As a travel nurse or allied health professional, you’re well aware of the advantages of travel assignments – as well as the downsides. But travel assignment woes are just one reason you should keep the idea of picking up per diem shifts in your back pocket.
Getting setup to book per diem shifts will vary depending on your travel assignment agency. Luckily with Medely your travel profile contains everything you need to pick up per diem shifts. You should be able to see and book per diem jobs in your home market already.
With that said, let’s jump into our five reasons to pick up per diem shifts as a travel nurse.
- Earn extra cash, when you need it
- Enjoy complete control of your schedule
- Expand your knowledge and experience
- Evaluate new facilities
- Exercise your skills to keep them sharp
1. Earn extra cash, when you need it
A travel assignment that was cancelled mid-flight. A seemingly endless Christmas gift list. The general unpredictability of life. We all have times we could use a financial infusion. Per diem nursing is a perfect solution as it typically pays well. Plus, when you’ve made enough to finish that gift list or a new travel assignment comes through, you can just step away for a while.
2. Enjoy complete control of your schedule
There’s a lot of freedom involved in travel nursing, but nothing beats per diem for flexibility. Per diem shifts are the epitome of “Work when you want”. Before you accept a shift, there’s zero commitment on your part. Book shifts when you need them and kick up your feet and relax when you don’t.
3. Expand your knowledge and experience
As a travel professional, you’ve seen how different a job can be at a new facility. Per diem shifts let you work with different facilities and professionals every shift. This can give you both a broader perspective and knowledge base, as well as grow your network.
4. Evaluate new facilities
Working per diem shifts lets you test drive a new facility before committing to an assignment. Check out the company culture. Sample their caseload and pro-to-patient ratio. See if employees are a good fit for your personality. All without committing to a long-term assignment.
5. Exercise your skills to keep them sharp
Haven’t worked a specific role in a while and need a refresher? Yup, per diem can help with that too. Developing and honing your skills is always a good idea. Working per diem shifts enables you to do that in a way that fits your lifestyle and career plans.
Is working per diem shifts as a travel nurse right for you?
These are just a few of the reasons why working per diem shifts makes sense for travel professionals. In fact, it’s likely that every nurse or allied health pro has a reason or two to work per diem shifts. If you’re a Medely travel pro, then you’re already able to sign in and book per diem shifts. If you use another agency, but want the flexibility of both travel and per diem, consider checking out Medely. We offer per diem, local assignments, and travel assignments with thousands of facilities from coast-to-coast.