Why do healthcare professionals choose to work PRN?
Why do clinicians choose Nursa over other healthcare staffing apps?
Here is a glimpse into the experiences, priorities, and motivations of one clinician picking up PRN shifts with Nursa.
Schedule flexibility and work-life balance
"It is so hard to have a typical job. I just can't do it."
Beatriz is 30 years old and a mother of five children between the ages of four and 12. As a mother, she struggles to balance work and family life.
With five children—two of whom have special needs—Beatriz simply could not work five days a week. She wanted—needed—to be present for her children and, at the same time, make ends meet.
On top of work and family responsibilities, Beatriz is currently working toward her licensed practical nurse (LPN) credential.
Since Beatriz started picking up per diem shifts with Nursa nearly three years ago, she has been able to work three or four days a week and spend much more quality time with her children and partner.
"I haven't worked five days a week in forever."
Working PRN has also helped free Beatriz from feelings of guilt. Before Nursa, her own family values made her feel bad about working five or six days a week, but her sense of responsibility with her coworkers and patients also made her feel guilty about taking time off work.
Now, she can work two or three doubles and be done for the week. Or she can take an entire week off and not feel bad about it.
Working less, making more
Usually, in order to make more, you have to work more. Working PRN shifts with Nursa turns that paradigm on its head.
Beatriz is able to work fewer days per week not only because working through Nursa allows her to pick up shifts whenever she wants to but also because she can make more per hour than with an in-house position.
With Nursa, Beatriz makes exponentially higher rates as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) and picks up only the shifts that offer the pay she is willing to work for.
Advantages of 1099 over W-2
As an independent contractor, Beatriz works when and where she wants to.
Just as easily as she can take a whole week off, she can also pick up extra shifts without having to get overtime approved.
Furthermore, Beatriz shared she was pleasantly surprised that as a 1099 worker, she doesn’t have large tax obligations, stating that: “when tax season comes, I hardly get any taxes taken out because I write everything off that needs to be written off.”
Nursa vs. other healthcare staffing apps
Beatriz is aware that there are other staffing apps out there and has worked with others in the past. However, there are various reasons why Nursa is her go-to app.
Reputation
Many other staffing platforms don't allow facilities and clinicians to know anything about each other beyond mere basics.
With many other apps, a PRN clinician can show up at a facility, do a terrible job, and continue picking up shifts at different locations, leaving discontent and mistrust of per diem healthcare professionals in their wake.
However, Nursa allows clinicians and facilities to rate each other.
Therefore, besides knowing that Nursa clinicians are qualified and vetted, managers and other internal staff can rest assured that these PRN workers will do a great job and hit the ground running because their reputation is important to them.
"You're coming in [when you're working through Nursa] already with a little advantage because they're like, ‘Okay, we know Nursa is good. They're sending their best. We are stoked that you're here. You have a good rating. We know you're great. Let's do this.’"
Communication
Beatriz has also learned firsthand the importance of direct communication between clinicians and a staffing platform's support team.
With other apps, she has been in situations in which she didn't feel safe and was worried about losing her license but wasn't able to contact anyone from the platform to get the support she needed.
With Nursa, clinicians can communicate in real time directly with facilities and with the staffing platform through the app's live chat.
Support
Communication and support go hand in hand.
Once you communicate a need, you need someone on the receiving end who is available and willing to help you.
Beatriz shared that she gets debilitating migraines that she cannot do anything about. When they're bad, she simply has to go home.
When this happens, she asks a Nursa representative to find someone else to cover her shift and finds a human ear and an empathetic heart. "We'll get somebody good to take your spot, and then you can go home."
Finding your ideal work setting
The perfect work setting for you is out there, but how can you find it?
Beatriz started out with Nursa by simply picking up the highest-paying shifts—until she picked up a shift at what is now her favorite place to work.
"It's a really, really beautiful facility. It is gorgeous. It is my favorite place to work, but I wouldn't have found that place without Nursa."
Since discovering this facility, she has continued to pick up shifts there through Nursa.
"It works out really well because they love me, and I love them."
Have you used Nursa yet?
If you've been dreaming of choosing your own schedules, working as much as you want to, and making higher pay, then Nursa is for you.
Sign up for free, and try out Nursa by picking up per diem shifts.
