Re: Can/should a new grad nurse work for an agency?
Your instructors are correct! And most agencies will not hire a new graduate without any experience. Ive worked agency/travel for years before my present permanent job. Most times you get less than 4 hours of orientation to the floor, and then you are off on your own! Some hospitals I worked at were wonderful and helpful, and others the staff just didn't care or were jealous of the $$ agency RNs made, so they would let your drown before lifting a finger to help.
So you are better to have at least 1 year if not 2 years of experience and have excellent time management skills before you embark on this adventure, as you will enjoy it that much more!
if everything works as planned. I'm interested in agency work because of the flexibility (I have young children and also would like to go on with an RN program) and the chance to "check out" different facilities without being "stuck" there if I don't like it. The pay is usually better as well. However, some of our instructors are warning us not to work for agencies as new grad nurses because of our lack of experience. Since you are called when a facility is understaffed, they are not ready and willing to train you but rather expect you to know it all. One instructor in particular warned us that the reason agency nurses are paid more than non-agency nurses is because there is a greater risk of losing one's license d/t making errors in unfamiliar facilities/protocols/paperwork, etc. Is that true? Should I just work for some facility for a while and get on-the-job training before moving on to agency? I'd appreciate your input. Thanks!
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