New staff at a healthcare facility typically undergo an orientation process when they start employment. This routine process helps your new staff acclimatize to a new place, new people, new policies, and new expectations, a.k.a. get “on board.” But what about the per diem registered nurses (RNs), licensed practical/vocational nurses (LPNs/LVNs), and certified nursing assistants (CNAs) who pick up shifts as needed?
They’re coming in to pick up a single shift, so time is a limited resource that doesn’t allow for your traditional orientation processes. Nevertheless, you may consider implementing onboarding procedures catered to PRN clinicians to smooth the transition for them and your staff.
The Importance of Onboarding Procedures for PRN Nurses
PRN nurse onboarding is virtually non-existent, but that doesn’t have to be the case. A standard procedure for onboarding new nurses can help prevent cancellations, reduce confusion, speed up nurse acclimatization, encourage future shift requests, and demonstrate your appreciation for the nurse’s work.
5 Ways Facilities Can Improve Onboarding for PRN Nurses
Contracting PRN staff can benefit your facility in many ways, particularly regarding staffing flexibility. Providing new PRN nurses and nursing assistants with onboarding information ahead of time will help them feel more comfortable and supported as they get to work. Here, we’ve compiled five suggestions for nurse onboarding best practices.
1. Send a “Welcome” Message for Your New PRN Nurse
A welcome message for new PRN nurses to read before starting their shift can go a long way in soothing anxieties, reducing confusion, and providing a gesture of clinician support. Craft a standardized message that includes helpful information that preemptively answers common first-day questions, such as the following:
- Where is the facility located? Provide the address and a few points of reference for location. For example, is your facility on the corner of an intersection, across from a public park or store, or near a bus or subway stop?
- What is the dress code? Are scrubs color-coded by unit or day of the week? Are scrubs with designs allowed? Are there stipulations about clinicians’ footwear or how they wear their hair? Are facial hair or facial piercings allowed?
- Where can I park? Provide directions to the location for parking. Let them know whether they can park in a designated employee parking area.
- Where do I report to? Advise them on what entrance they should use and where they need to go to report for their shift. Do they check in with the general reception, the nurse’s station, or both?
- What kind of identification do they need to bring? Usually, facilities require a government-issued photo ID. Most nurses know they should take an ID, but this is an excellent opportunity to provide a reminder.
- Are there specific accessories or documentation they need to provide? Specific accessories may include a blue ink pen or pencil, a stethoscope, a wristwatch, etc. Nursa asks RNs, LPNs/LVNs, and CNAs to upload their certifications and other compliance documentation and verifies nursing licenses and nursing assistant certifications before allowing clinicians to pick up shifts. As such, if you require clinicians to bring any of this information, you’ll need to state it clearly.
- Can they bring a meal to eat in the break room? Is a fridge or microwave available to store and reheat a meal during a break?
2. Create a Welcome Packet for New PRN Clinicians
Going to work at a new facility means many unknowns for clinicians. Onboarding nurses with a welcome packet to accompany your welcome message might include the following:
- Provide a facility map showing entrances and exits, fire escapes, employee bathrooms, different units, break rooms, lab rooms, special testing rooms (X-ray, CT scanner, MRI, etc.), and other relevant areas.
- Include a resource list to help them grasp the community resources their patients may already be using. This list will help them make appropriate referrals upon patient discharge as well.
- Include the important or nuanced procedures and policies of your healthcare facility. Some of your facility’s policies and procedures may be unique. Access to these procedures and policies in written form will allow clinicians to have a quick reference on hand. Instruct the PRN nurse where this information may be obtained if not provided.
- Provide any unit-specific protocols and discharge instruction information.
3. Provide a Quick Orientation and Tour
Identify a staff member responsible for giving new PRN clinicians a quick facility tour. This tour doesn’t have to be comprehensive—the map should cover that—but enough for them to experience where things are in relation to where they will be working.
4. Introduce Clinicians to the Nursing Team
Help clinicians feel welcomed and comfortable by introducing them to the other nurses and nursing assistants on staff. Identify who their primary point of contact for the shift will be, who provides supplies, and who they will be working with. Introductions help not only the new PRN nurse but your staff as well by connecting names with faces and responsibilities.
5. Allow New Nurses to Shadow a Facility Clinician
Before the start of the shift, allow the PRN nurse to shadow an established nurse to understand facility-specific protocols by seeing them implemented first-hand. Shadowing helps new nurses learn by observing. In the world of per diem nursing, shadowing beforehand is not always an option, but it is helpful when the hospital or other healthcare center can facilitate that situation.
“As a per diem nurse, I really appreciated when I was given the opportunity to shadow a nurse for half a shift or even just an hour ahead of my oncoming shift. This time helped me get familiar with where to find supplies on the unit, charting basics for that facility, and the shift report process.” — Miranda Booher RN, Nursa
Help Your PRN Nurses Provide Better Patient Care
Establishing an onboarding procedure or process for the PRN nurses and nursing assistants picking up shifts at your facility will help them provide better patient care and relieve some of the burdens on your staff.
Sourcing PRN nurses and nursing assistants through Nursa is an efficient and responsive strategy that allows you to find shift coverage for vacancies and call-offs. Sign up with Nursa today and post a shift that needs a PRN nurse.
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