Flexibility and the Part-Time Nurse

Hiring the right part-time employees can be a great asset to your department, but it takes understanding and sensitivity. When I ran the OR and Surgical Services, I don't know what I would have done without my part-time and PRN staff. However, there are many categories of part-time nurses. Some have a set amount of hours they can offer you. Some are flexible enough to be put on your schedule when you decide to put them there. Some are willing to be available at very short notice early in the morning when someone calls in sick. All of these people can give you great peace of mind, but you need to know who is who to keep these nurses on your staff. You also need to take great care to hire the right people to meet your needs as well as theirs.

The part-timer that has other things going on in their lives and needs to be asked about his or her schedule in advance can be a great asset, but you need to know the rules. These kind of part-timers don't want to worry about their schedules. They want to know you are depending on them for certain days, and they will be there for you and do a great job. I was one of these people for part of my career. While I was starting my own business, I needed some income that I could depend on from a nursing position while the business grew. I was a very conscientious nurse that would be there on time and do a good job while I was there. I had some flexibility in that I could work some extra shifts if given enough notice. I didn't want to be involved with the politics of the unit, but I wanted to know about changes in products and policies. I would come to a monthly staff meeting, so I needed to know when it was to get it on my schedule.

The necessity of understanding your part-timers became very clear to me when we had a leadership change. Things were great under the original, insightful leader. The staff made their own schedules, were good at what they did, liked their jobs, felt well taken care of by the organization, and worked well together. There was flexibility in changing assignments and advanced notice about schedule changes. When a new leader took over, however, life went from peaceful to a catastrophic disaster. Having been a seasoned manager myself at the time, it was sad to see what happened when the new leadership didn't understand the importance of meeting staff needs while meeting the needs of the organization. Under the new leadership, one staff member announced her retirement, and instead of using the six months notice to find a replacement and begin orientation (which usually took about two months), the new leader waited.



After the first employee's retirement, the new employee, hired without employee input, turned out to be the wrong person. After six months, she was still unable to work independently, and though the staff told the leader things weren't working out after the first month, the leader believed the new nurse when she said that the staff was being unsupportive. One of our staff was even able to talk with a colleague from the new hire's previous organizations and found that she never moved beyond orientation in her last position. She only worked for short periods for several different organizations in the area after moving from another state. When she left, no one was hired for another three months. In the meantime, I agreed to work extra, and the rest of the staff worked overtime to cover, but people became more and more disgruntled.

Before another part-time nurse was hired, still another full-time person left. Things got so bad that patient care began to suffer. I was asked to pick up more hours with the wish that I would work full time. Since I was unable to work more, the new leader saw me as inflexible, which lead to my decision to leave knowing that I could not meet the needs of the department while meeting my own business needs. I felt sad because I knew it meant difficult times for those left behind, but I was no longer willing to wait for things to get better.

The department that had happy, dedicated employees with great skills was lost because this leader just didn't understand how to inspire loyalty. Your staff will help you, but you need to work with them. Part-time staff have their own understanding of flexible hours, and that needs to be recognized by leadership. Meet your staff's needs while you meet the needs of your department. Don't live with a fear-based mentality. Hire the very best, trust them, and get them involved. Take action when it's needed. And, most importantly, be the leader you would like to have. Your staff will only stay loyal for so long. It doesn't matter how much they like the people they work with or the job. They will leave if you don't show loyalty to them by understanding and meeting their needs. Get to know them as people rather than as names on your schedule.

Getting nurses to come back to your organization as part-time staff is a great way to relieve any shortages on your units today. Take the time to hire the right people and be sensitive to the balance between meeting your department needs as well as theirs. You can experience the loyalty you want if you follow this formula for success.

About the Author

Doris Young, R.N., Ph.D., is a healthcare consultant, speaker, and author whose mission is to help organizations inspire loyalty and control the high cost associated with high turnover and retention in healthcare. Doris's website is www.DorisYoungAssociates.com. You can reach Doris at (800) 673-8005 or at Young@DorisYoungAssociates.com.