Nursing Trends
Hospital and medical settings rely on different PRN positions, also called pool jobs or per diem jobs. PRN staffing supports cutting overtime rates when the demand for patients increases. The most common form of per diem employees is nurses. PRN staffing is used routinely by hospitals in the absence of their employees. The salaries of PRN nurses vary as per their experience, location where they work, and the job type.
The average salary of PRN nurses
In many hospitals salaries of PRN staff is more due to the variability in their job assignments. You can get paid higher by the hospitals for compensating you for not providing you any other benefits. If you do your job for certain working hours every month and get hired by a staffing agency, you can get some benefits. For instance, the pay rate of a PRN nursing agency is somewhere $40-$60 per hour. The PRN nurse who works in a specialty field or overnight shifts get to earn more. As per reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual pay of RN was $75330 as of May 2020. Nursing professionals who work in hospital settings get to earn more than those who work in a physician’s office, home health service, and nursing homes
Do PRN nurses get more money?
The hourly rates of PRN nurses are comparably higher than the full-time nurse in OT positions since they don’t receive benefits and PTO. The full-time salary of OTs in most hospitals varies between $30 per hour for the forty-hour workweek. A PRN registered nurse gets a higher wage in the United States. The average hourly pay rate of PRN RN is $26 in the United States as of November 2021. The salary generally is within the range of $21-$32.
Staffing Jobs of PRN
As PRN programs offer, employees get positions to work based on ‘as required’. Such job positions are temporary, so PRN nurse is temporarily employed in a hospital or other medical units and so generally doesn’t receive additional benefits. PRN programs often allow medical professionals and nurses to work per diem as clinical dieticians, occupational therapists, phlebotomists, and pharmacy technicians and choose the working hours that they wish to work every month. Such per diem nurses are generally contracted to fill the position at the last moment, so most of them are on-call. However, not all PRN assignments are based on on-call. PRN nurse also gets long-term/short-term assignments that require them to work full-time or per diem.
About PRN job Positions
When the normal healthcare staff cannot meet the present workload due to unexpected staff shortage, then the per diem healthcare professionals are the ones whom hospitals have to rely on. Some hospitals employ per diem professionals directly, while some opt for a staffing agency. Employees who wish to have a flexible working schedule get a PRN position, allowing the employees to choose their working hours. Often, employees choose per diem work to gain more experience when they look for a permanent job position. Professionals also go for part-time jobs and full-time employment to increase their income opportunities.
What decides the Pay of PRN?
Hospitals usually hire per diem professional staff on an hourly basis. However, hospitals pay lower hourly rates to per diem staff than their rates to their regular staff. For instance, a per Diem staff hired in the hospital gets less payment than an agency. The added advantage is that you don’t need to travel to different locations and work in a constant workplace. Other employers provide hourly wages to per diem healthcare professionals higher than regular employees in similar job positions but without other benefits. These benefits include paid sick leave, insurance coverage, retirement benefits, and other advantages that PRN jobs lack. However, if you don’t wish to enjoy these employment benefits and go for a flexible work schedule with a higher wage rate, working as a PRN nurse can be a good option. The payment structure of per diem employees differs according to the demographic area setting they work in and their experience.
Reasons why PRN nurse gets paid higher and other advantages
PRN health workers are the employees upon which the healthcare industry heavily relies. There are several benefits of working as a PRN nurse, and the top reason is getting higher pay with added flexibility.
-
Flexibility
Flexibility is why PRN nurses get paid higher because they are temporary employees who work as per a flexible schedule. PRN nurse can choose their working hours. This also allows them to work full-time and use PRN status to work per diem to increase income opportunities.
-
Better Wages
PRN nurse gets paid a higher wage rate since they don’t enjoy added employment benefits like paid time off or insurance coverage like a regular nurse. So they receive a generous hourly rate. The higher rate of an hourly wage, in other words, means that per diem healthcare professionals earn more income for their shifts, and this difference in wage also gets added to their base rate. For instance, PRN nurse who works night shifts gets paid higher salaries than the nurse who opts for day shifts. Also, PRN staff get the opportunity to get more income when they work on holidays.
-
On-Call shifts
On-call shifts mean PRN workers will be called upon to work in case of a shortage of healthcare professionals or when an emergency occurs. Most PRN nurse signs up for a contract for on-call shifts. On-call employees need to be compensated as per federal law under many circumstances. Healthcare companies often compensate PRN nurses for on-call shifts even though they aren’t called. For instance- if a PRN nurse gets $40 per on-call shift, they must be paid even though they are not called in. In this way, PRN nurses can earn a good remuneration just by being available.
-
Greater Choice
This is another advantage of working as a PRN nurse. A PRN professional can sign up for many shifts in different units or floors to determine which places are better to work. Working as a PRN nurse allows you to develop various skills and try something new. You also get to earn more experience by working in different units.
