What are casual nursing jobs, and how can I find them?

smiling female healthcare professional with loose hair
Written by
Laila Ighani
Category
Career
June 2, 2025

Overview

  • Casual nursing offers flexibility that allows nurses to choose their shifts and work environments, promoting a better work-life balance.
  • Per diem jobs enable nurses to pick up shifts as needed, providing autonomy and the ability to manage burnout effectively.
  • Soft nursing positions provide predictable hours and lower stress, ideal for those seeking a more relaxed work environment.
  • Remote nursing roles can offer some schedule flexibility, allowing nurses to work from home while maintaining a professional career.
  • Nurses of all specialties can explore casual shifts to supplement their income or transition to a more flexible work model.

Are you the kind of person who likes to keep things casual? Do you value your freedom and autonomy above all things?

If so, as a nurse, you’ll want to learn about casual nursing, a career path that offers flexibility, autonomy, and work-life balance

What is casual nursing?

Casual nursing is a nontraditional, flexible work model that offers nurses flexibility and the opportunity to have a better work-life balance. 

Unlike full-time or part-time employee positions, casual nursing jobs do not have a set number of hours in a specific location. Nurses working casually may pick up shifts when they want to and may work in different healthcare facilities or units. 

What nursing jobs are considered casual nursing?

Nursing is a notoriously stressful profession. Nurse strikes are often in the news, and many nurses quit their jobs and even leave the profession due to burnout.

Not all nurses want to leave the profession, but many do want to know, “What is the best low-stress nursing job, and how can I find it?”

The easiest nursing jobs depend on a nurse’s personality and preferences. That said, here are some nursing jobs that can generally be considered the most chill.

Per diem nursing jobs

Per diem nursing jobs are essentially casual nursing jobs. Per diem means per day. In other words, nurses who work per diem pick up one shift at a time. Working per diem allows nurses to decide when and where to work. 

If a per diem or PRN nurse feels burned out, they are free to take as much time off as meets their needs. They are also free to pick up shifts that fit their personality, interests, schedule, and financial needs. 

Nurses can find per diem jobs in practically all hospital units, including the following:

Nursing professionals can also find per diem jobs in a variety of other healthcare settings, including the following:

The unparalleled flexibility and autonomy that per diem jobs offer make them one of the most chill nursing jobs.

Soft nursing jobs

Unlike most casual nursing jobs, soft nursing positions are typically full- or part-time employee positions with predictable hours. 

For some nurses, a chill job does not mean working really hard for a couple of weeks and then taking time off to take a trip—something many per diem nurses love to do. For these nurses, a chill job guarantees a regular daytime work schedule with weekends and holidays off, regular lunch breaks, and lower stress environments.

Here are some examples of soft nursing jobs:

  • School nurse: Provides direct care, manages chronic conditions, promotes mental health, and coordinates with families and community resources
  • Nurse educator: Orients new staff, develops and implements continuing education programs, leads research initiatives, and contributes to policy development
  • Aesthetic nurse: Applies various cosmetic injectables, such as Botox, and administers dermal fillers and other cosmetic enhancements
  • Infusion nurse: Assesses, plans, implements, and evaluates nursing care for patients in an infusion setting, such as a hospital, clinic, or home health

Casual remote nursing jobs

Tired of working bedside with patients? Explore the top non-bedside nursing jobs.

Remote positions allow nurses to work from home and may offer flexible hours. However, be warned: remote jobs are typically not casual in other ways. 

In other words, remote nursing jobs typically hire nurses for full- or part-time positions, but they may offer at least some of the schedule flexibility that normally characterizes casual nursing jobs.

Here are some examples of remote or work-from-home nursing jobs that may allow nurses to maintain some control over their schedules:

  • Centralized bed placement specialist: Serves as a point of contact for patient logistics regarding planning, prioritizing, directing, and controlling admissions and bed transfers between hospital departments and nursing units
  • Standardized patient: Realistically portrays or roleplays characteristics of patients, family members, and healthcare team members to train and/or assess healthcare students and professionals
  • Utilization review specialist: Reviews and monitors utilization of healthcare services (e.g., need for extended stays, outpatient observation, ancillary services, etc.) to maintain high-quality, cost-effective care
  • Telehealth RN for well visits: Conducts virtual well visits for patients, documenting patient assessments and medical histories accurately, providing patient education and health guidance, and collaborating with healthcare providers as needed

What are the most stressful nursing jobs?

Just as the easiest jobs depend on each nurse’s unique characteristics, so do the most stressful nursing jobs.

A study published in the National Library of Medicine, titled “Feelings and Emotions of Nurses Related to Dying and Death of Patients – A Pilot Study,” found that 53.9 percent of study group participants described experiencing high stress levels as a response to patient deaths. 

It is normal for nurses to experience feelings of compassion, sadness, and helplessness in response to patient deaths. However, nurses who feel significant stress due to patient deaths should not work in areas of nursing, such as hospice or intensive care, that see patient deaths regularly.   

This same logic can be applied to different nursing jobs.

Do you have trouble multitasking and dealing with high patient loads? 

Don’t work in med-surg.

A study of stress in hospice, medical-surgical, and ICU nurses found that med-surg nurses experience more stress related to being understaffed and overworked than ICU and hospice nurses.

Do you hate floating? 

Don’t work in the intensive care unit. 

This same study on nurses’ stress found that floating was a major cause of stress among ICU nurses. ICUs need to maintain low patient-to-nurse staffing ratios. However, if there are not many patients in the intensive care unit, ICU nurses may have to work in other understaffed areas.

In short, nurses should analyze what would be hard for them as unique individuals instead of following generic suggestions to work in certain areas and avoid others.

What are the 4 types of nursing professionals?

Nurses can be categorized in different ways.

Perhaps the most important categorization is based on the type of nursing license. Strictly speaking, there are three types of nurses:

  • Licensed practical or vocational nurses (LPNs/LVNs)
  • Registered nurses (RNs)
  • Advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs)

Sometimes certified nursing assistants (CNAs) are included as a fourth type of nursing professional. Working as a CNA is the most basic role in the nursing field. However, nursing assistants are not technically nurses. 

In the United Kingdom, nurses choose a specific field of practice during nursing school and obtain a specific type of registration. The following are the four fields of nursing:

  • Adult nursing
  • Children’s nursing
  • Learning disabilities nursing
  • Mental health nursing

In the United States, however, nurses first obtain a general nursing license and then can choose to specialize in a particular area. The following are examples of different hospital nursing specialties:

Nurses at any level of licensure and with any nursing specialty can pick up casual nursing shifts either to supplement income from a full-time or part-time job or to work casually full time

Find casual nursing jobs in your area

Are you ready to find casual nursing jobs to take control of your schedule, work-life balance, and finances?

Nursa is a digital marketplace connecting healthcare facilities and nurses interested in casual work, also known as per diem or PRN jobs.

If you are interested in casual nursing, you can sign up with Nursa for free with a few simple steps and begin requesting high-paying PRN shifts near you. 

Is PRN nursing right for you? Want to learn more? 

Learn all about working as a PRN nurse here.

Sources:

Laila Ighani
Blog published on:
June 2, 2025

Laila is a contributing copywriter and editor at Nursa who specializes in writing compelling long-form content about nursing finances, per diem job locations, areas of specialization, guides, and resources that help nurses navigate their career paths.

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