Published Aug 27, 2020
Mayflower22
9 Posts
Hi yall! So I start my new job as a school nurse Monday and the pay isn't that great. Just wondering how many of yall work PRN in a hospital or something else? Do you think working 1 weekend a month is too much with the school nurse schedule? Thanks
k1p1ssk, BSN, RN
839 Posts
I work one weekend per month (6:30a-3p, Sat & Sun) at a private school in my area in their health center during the school year. Many of the other weekenders/per-diems at that job are school nurses. Occasionally I'll pick up evening hours here and there or another random Saturday. This will be my 8th school year at the private school and it's honestly pretty damn cushy (they bring us our food, and you can essentially go hours - I've even gone entire shifts - without seeing a soul). A lot of people trade their summers off and work at Summer camps (a great option for people with kids as a lot of camps will allow your kids to attend for free while you work) to make up some of the pay discrepancy. With that said, I think it might be a lot to start 2 new jobs at once...
I would LOVE to be back per-diem on the inpatient children's unit I used to work on, but they have a requirement of 2 shifts every 4 weeks along with one major Winter holiday, and one major Summer one and as a per-diem, you are more likely to get floated or cancelled if the census is low on the assigned unit, which is less ideal.
Good luck!!
30 minutes ago, k1p1ssk said: I work one weekend per month (6:30a-3p, Sat & Sun) at a private school in my area in their health center during the school year. Many of the other weekenders/per-diems at that job are school nurses. Occasionally I'll pick up evening hours here and there or another random Saturday. This will be my 8th school year at the private school and it's honestly pretty damn cushy (they bring us our food, and you can essentially go hours - I've even gone entire shifts - without seeing a soul). A lot of people trade their summers off and work at Summer camps (a great option for people with kids as a lot of camps will allow your kids to attend for free while you work) to make up some of the pay discrepancy. With that said, I think it might be a lot to start 2 new jobs at once... I would LOVE to be back per-diem on the inpatient children's unit I used to work on, but they have a requirement of 2 shifts every 4 weeks along with one major Winter holiday, and one major Summer one and as a per-diem, you are more likely to get floated or cancelled if the census is low on the assigned unit, which is less ideal. Good luck!!
Thanks for reply. I'm already PRN at my hospital job. I just don't know if it will be too much for me. I have no idea what school nurses do on a daily basis but I'm about to find out soon!
Flare, ASN, BSN
4,431 Posts
I worked for quite a few years pd as a hospital admin. When they got pushy and wanted more time out of me, we parted ways.
5 hours ago, Flare said: I worked for quite a few years pd as a hospital admin. When they got pushy and wanted more time out of me, we parted ways.
Thank you.
ruby_jane, BSN, RN
3,142 Posts
I have never been successful at working PRN during the school year. Mostly because the amount of trainings which I was expected to attend to work one or two weekends (and spell people over Thanksgiving and Christmas break) were unreasonable. Now that we can do all the things on Zoom, maybe that has changed...
GetBackToClassRN
64 Posts
I had big hopes of staying on PRN at our Children's Hospital where I had worked for 11 years before starting school nursing, but I just didn't have the energy. After working M-F from 8am-3:30pm, I was beat. The hospital would only allow me to sign up for 12 hour shifts. I worked one PRN shift and decided the exhaustion just wasn't worth it. I would love to find a PRN office job or a legit work-from-home job!
Trixie13, BSN, RN
33 Posts
On 9/3/2020 at 1:36 PM, GetBackToClassRN said: I had big hopes of staying on PRN at our Children's Hospital where I had worked for 11 years before starting school nursing, but I just didn't have the energy. After working M-F from 8am-3:30pm, I was beat. The hospital would only allow me to sign up for 12 hour shifts. I worked one PRN shift and decided the exhaustion just wasn't worth it. I would love to find a PRN office job or a legit work-from-home job!
I see you have oncology listed--my second job is with a company called Flatiron Health pulling data from oncology charts. Minimum of 10 hours a week and those hours are completely flexible. I make more per hour with them than at my school job. ? Something to consider--abstraction isn't for everyone.
beachynurse, ASN, BSN
450 Posts
I've worked telephone triage, done skilled nursing visits, and now I teach a few classes at a community college.
NutmeggeRN, BSN
2 Articles; 4,678 Posts
Per diem in LTC, 2-3 shifts per month...$$