good luck!

I understand what you are saying. But I don't think PRN is a good idea. I tried it once and you absolutely do not get the hours you think you will get simply because you are paid at a higher rate, and afterall it is all about the budget. What about reducing your hours and picking up extra days for call in bonuses or reducing your hours and picking up extra hours (for call in) in another unit?

Every hospital is different. But your manager is giving you a heads up. Can you talk to other PRN nurses on your floor or hospital and see how it is going for them? I wanted to go PRN and planned to when my son was in 1st grade. It didn't happen until he was in 5th grade. My husband and I had to feel confident financially to take some hits with cancelled shifts. Even before going PRN I started 4/5 then 3/5 and then 2/5, I never carried the health insurance as I had it through my husband and I would have to pay more because I wasn't working full time.

I have been PRN 5 years now and only cancelled about 5 times. I work about 2, 8 hour shifts a week. I don't sign up to work holidays such as Memorial Day, Labor Day, MLK Day because I know I will be cancelled. It goes in spurts but sometimes I am called 3 out of 7 days to see if I can work extra to help out the unit. Thank god for caller ID

I am cancelled first but my unit doesn't float me first and PRN's don't get the worse assignments where I work. I also do charge a lot. So like I said it all depends on where you work.

But I love the flexibility!

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