PRN / per diem
PRN (pro re nata, as needed) and per diem staff have no fixed schedule and work shifts when the organization needs them and they are available.
PRN comes from the Latin pro re nata, meaning as needed; per diem is Latin for per day. In staffing, both describe clinicians and staff who have no guaranteed schedule and work shifts when the organization needs them and they are available. They may be physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, technologists or other staff. PRN staff are usually employees of the hospital or group, typically paid by the hour or by the shift, and organizations often set a minimum commitment, such as a number of shifts per quarter or a weekend and a holiday each year.
PRN staff fill open shifts left by vacations, leave, vacancies or volume peaks. Open shifts are offered to the PRN pool, staff sign up or are asked, and a scheduler confirms. Because they are not on the regular rotation, PRN staff need the same checks as anyone else: credentials for the site, eligibility for the service, and the rest rules of the department.
Pitfalls: relying on the same few PRN clinicians for every gap until they stop picking up shifts; forgetting that hourly PRN employees other than physicians are generally still owed overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act when their hours for the employer pass 40 in a workweek; and keeping PRN availability in a separate spreadsheet, so the scheduler finds out who is free by calling around.
Common questions
What does PRN mean in healthcare staffing?
PRN stands for pro re nata, Latin for as needed. A PRN nurse, physician or technologist works when the organization needs extra coverage and they are available, without a guaranteed number of hours. In medication orders the same abbreviation means a drug given as needed, which is where many people first see it.
Is per diem the same as PRN?
In staffing, the two terms are mostly used the same way: staff paid for the days or shifts they work, without a fixed schedule. Per diem is Latin for per day. Some organizations use per diem for staff paid a daily rate and PRN for on-demand hourly staff, so check how your own policy defines each one.
Are PRN staff owed overtime?
PRN employees paid by the hour are generally covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act like other non-exempt employees: at least time and a half for hours over 40 in a workweek, or, where a hospital uses the 8 and 80 system by prior agreement, over 8 hours in a day or 80 in a 14-day period. Physicians are exempt, whatever their pay.
How Momentum handles it
In Momentum, open shifts can be posted to the job board, where eligible staff bid from the app and an administrator approves who takes each one.