As a PRN-only Occupational Therapist, Here’s my Current Routine

I’ve been sharing a lot about some bits and pieces of my current work schedule. As someone who is only hired as a per diem therapist, the routine can be hard to follow from the outside looking in. So if you’re curious about what a PRN weekly schedule can look like, this might be helpful to you.

I work for 2 different companies, generally across 3 different buildings. Both companies are fairly widespread across the country, and contract into various healthcare buildings and settings.

Over this last year, there’s been a shortage of full- and part-time therapists working in skilled nursing facilities. Which means a lot of departments are in a greater need for staff than they were maybe 2 or 3 years ago.

As a PRN, this works out great for me as I’ve been able to work as a scheduled PRN. In other words, I’m assigned to certain days of the week covering the entire OT schedule for that day.

Once a week I cover Building Number 1. This happens every Monday. The full-time OT at this building is a COTA and also the Rehab Director. So coming in once a week allows me to cover the weekly supervisory OTR sessions, co-sign notes, complete any evals that came in over the weekend, and modify care plans and therapy orders as needed.

Three days a week I cover Building Number 2. Usually Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. This is a job-sharing position with another OTR (who works parttime). We act as co-primary therapists for the OT caseload on the unit, completing evals and progress notes as needed, contributing to discharge planning, and overseeing any program development that occurs based on Quality Measures Projects.

In the event that the caseload at Building Number 2 is light and/or the parttime OTR is able to cover the majority of the hours, I will float to Building Number 3 as needed for extra support and evaluation coverage that may be needed.

My husband doesn’t work on Wednesdays, so I’ve been able to tailor my schedule so that we both have Wednesdays off together. It’s honestly a wonderful perk and such as sweet addition to these first few years of our marriage.

Overall, it’s a pretty good gig. The biggest downside is the potential to lose hours at any given time should a part- or fulltime therapist be hired or be able to cover the majority of the hours in a building.

But for now, in this season, I’m very grateful.

If you’ve ever worked (or are working) as a PRN, I would love to hear your experiences with schedule. The opportunities are so vast.