A great thing about pursuing nursing as a profession, aside from being able to help all those people in need, is that it would work with many revenues to pursue, being able to choose what type of employment you could have, and having that kind of privilege of a more flexible schedule. It would allow you to work at a level that you are more comfortable in, and have more control over you and your life. You would be able to find the best per diem nursing at advantage medical professionals where they will take care of you and guide you through your nursing adventure. So Part time vs. Per Diem: What to choose? What rights do you have as a per diem employee?
What Is The Difference Between Per Diem and Part Time?
Per diem generally means “as needed” and that pretty much summarizes what they do. As a per diem nurse, you are going to be working less than full time nurses, not have guaranteed hours, and sometimes (depending on where you get employed) you are not going to be receiving benefits. If you were hired in the status of per diem, even if you work full time, your status would stay the same.
Part time employees, on the other hand, vary by employee because the state and the federal government have no control and do not decide what the constitutes part time or full time actually is. If you want to make sure that you are working the right hours, or maybe even have the right status of employment, you should always check with your human resources department in giving you the final word on this for your organization. Doing this would usually affect your benefit eligibility.
As a part time worker, you are usually scheduled, but you have fewer shifts compared to a full time employee. You are going to have scheduled hours that are based on the status and the FTE that you were hired to fill in.
Benefits of Per Diem Work
- Hone multiple specialties
Per diem would allow you to explore more of the specialties of nursing, and I would allow you to work alongside different experts in a wide variety of specialties. If you are interested in working in different fields of nursing, then per diem would be the right one for you. You could easily go from different locations, and learn and grow with each and every step that you take.
- Enjoy highly-competitive compensation
As a per diem nurse, you are going to be compensated higher than a regular, full-time nurse since you are there to fill in for spots of the healthcare facility or hospital that you are working in and you usually would come in during the most hectic times.
Though this comes with a downside because you won’t likely have a raise and have any benefits since you are only going to be working there for a certain period of time.
- Take control of your own schedule
Being a per diem nurse, you would be able to have a flexible schedule when it comes to choosing a profession. It would help you create more opportunities for yourself to have a lot more control over your schedule.
You would be able to submit for higher paying assignments in a more economically strong community when you are a per diem nurse, because you would have the freedom to move from facility to facility, also allowing you to control where you work. So, if you want to try living in another state, your job won’t be a problem.
- Obtain health care benefits without being Full-time
As a per diem nurse, there are some agencies (if you work in one) that would provide you with certain insurances, like medical and dental insurance.
- Take advantage of Reimbursement Opportunities
Depending on where you work at, there are a ton of nursing benefits including:
- Cost of professional licensing
- Trade literature costs
- Any cost related to your job search
- Continued education costs, including the books
- The cost of your unicorns including dry cleaning and laundry
- Malpractice insurance
- Professional expenses
- Any phone, internet, and computer related expenses with warranties, apps and other software that are related to your job
Questions to ask yourself when considering part time vs. per diem
- Am I okay working per diem knowing I am not guaranteed any hours?
- Does the per diem rate of pay provide the income I need?
- As a per diem employee, am I okay with being available more often?
- Do I need a guaranteed level of income weekly?
- How much do I want to spend on healthcare benefits?
As much as all of these sound great, you have to do the math in order to avoid paying for work, but being a per diem nurse would allow you the freedom and flexibility to breathe, relax and not overwork yourself. You would be able to control everything, which is always nice if you do not want to be tied down to your career and have more time to explore your hobbies.
