Nurse Lingo - Scheduling and Staffing

We remember being new grad nurses and having zero idea what people were talking about when they said things like NOCs, per diem and low census. What the what? Those things were definitely not on the NCLEX! 

So that you won't feel as bewildered and out-of-the-loop as we did, we've pulled together a quick glossary of some new grad lingo you should know as it relates to scheduling and staffing. After all, if you're going to walk the walk, you've got to talk the talk!

🌓 NOCS, Days, AMs, PMs

First, let's figure out which shift you're working.

• NOCs refers to night shift or the "nocturnal" shift. This is commonly 1900 to 0700, but could also be 2300 to 0700 for an 8-hr shift. NOC shift typically pays nurses a higher wage, which you'll hear referred to as a "differential."

•  NOCs refers to night shift or the "nocturnal" shift. This is commonly 7pm to 7am, but could also be 11pm to 7am for an 8-hour shift. NOC shift typically pays nurses a higher wage, which you'll hear referred to as a "differential." 

•  NOCs refers to night shift or the "nocturnal" shift. This is commonly 7pm to 7am, but could also be 11pm to 7am for an 8-hour shift. NOC shift typically pays nurses a higher wage, which you'll hear referred to as a "differential." 

•  Days refers to daytime shifts (that's an easy one!). For a 12-hour shift this is typically 7am to 7pm, but could also be 7am to 3pm for an 8-hour position. 

•  AMs refers to the morning day shift that generally runs from 7am to 3pm.

•  PMs refers to the afternoon shift that runs from 3pm to 11pm.

🎯 Per Diem

Per diem means working on an "as needed" basis. Per diem positions typically require a minimum number of days each week or month that you must make yourself available for scheduling. Units will then fill in any staffing needs with their per diem nurses. If they don’t need you on the days you put yourself down as available, you don’t work. Per diem positions also don’t come with paid time off, so when you don’t work, you also don’t get paid. Some per diem positions will have health insurance and other benefits if you work a minimum number of hours for the year, while others provide no benefits whatsoever. Per diem nurses often earn more per hour, so if you don’t need benefits or the consistency of a steady paycheck, it can be a great way to have maximum flexibility with your schedule.

🛏️ Low Census

Census refers to the number of patients in a hospital unit relative to the number of staff. When census is low, there are too many nurses for the patient workload and managers will "call off" staff. How this works varies from one hospital to the next, but it's typical for units to track when nurses have been forced off shift so that everyone is called off equally. 

We're not gonna lie. A low census day once in a while is kind of nice, but only if you're not relying on that day's wages or saving your PTO for something else. Speaking of PTO...

⛱️ PTO

Paid time off is how most hospitals provide time off for both vacation and illness, though some facilities may still keep the two separate. How much PTO you accrue may depend on how many years of service you have with that facility, or it may be a set amount. Keeping track of how much PTO you have is something nurses are very good at…we love planning that next vacation or day off!

👋 Call-Off

Getting called off, basically means you get a phone call before your shift telling you that you're not needed. It occurs because of low census

☎️ On-Call

Being on-call means you are available to come in if needed. Your on-call shift should be a set time frame, and yes...you do get paid for being on-call. It's not the same as your standard rate, but if you do get called in? Then you're likely to get paid 1.5 to 2x your regular pay. 💰

🧑‍⚕️ FTE

FTE stands for "full-time equivalent." It is used to describe. yoru workload. For example an FTE of 1.0 means you're full time, working 40 hours a week. Many nurses are 0.9 FTE, meaning they work 36 hours per week.

📆 Block Schedule

Some units utilize block scheduling, where you work a standard pattern each week or month. You may also hear this called your "pattern."

🌥️ Floating

Floating means you're being sent to another unit to work for the day. This typically happens when your unit is overstaffed, but another unit needs nurses. You should never get floated to a unit above your standard level of acuity. If you do, then the patients you are caring for should be at the level of acuity you are accustomed to. For example, a Med/Surg nurse might get floated to the ICU, but assigned two patients who are waiting to get transferred to a Med/Surg room.

👟 Travelers

While some of your coworkers will take frequent trips, that's not what we mean when we call someone a traveler. A traveler is a contract nurse that works for an outside agency who is hired to fill a short-term gap in staffing. 

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We hope that helps you feel a little more in-the-know about some of the lingo and common terms you'll hear regarding your schedule and unit staffing.

Cheering for you!

Nurse Mo + Nurse Steph 💚