Gig Programs
Part 3 · Chapter 2

Gig Nurse Programs

Primary and secondary gig nursing positions — AI-powered shift marketplaces, flexibility for nurses, coverage for organizations.

8 min read

Gig Nurse Programs

Gig work is in demand, particularly by younger nurses. Internal PRN/per diem/gig programs can be paired with an internal travel agency. These programs are cost-effective ways organizations can fit staffing demand with flexibility for both the organization and the frontline nurse.

A typical profile for an internal gig worker:

  • Background: interested in occasional shifts
  • Benefits and commitment: none
  • Qualifications and hiring: consistent with system's processes
  • Required hours: minimum of one shift every 30 to 90 days
  • Pay structure: flat rate of pay, with additional incentive based on higher need
  • Shift: uses mobile app to pick up available shifts
Best Practice
Guidelines should note that those participating in gig programs must meet the minimum hours for work before being eligible for incentive shifts. For example, a gig nurse should work a minimum of 24 hours per pay period before being permitted to pick up incentive shifts.

Types of Gig Programs

A gig worker can be a primary or secondary job in the organization's existing internal workforce.

Key Definition
Primary Gig Job

The employee's first and only job within the health system. They pick up shifts related to their specialty and cross-trained areas.

Key Definition
Secondary Gig Job

A secondary job the internal employee is hired into to pick up shifts in different areas where they are cross-trained. It is always a non-FTE role without benefits.

Primary Internal Gig Positions

Three models to consider:

Traditional Internal Gig:

  • No FTE requirements
  • Picks up shifts related to specialty within hired hospital
  • Can pick up shifts for cross-trained roles and areas

Innovative Internal Gig:

  • Part-time (0.6 or 0.3) employment
  • Serves as preceptor/mentor/break nurse for hired amount
  • Picks up extra shifts as the gig portion

Seasonal Gig:

  • Hired as 0.6 FTE
  • Works as 0.9 FTE during peak months and 0.3 FTE during slow census months

Secondary Internal Gig Positions

Secondary positions allow nurses to maintain their primary employment while having a second job profile for picking up extra shifts at other hospitals or areas.

Gig programs can be built at the system or hospital level depending on needs. The beauty of gig programs is that they are flexible — the examples here are simply a starting point.

Technology for Internal and External Gig Programs

Most scheduling solutions have limited open-shift recruitment and pricing automation. Filling shifts often falls to staffing offices or managers doing manual outreach for every shift.

AI-powered staffing technology can fill these gaps by automating the process through integration with the schedule. Clinicians use a mobile app, and open shifts are distributed weeks ahead of the need. When a shift is claimed, the schedule is automatically populated, removing the need for manual changes.

AI takes the gig marketplace further:

  • Personalized shift feeds — AI learns each gig worker's preferences, availability patterns, and pickup history, surfacing the shifts they're most likely to accept rather than broadcasting every opening
  • Dynamic pricing — Incentive rates adjust automatically based on shift urgency, fill probability, and available gig workforce capacity
  • Predictive distribution — Open shifts are released to gig workers at the optimal time — early enough for planning, but not so early that urgency signals are lost
  • Cross-trained matching — For gig workers with secondary job profiles, AI matches them to shifts across their qualified areas, maximizing utilization for both the worker and the organization