When researching nursing jobs, you may have come across the term, ‘per-diem nurse’ and you might be wondering what exactly is a per-diem nurse?
What are per-diem nurses?
Per-diem is latin for ‘by the day.’ That’s because per-diem nurses typically work, and are paid, on a day-by-day basis.
Traditional nurses are hired by a facility to work a regular, consistent shift. This means, they must work the full number of hours they committed to every single week. They must request paid time off from their supervisor if they wish to take off to go on vacation, travel, or just have some time off.
Per-diem nurses are not tied down to any specific shift. They are free to pick up shifts when and where they like. They can work shifts at different facilities every day, or they can pick up shifts at the same facility for weeks at a time.
Per-diem nurses only work when they want to. This means they can pick up extra shifts when they have more time, or need the extra income, and they can take fewer shifts if they need some more free time.
Why do per-diem jobs exist?
Facilities hire per-diem nurses for a variety of reasons. Sometimes facilities are short-staffed, and need extra hands for a specific time period. Sometimes they need help complying with labor laws and regulations related to nurse-to-patient ratios and work-hour limits, and might hire per-diem nurses while they look for additional full time staff.
Facilities might turn to per-diem nurses to avoid paying overtime to full-time shift nurses to cover staffing gaps. Sometimes facilities need a nurse with a specialized skill for a specific time.
There are many reasons why facilities might need per-diem nurses, and the good news is that all those different reasons ensure that there are plenty of per-diem jobs nursing available.
How do I get a per-diem nursing job?
The easiest way to start getting per-diem nursing jobs is to sign up with a staffing agency.. Staffing agencies work with numerous facilities to aggregate per-diem nursing jobs of all types. This lets you easily select the shift that most fits your needs.
With an agency like ReadyShift Staffing, they’ll start sending personalized shifts your way as soon as you’re hired. To get started, you’ll just need to complete a short application.Once you’re hired, you can download our app to start browsing shifts near you. We’ll also send shifts your way that we think you might like.
Now that you know what per-diem nurses are and how to get started with per-diem nursing, head over to our application page to get started!
