What's a PRN?

[honeylove_joy]

I learned that PRN could also mean Practicing Registered Nurse?

What does that mean?

What does a PRN do?

How different is it from a Registered Nurse?

Thanks!

[BluegrassRN]

Depends upon where you are, probably. In the US, I have never heard the term practical registered nurse. In the US, PRN means "as necessary". Most PRN positions are positions that do not have set schedules or agreed hours. The positions pay more, but you do not typically receive any sort of benefits. A prn position can be any type of position, RN, aide, dietary, etc. It merely denotes a type of hourly position, as in, there are part time positions, full time positions, weekend positions and prn positions.

Hope that helps.

[honeylove_joy]

Depends upon where you are, probably. In the US, I have never heard the term practical registered nurse. In the US, PRN means "as necessary". Most PRN positions are positions that do not have set schedules or agreed hours. The positions pay more, but you do not typically receive any sort of benefits. A prn position can be any type of position, RN, aide, dietary, etc. It merely denotes a type of hourly position, as in, there are part time positions, full time positions, weekend positions and prn positions.

Hope that helps.

oh, ok. i get you.

thanks!

[bill4745, RN]

From the latin " pro re nata", meaning "administer when needed", such as a pain med.

[cebuana_nurse]

Is PRN same as on call?

[paacollins]

Not necessarily. I worked PRN as a CNA and I sat down with my boss once a month, told her the days I could work and she scheduled me to work as many of those days as her schedule allowed. On call, means they can call you in to work and sometimes you are paid a small amount for the time that you are on call.

[DoGoodThenGo]

Not necessarily. I worked PRN as a CNA and I sat down with my boss once a month, told her the days I could work and she scheduled me to work as many of those days as her schedule allowed. On call, means they can call you in to work and sometimes you are paid a small amount for the time that you are on call.

In my day, that was called "per diem" and such nurses came from outside the hospital (registry nurses), or were formal employees but were only called to duty to fill staff shortages, and or worked certain (usually less than full time), days or hours.Who or what thought up "PRN" as a "Practicing Registered Nurse", is just plain silly. All RNs practice the nursing professsion, just as doctors practice medicine, and so forth. PRN does mean "as needed" when written in a medication order, and suppose one could define a per diem nurse as one who only reports for duty as required, but again it does seem to be an unrequired confusion.