As a per diem nurse, you will be called whenever you are needed to fill in for a nurse staff member that is unable to work, or if there are more patients than usual and extra help is needed.
History
A lot of the nursing terms are based on Latin words, which is where per diem comes from. In Latin, per diem means per day or by each day. Then for the term PRN, it is Latin for when circumstances require. This is another way to describe professionals that work in per diem nursing.
Identification
In this field, you could be scheduled to work a couple of shifts in one pay period or you could be asked to work up until a specified day. There aren't any shift guarantees, so one week you may have a lot of work and another week you may not have any work. There are possibilities of shifts being canceled on short notice.
Types
There are some per diem nurses that work in hospitals within specialized areas, like critical care, or work in more generalized areas of the medical facility.
Features
To work in this field, you must be a clinician that is flexible and a team player.
Considerations
In this field of work, there is a greater demand for professionals in per diem nursing during the holidays, weekends and nights. Then when patient volume drops, so will the amount of work she may get.
