As you navigate your employment options after nursing school, you’ll likely come across opportunities for per diem nursing. What is per diem nursing exactly, and how should nursing professionals approach these positions?

Essentially, a per diem nurse works as needed—per diem nurses pick up individual shifts or short-term assignments when a healthcare facility needs more support.¹ While the definition is simple, there are certainly benefits, drawbacks, and nuances to consider before transitioning to a per diem-style career.

For healthcare professionals on the fence about this kind of position, we’re breaking down per diem nursing work in detail in this guide. We’ll define the concept, discuss three advantages of per diem, offer tips for transitioning to per diem, outline key skills for per diem nursing, and outline some challenges to expect.

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What is Per Diem Nursing?

After graduating from a nursing education program and passing the NCLEX, nurses will be eligible for multiple types of clinical roles:

• Full-time nursing – Full-time nurses work set contract hours, typically receive benefits from their employers, and have relatively consistent schedules. They also usually work all of their hours in the same unit or at the same practice.
• Part-time nursing – Like full-time nurses, part-time nurses typically work set hours and schedules on the same unit (or at the same practice). While they’re not always eligible for benefits (eligibility can depend on the hours worked and the practice or hospital system), part-time nurses have some work flexibility.
• Per diem nursing – Per diem nurses choose shifts on units or in practices as these environments need more support. For instance, if a full-time ICU nurse calls in sick or takes parental leave, the ICU may request a per diem nurse to fill in.²

Per diem nursing is similar to substitute teaching—substitutes fill in for teachers or support schools when they need extra support. Per diem nurses do the same.

3 Per Diem Nursing Benefits 

Why would a nurse choose a per diem position over a part- or full-time job? Let’s break down some per diem nursing job benefits that attract professionals to these types of positions.

Work-Life Balance

One of the best parts of per diem nursing is the scheduling flexibility—nurses can work whenever (and, in many cases, wherever) they choose. This makes the position perfect for:

• Nurses enrolled in advanced degree programs
• Nurses with family responsibilities (like taking care of elderly relatives)
• Nurses who travel often 
• Nurses looking for volunteering or cultural immersion opportunities

Per diem also offers nurses the opportunity to take breaks to prevent (or recover from) burnout. The profession can be a labor-intensive, mentally taxing profession, so maintaining a healthy work-life balance for nurses is one of the keys to a long career in healthcare.

If the demands of full-time nursing are not compatible with your lifestyle or work-life balance boundaries, per diem nursing offers ample scheduling freedom.

Variety in Work Environments

As a per diem nurse, you can work in a different facility for each assignment—acute care, private practice, the emergency department, or anything in between. This variety is excellent for:

• Nurses looking for variety – No matter where you work, no two days will ever be the same in nursing. But if you’re looking for more variety in patient populations, conditions, or care environments, per diem offers constant change.
• Nurses with special skills – If you have a specialty certification or speak a second language, for instance, your unique skills might be sought-after in a wide variety of units. Per diem nursing will give you the chance to use your special talent in numerous contexts.

Personal and Professional Growth Opportunities

As we’ve touched on in the previous sections, per diem offers ample opportunities for professional development and career advancement. Let’s dive deeper into the growth opportunities you can discover with per diem work:

• Volunteering or cultural immersion – If you want to dedicate some of your working hours to volunteer care or learn more about an unfamiliar patient population, working per diem can free up time for extracurriculars that can help you expand your competencies and your contact list.
• Networking – Working in a wide variety of environments, you’ll likely meet a wide variety of nurses, physicians, managers, and other clinical staff. These connections can open up doors to future opportunities throughout your career.
• Continuing education – Since many nurses find out about continuing education opportunities through their employers, working in a variety of contexts may give you wider access to professional development courses offered in your hospital system or practice.

How to Transition into Per Diem Nursing 

So, you want to work per diem—what’s next? Here’s a step-by-step breakdown:

1. Get credentialed – To qualify for per diem positions, you’ll need to pass the NCLEX (the National Nursing Board exam) and complete any other credentialing requirements set by your hospital system or practice network. For advice on the latter, reach out to your network or system’s human resources department.
2. Find a position – Your hospital or network will likely offer a portal or database of per diem work. Your HR department can help you find and get access to this “job board.”
3. Adjust to the per diem mindset – While per diem certainly offers freedom and flexibility, you’ll have to do slightly more legwork than the average nurse to maintain your schedule. Set aside time each day, week, or month to line up upcoming shifts and contracts.

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Skills and Qualities for Success in Per Diem Nursing

Which competencies are a must for the perfect per diem nurse? Let’s dive into some of the nursing skills and qualities you’ll need to succeed in the per diem world.

Adaptability

Per diem work is flexible—but you’ll have to be adaptable to a wide variety of settings, patients, and procedures to feel truly comfortable with this work style.

Nurses struggling to be flexible can make a few efforts to become more adaptable:

• Work in familiar units – As you adjust to per diem, consider working in just a few units or settings at first. Once you get used to leaning into different environments, you can expand your scope gradually.
• Train continuously – Pursuing continuing education opportunities in nursing can help you keep your skills fresh. It’ll also help you maintain the learning mindset you’ll need to adjust to new units and procedures in per diem work.
• Maintain strong fundamentals – Some parts of nursing are the same everywhere: charting, communicating with teammates, and adhering to patients’ schedules are part and parcel of every nursing job. Maintaining these critical skills will free up mental space for unfamiliar parts of your per diem job—like the medication-wasting procedures on an unfamiliar unit, for example.

Strong Clinical Skills

As mentioned above, you’ll need an incredibly strong grasp of the fundamentals of nursing to succeed in a per diem position. Before transitioning to this type of work, make sure you’re confident in all core responsibilities of nursing.

Even though per diem will expose you to new patients with new conditions in varying environments, you’ll still lean on your basic clinical skills every day. Thus, you should build a solid foundation and keep these skills sharp throughout your per diem career.

Effective Communication

Communication is key for per diem nurses. Once you’re rotating between different clinical environments, communication won’t just be useful for patient liaising—it’ll also be key to learning the ropes in your new environment.

Before starting per diem work, brush up on the following:

• Non-verbal communication – Learning via demonstration, observing patients’ and clinicians’ expressions, and reading body language will all help you succeed as you move through different environments.
• Charting and reporting – While charting and giving reports might look slightly different on individual units, maintaining baseline excellence will help you consistently meet expectations—even if you’re not completely familiar with the procedures.
• Active listening – Per diem offers a fresh learning curve every day—and you’ll always have something new to add to your toolbox. Learning to absorb information quickly and ask relevant questions will help you get a feel for new procedures efficiently.

Navigating Challenges in Per Diem Nursing 

Of course, per diem nursing isn’t without its challenges. But with the right mindset, you can overcome common roadblocks like:

• Variable income – Per diem nurses set their own schedules. So, in a way, they also set their own paychecks. To make enough to get by, you’ll need to pick up enough shifts to meet your income needs. You may also need to learn to identify and seek out higher-paying opportunities like weekend work, shift differentials, and more.
• Managing multiple employers – As a per diem nurse, you may find yourself working in multiple hospital systems or practice networks. Learning the specific procedures and expectations of each may take time. To avoid crossing wires (and making mistakes), consider adding different employers gradually. After you know one network’s procedures like the back of your hand, consider adding another one to expand your work opportunities.
• Healthcare industry changes – Spending time in a wide variety of clinical environments may not give you the opportunity to hear about upcoming changes to healthcare policy, equipment, or best practices. You’ll need to find a way to keep your finger on the pulse to maintain your skills and professional awareness—continuing education is an exceptional way for per diem nurses to stay up-to-date on industry trends.

Build Your Clinical Competencies at Alliant International University

Per diem nursing offers exceptional opportunities to expand your skill set, get exposure to new environments, and enjoy the flexibility of making your own schedule.

But to start on a per diem path, you’ll need exceptional command of the basics and the finer points of nursing skills. Our nursing curricula can prepare you for a successful, long nursing career—whether you choose to work per diem, part-time, or full-time.

Learn from experienced nursing educators, experience the cutting edge of healthcare technologies, and unlock networking opportunities that will open doors throughout your career in one of our exceptional nursing programs.

Apply now.

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Sources: 

1. Jean, Joelle. “Guide to Per Diem Nursing.” Indeed. February 16, 2023. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/per-diem-nursing. Accessed March 24, 2024.
2. Wood, Debra. “6 Things to Know About Per Diem Nursing.” AMN Healthcare. October 13, 2023. https://www.amnhealthcare.com/blog/nursing/per-diem/six-things-to-know/. Accessed March 24, 2024.