Per diem nurse shifts (also known as PRN shifts) are ideal for situations where there is a need for temporary nursing staff. Often, per diem nurse shifts are used when short-staffing occurs and the hospital or facility needs to schedule additional nurses for a short time. These shifts can also be used when permanent or contract staff members go on vacation or when personnel leaves. Per diem nurse shifts may also be used to bring on additional nursing staff when there is a high patient load.

Most per diem shifts allow nurses to have flexibility with their schedule because they can pick up extra hours as needed. These shifts are generally not used for permanent staff hiring; instead, per diem nurses are often only hired on as needed, and not for the long term. Note that PRN nursing shifts are different from per diem travel nursing or per diem international nursing. Because PRN nurses can be hired on when needed, per diem shifts tend to pay more than contract staff. Further driving higher pay (and labor costs) for PRN shifts is the fact that per diem nurses are generally paid per hour rather than per shift, and they often must have special certifications. Also, the pay can be higher for an urgent need, such as when a per diem nurse is needed at a moment’s notice. In fact, PRN labor costs can be as much as 300% higher than contract nursing jobs.