For those of you that use per diem techs in your labs, how is their schedule determined?  Do they submit their availability and you plug them in then?  Or do you find out what you need for scheduling and contact them to see if they are available?  If they say No continuously, do you keep them on staff? 

 

Our per diem techs are currently sort of driving everyone else's  (FT & PT techs) schedule because of their limited availability.  It seems we are catering to them instead of the others and we are trying to improve the scheduling process.

 

Like most folks in the lab industry, we are trying to do more with less.

We don't use too many per diems here because we are a union hospital. But we have a few, and we call them when we need them and see if they are available to fill our "holes", not the other way around. They are required by policy to work at least 2 days per month or we can let them go. Same thing if they always say no.

We actually use quite a few Per Diem Techs.  The schedure is made with the regular full and part time techs then the holes are filled with Per Diem techs.  If anything is left the staff is offered it for overtime. 

Simular to Terri here. We try to work with the per diems but they cannot continue to refuse work or they will be let go.

 

Scott

We have two and there schedule is set. They work every other weekend. I don't remember if they are considered .2 or per diem.

We have 2 that we use like Trish. We see what holes there are in the schedule and offer those to the per diems first. Then fill with overtime techs if need be.

I have 2 PRN's who work a set schedule of Sat or Sun every week. They are also offered any additional hours that pop up. There are 3 others who don't have regular shifts. I send out e-mails to everyone and first come first served as far as getting the shifts. Hospital policy says they have to work at least one shift every 90 days or they are let go. After the PRN's extra hours are offered to my part time person and then to full time techs as OT. Last resort, I work it and take comp time off (I am on salary).

We have quite a few per diems. Our full-time and part-time employees have set schedules, then we ask the per diem techs to fill-in the holes and help cover absences due to vacations, etc. Our hospital policy states that a per diem employee must work at least one of the legal holidays per year, and it states that the individual will be automatically terminated if they do not work at least one shift in 6 months.

Regarding the per diem individuals who frequently refuse to work: Different supervisors and managers handle this in different ways. Some are very tolerant and are willing to settle for whatever the per diem individual is willing to do, and some of us have a philosophy more along the lines "If they are frequently unwilling to work when we need them, then we don't need them."

Donna

We only have a couple of what we refer to as contingent employees. One of them is pretty much scheduled as a part timer and the other one is contacted to fill the holes. Are contingent employees do not have to work any holidays or weekends. I think the official hospital policy is they must work at least once every 6 months. If they are never available when we need them we just stop contacting them and the 6 month limit gets reached.

KAPMT, if your contingent employees only work once every six months, how do they keep their competencies up-to-date?  Or do they come in for these at other regular intervals?