L&D, about 7 years in. I've got two offers at the same hospital and I keep going back and forth.
Per diem is $58/hr, no benefits, have to commit to 4 shifts a month and one holiday a year. Part time is $46/hr, 0.6 FTE, full benefits plus PTO, but I'm back on the regular holiday rotation and they can call me off without pay when census is low, which on our unit happens a lot in the slow months.
My husband's insurance covers me so on paper per diem wins. But I've heard per diem gets floated first and canceled first, and I don't know how true that is everywhere. Also kind of scared of losing my spot if he ever changes jobs.
For people who've done per diem in L&D or any specialty really, did the money actually come out ahead after cancellations? And did you feel like part of the team or always the outsider?
Posted anonymously. Your name is never shown.
Post replyFloated first and canceled first is 100% true on my unit. Meanwhile the per diems get all the shift choice and the staff nurses are stuck with Christmas three years running. Nobody wins.
I'd go part time. A $12 difference sounds big until you add up the 401k match, the PTO, and the fact that you're not first on the chopping block every time census dips. Seven years in, I'd want the stability more than the rate.
Does part time force you to burn PTO when you get called off? Ours does, so the PTO is basically fake money in the slow months.
On the spouse insurance worry, losing coverage through his job counts as a qualifying life event, so you could enroll at that point instead of waiting for open enrollment. Check whether your hospital lets per diem switch to a benefited position easily if that happens. Some do, some make you reapply and wait for an opening.
Did per diem L&D for three years. Canceled constantly from January to March, but even after that I came out ahead because I'd pick up extra in the busy months when they were begging. The outsider thing is real, though. Nobody learned my name until year two.