Most nurses get their licenses by taking out at least some student loans. According to the National Student Nurses’ Association, over 70% of students take out loans to get their nursing degrees. With average loans starting at $19,928 for associates in nursing, it’s no surprise that so many nurses are looking for different ways to pay their debts down as they start their careers.
In addition to working a full-time or part-time nursing job, an increasing number of people are turning to gig nursing to help pay off their student loans faster. In this post, we’ll explain why.
What Is Gig Nursing?
Gig nursing is often called “PRN nursing,” which is essentially nursing as-needed for different healthcare facilities. PRN nursing is typically used to solve staffing issues, whether these issues are caused by facilities being consistently understaffed, having a surge of time-off requests, or being busier than usual. It’s common for hospitals and long-term care facilities to regularly make use of PRN nurses to keep their organizations running smoothly with enough staff on hand to properly care for their patients.
PRN work is truly “gig” work: You aren’t an employee; you’re working as an independent contractor. There are no minimum required hours per week or month, just shifts you can request as they fit into your schedule.
Can I Do PRN Work & Still Keep My Full-Time Job?
Since you’re looking for ways to get rid of student loans, this is an important question. And the good news is that, yes, you can keep your full-time or part-time job and pick up PRN shifts when you’re off and not on-call for your primary employer. If you have three days off and want to try to fill all three days with PRN work, you absolutely can.
Why Nurses Are Choosing PRN Work to Pay Off Student Loans
There are a number of reasons why nurses are turning to PRN work to pay off their student loans faster. Let’s take a look at each one so you can see if gig nursing is the right choice for you.
You Can Pick Up Extra Shifts
Full-time and part-time nursing jobs may allow you to pick up extra shifts or take overtime, but those options aren’t always available.
Gig nursing allows you to pick up extra shifts at a variety of healthcare facilities nearby. You don’t have to wait for your facility or team to need extra help; you can go outside your facility to pick up extra shifts as you see fit.
Extra shifts, of course, mean more money. Some nurses will work a few PRN shifts per month and dedicate all of the earnings to paying down their student loans faster, reserving more of their full-time income for savings, bills, and other regular spending.
You Can Keep Your Current Job
As we already mentioned above, you can do PRN work and still keep your current full-time or part-time job. Some nurses choose to work exclusively as PRN providers, but many prefer to use gig nursing to increase extra income to pay down their loans.
It’s worth noting that this is unlike travel nursing. With travel nursing, you’ll typically need to move to another city or state for a few months at a time. Travel nursing requires you to either quit your full-time job or take a leave of absence to fulfill the contracts, which is why many nurses turn to PRN work instead.
And since you want to pay off loans, the ability to keep your primary employment offers long-term stability, which is invaluable.
Gig Work Often Pays a Higher Hourly Rate
In many cases, gig work pays a higher hourly rate than standard nursing shifts. This higher pay is partially because you’re working as an independent contractor and partially because the facilities need to entice nurses to work these shifts so that they won’t be short-staffed.
When using a healthcare staffing app like Nursa, you can browse different PRN shifts and see the pay rates for each to decide which ones you’d like to request. If you want to, you can prioritize shifts with the highest per-hour rates to maximize income and pay off those loans faster than ever.
It Works for Your Schedule
Most full-time or part-time nursing jobs may not be the most flexible; they need you when they need you, especially given the current nursing shortage impacting many facilities across the country.
Gig nursing doesn’t work like this. Instead, you can use Nursa’s healthcare staffing app to request shifts that work with your existing time off. There are no demands on your time, so you don’t need to negotiate schedules with multiple employers.
You Get to Call the Shots
One of the best parts of using gig nursing to pay off your student loans is that you’re in complete control. You get to choose which days you’re willing to work and how often you’re willing to work. Want to work days instead of nights? You have the option to only request day shifts. And if you only want to work for certain types of facilities, for specific pay rates, or in only a few roles, that’s absolutely your choice.
Getting to call all the shots makes it easier for nurses to take on PRN work.
Final Thoughts
Gig nursing is a fantastic way to pay off your student loans fast, whether you’re sticking exclusively to PRN work or taking on gig shifts in addition to a part-time or full-time job.
Getting started with PRN work is also easier than ever. All you need to do is sign up for Nursa’s healthcare staffing app, create a profile, and request the shifts that you want. If the shifts are accepted, you can start earning money within a few days!
Want to take a look at the PRN shifts available in your area? Check out what’s available on Nursa.
