Per Diem Nurse: Things You Need to Know

Nursing is pretty much always in demand and when you are planning on starting a career in per diem nursing, it’s an amazing choice to make more money. An advantage with that is you could always choose to stay close to home. It’s in the name itself. You are going to get a temporary position in the healthcare facility and be paid more compared to how you would be when your position is permanent. Since there are a ton of hospitals and clinics that are in need of per diem nurses for staffing needs, there are a lot of recommended per diem nursing jobs that you could choose from. How does per diem pay work?

  1. Better your work-life balance

Usually, full-time nurses have nights, weekends, and holiday requirements that they are going to have to follow, and there are also some nurses who have fewer off-shifts, meaning fewer child care expenses and less sleep.

When you are a per diem nurse, you get to improve your work-life balance because you get to choose what shifts you want to fill in. The usual shifts that are given to you are those that are very hard to fill so you also get to get paid more than full-time nurses. 

There are no penalties when you decide to take the time off, but you also have to keep in mind that you get paid for the shifts you take, and there are no vacation time or sick days.

  1. Get an employment by more than one agency, hospital, or healthcare system

You could get employed by more than one agency and hospital if you are a per diem nurse because it would give you a leg-up when it comes to getting the shifts and wages that you want. It could also add more to your resume and portfolio, giving you a big advantage when you are planning on working at another hospital, effectively helping you improve all of the opportunities and offers when you want to make becoming a per diem nurse your full-time career. You can also be a per diem travel nurse and looking for reliable housing for travel nurses will be a good help for you.

  1. An amazing way to make more money

Per Diem nurses get a higher salary because they do not have benefits, unlike those nurses who work full-time. You don’t have to worry about the benefits part since per diem nursing is considered a sideline for you to make extra cash. 

Depending on your schedule, you could work with your agency is looking for shifts that you want to take and positions you are interested in.

  1. You get a preview before your shift

You would get to test if that certain specialization is something that you are interested in and plan on continuing in the future if you are interested to explore more specialties in nursing.

  1. It’s an amazing way to keep up with new techniques in the medical field

To keep up with all of the new ways and strategies, you could work a couple of per diem shifts a month. This is an amazing chance if you have a family that you have to raise but also want to keep in touch with the new modern medicine. This means that it could help you keep in touch with the ever-evolving time and maintain your skills and knowledge in nursing. 

There are some shifts that you could work in that are similar to other hospitals, so you could get other perspectives and ideas from different facilities and remain current on all of the issues that you may or may not be possibly faced with.

If you choose to take per diem shifts, there are a ton of things and benefits that you could take away from this career path, whether you just want to earn some extra cash on the side, or you are interested in making it your full-time career. You get to have these eternal connections with all of the people you meet during this amazing journey as a per diem nurse and have the opportunity to do what you love best.