Will per diem count as good experience?

[alicestill]

Hi all,

Just wanted to ask for some advice from all the experienced critical care nurses here on this forum. I'm a registered nurse with 4 years of med surg and 1 year of ICU experience. Due to personal circumstances, I am looking to leave my full-time ICU job for a lesser acuity area. I do love ICU nursing and am hoping to come back after 2 to 3 years when things have worked out in other aspects of my life. My question is, if I do at least 2 per diem ICU shifts a month, will that still count as good, continuous ICU experience? Meaning will that still leave the doors of the ICU specialty open for me?

Thank you for any input!

[JBMmom, MSN, NP]

I think as far as keeping your skills up, you will find out with time whether that's enough for you. I know a few per diem people that say they pick up enough, and I know some float nurses that say they feel lost if they're out of the unit for more than a couple weeks. I think that employers may be skeptical of the current skill set of a nurse that only has per diem experience for an extended period of time, but you never know. Good luck with your personal circumstances and future career.