I'm new to agency. Any advice???

Specialties Agency

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Specializes in ICU, home health, public health.

I've been a nurse for 2 years and the only area I've worked is ICU. I've a 2 month old baby and need to have more flexibility in my schedule to be able to meet family obligations as well. So, I decided to go agency and see if it works. I'm about to start per diem in a small hospital around Pasadena-TX. I've heard that the staff at this hospital is very friendly but still I'm really anxious because apparently they offer no orientation. After talking to the agency about it, it seems that it's very common for hospitals to offer no orientation whatsoever to agency/travel nurses. I just stop working for a HCA facility here in Houston and I know they give orientation to agency nurses but it doesn't seem to be the rule for every hospital. It sounds pretty scary to me. My other fear is that even having 2 years of experience, there are lots of skills that I still need to learn and practice to be able to be more proficient at them. Just time and practice will bring this expertise. In your experience, how good is the staff at the hospitals in helping agency nurses with questions and patient care? Are they willing to help or they'd rather see you sink? For instance, my IV skills are not the best. Working in ICU where most pts are elderly, you deal more w/ "spider veins" than real veins and in my former job, the more experienced nurses would help a lot (after I tried it myself a couple of times). What has been your experience in HCA hospitals in Houston as an agency nurse??? I have heard horror stories... Thank you.

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You sound very insecure. I hope that you are able to hold your own in an agency role. There is not a good track record reported for agency nurses getting lots of help and support in their jobs. You also need to consider that there is usually something inherently wrong with a place that has to resort to staffing agencies to get workers. Good luck.

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Specializes in ICU, home health, public health.

Yes, I'm a scared but I'll try it and see how it goes. This hospital is a small one with only 8 ICU beds. Another agency nurse who used to work with me in my previous job, has been there and said the acuity is low and I'll be able to handle it ok. She told me to give a try and see how it goes.

Here in Houston the shortage is so bad that every hospital has tons of agency nurses working. You can count in one hand hospitals that don't resort to agency here and believe me to work for these hospitals is very competitive because they pay well, they are magnet hospitals and they provide their staff w/ equipment and support to provide pts with the best care possible. But this is a minority not majority. The big ones as HCA hospitals and Memorial Hermann(s) have to get agency nurses or they have to close doors... So you have some idea how bad it's... I used to work for a hospital with 22 beds. The shortage of nurses was so bad at nights that every night (still nowadays) you'd see at least 9 agency nurses working with us. They work so often there that they became a part of the staff... meaning we all hang around, ate together, helped each other, talked, played around and so on... I surely miss them... So, here in Houston almost every big hospital hires agency nurses.

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some will eat u raw, trust me u get paid more than they do n u want THEM to HELP U?????? think again u have to be VERY independent, work well on ur own, think quick and hold ur own together, if u are this insecure i would suggest u stay where u are and go partime 2 days a wk .....some staff r great but know that U R D OUTCAST.....it takes time to earn their trust to prove that u can do d job so DONT count on THEM helping U OUT...u might not be so lucky ...u need thick skin and quickness about u.....trust me i know i am an AGENCY RN

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also u cant go there letting them know u dont have basic skills...u have to be very confident...if i never did something b4 i watch one time show me do me style and i get it done like ive been doing it all lmy life.......

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Specializes in Cardiac/Med Surg.

hi

i have just applied at an agency in south florida, and was wondering about the test you have to take before you get placed..i work tele/imcu now but we have great monitor techs and a lower patient ratio..i am confident, been nursing over 2 years and need extra money..willing to work hard and I work nights so they were happy..even some have 10p-7a, which i worked in the lab for 25 years so that would be easy..i was told that orientation would be the first 4 hours of my shift and that i had to go to a 4hr computer orientation for cleveland clinic since they are computerized which would help me when my hospital goes online. I figure I have nothing to lose, right..can always not accept the job but don't think I will have a problem

any other suggestions? helpful ideas?

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oh my lord, why are some making her even more nervous about agency nursing? I agree, try it out and if its not for you you don't have to continue it.

With the time you will get used to being in new situations and you will become very quick to adapt, to learn and it'll be a great training for you in the future to rely on yourself.

please see this thread, i also wrote a reply in it and my answer there can as well apply to your thread. https://allnurses.com/agency-nurses/help-me-get-368592.html here's what I wrote there and this is my answer for you as well :)

Agency nursing CAN be scary but you will get used to it and being in new situations, new specialities and new wards will become a routine for you.

I remember myself the evening my agency called me for the first time assigning me to a shift for the next day. I had never worked in a hospital before at that stage, was new to the country (only worked 5 months in a nursing home prior to this) I was over my nursing books for the half night crying being sure to stuff up the next day. At the same time my agency asked me to avoid mentioning that I had no hospital experience since my internships during the nursing training. And was there a reason to feel like that? For some reason things went good. I observed the staff what they did and started doing the same things. Most of the things i could relate from my internships, basic post op care, monitoring vital signs. When i wasnt sure i just bluntly asked. I ended up working for 4 weeks in that ward, so it cant have been too bad :) I have been a fulltime agency nurse since that time. nearly 6 months now :)

Usually hospitals are aware of the fact that you're having your first day on the ward. If you have no clue what to do follow a basic nursing routine that somehow repeats itself everywhere. Do the obs, the meds, find out what procedures/investigations patients have, write them down. Inquire about the ward routine regarding preparations. Avoid answering the phone on ur first day and concentrate on the basic nursing. If you are working in a speciality you haven't worked in before do some reading the day before it, ask someone you know or even your agency about the routine in that speciality.

Hey comeon you are a very experienced nurse, you will be soo fine if unexperienced chickens like me could do it!! Please let us know how things go!!

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Specializes in ICU, home health, public health.
oh my lord, why are some making her even more nervous about agency nursing? I agree, try it out and if its not for you you don't have to continue it.

With the time you will get used to being in new situations and you will become very quick to adapt, to learn and it'll be a great training for you in the future to rely on yourself.

please see this thread, i also wrote a reply in it and my answer there can as well apply to your thread. https://allnurses.com/agency-nurses/help-me-get-368592.html here's what I wrote there and this is my answer for you as well :)

Agency nursing CAN be scary but you will get used to it and being in new situations, new specialities and new wards will become a routine for you.

I remember myself the evening my agency called me for the first time assigning me to a shift for the next day. I had never worked in a hospital before at that stage, was new to the country (only worked 5 months in a nursing home prior to this) I was over my nursing books for the half night crying being sure to stuff up the next day. At the same time my agency asked me to avoid mentioning that I had no hospital experience since my internships during the nursing training. And was there a reason to feel like that? For some reason things went good. I observed the staff what they did and started doing the same things. Most of the things i could relate from my internships, basic post op care, monitoring vital signs. When i wasnt sure i just bluntly asked. I ended up working for 4 weeks in that ward, so it cant have been too bad :) I have been a fulltime agency nurse since that time. nearly 6 months now :)

Usually hospitals are aware of the fact that you're having your first day on the ward. If you have no clue what to do follow a basic nursing routine that somehow repeats itself everywhere. Do the obs, the meds, find out what procedures/investigations patients have, write them down. Inquire about the ward routine regarding preparations. Avoid answering the phone on ur first day and concentrate on the basic nursing. If you are working in a speciality you haven't worked in before do some reading the day before it, ask someone you know or even your agency about the routine in that speciality.

Hey comeon you are a very experienced nurse, you will be soo fine if unexperienced chickens like me could do it!! Please let us know how things go!!

Thank you so much for your words of encouragement. I've been talking to many pple and they all tell me to go and try it. I agree w/ you. I'll feel better as time goes by and I learn more and most importantly, feel more confident about my own skills. Mostly, it's just the fear of not having anybody to "hold my hand" so to speak. It's like moving out for the first time! In my previous job (the only one as a nurse), all the season nurses were there for me ( and all new grads for that matter) holding our hands and protecting us. They used to call me their "baby nurse". My preceptor (tough as a nail.. that nurse gave me the hardest time ever for my own good...) had a hard time to let me go. She would be around me all the time until somebody told her that she had to let it go... So even though they let me do my work on my own, I knew I could ask for help if something new showed up or if I wasn't sure of something. They would not treat me as if I were stupid. Besides that, we all were helpfull towards agency nurses which kinda molded my atittude towards them because the patient always came first and we needed the extra help. We were there for the patients, not to make each other's lives miserable. Besides, as known, agency is not a previledge of a few ones. It's there to whoever wants to go for it. If agency nurses make more money, good for them. Being jealousy of something that you can accomplish but choses to stay in your comfort zone instead, it's your problem, not anybody else's. So if an agency nurse was having a hard time and asked for help, we all would jump in and help her out as if she were staff because she was part of the team and if one falls... we all fall. I remember spending my entire shift helping one w/ meditech documentation of restraints. She was so happy that when she said bye, she had tears in her eyes. She said she had never been treat as a human being working as an agency nurse. It broke my heart. I was like... what the heck... with this shortage or nurses.. other nurses are still eating their own? How ridiculous can that be. Guess what? She came back many times because we were professional... and believe me... we need that help or some of us would be tripled out... and that is not fun in an ICU setting w/ crashing pts...So, my fear is more related to having unwilling people to help out (even if it's at the patient's expenses) and also because w/ 2 years of experience there is NO way one can be exposed to everything... but again... aren't we nurses learning every day???? Even those season nurses who are on the floor for 20 and some years are learning and asking questions. If they have problems with me asking questions and/or asking for help when I need... let them do the job of 4 nurses by themselves then. Too bad for them. I have thick skin and I'm stubborn. I will ask questions and I'll want the answers... because before any animosities... comes the patient. That is my take on staff who wants to give agencies a hard time... I'll keep you posted on my experiences....:nuke:

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Specializes in Tele; Med/Surg; ED.

I've worked as an agency nurse in the Houston area for a couple of years now. All of the hospitals need us whether they are a "good' place to work or not. I've never had a problem with anybody helping me with something if I ask for it. You do need to be assertive and confident with yourself and your skills as a nurse.

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Specializes in ICU.

I worked with all about staffing for a few years, worked icu in almost every facility they have in Houston.

It will take time for you to get used to being the agency nurse. Just be flexible and remember that you should be able to have a five minute orientation on the unit and then you're off and running. It's going to be hard the first few days, but you will get the hang of it. And before you know it, you will be able to work anywhere without batting an eyelash.

The money is good. The flexibility is awesome and it is what you need right now. So, give it a try. I'm sure you will do fine. Even though you will be the agency nurse , I honestly believe that most other icu nurses you'll be working with will be good and will want to help you. That is what makes an icu nurse.... Team work makes a good icu nurse.

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Specializes in hospital,telemetry,geriatrics,agency.

Hi there!

Please do not worry.I have been an agency nurse for the past 5 yrs,before that I worked in a hospital and nursing home.When I did my first agency case it was a bit rough.I had no orientation and noone to guide me,but I was ok.You will be ok.Once you get used to learning all the ins and outs of all the places you go,it will be easier.I built up a good repour with alot of the nurses where I went.I was actually asked to orientate new staff coming in as I had been at a few places long enough I was like staff.I like not being committed to any one place and less politics.If you dont like going somewhere you tell your agency I would prefer not to go there.Give every place a try.I have learned that some hate a certain place and I will be the one to absolutely love it.We are all different.It is not scary or undoable once you find your groove.You can do it!!! My only suggestion to you is to carry your own ,as we are considered independent contractors and we want to protect our licenses that we have worked so hard for.Best of luck to you!!! :)

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Specializes in Cardiac/Med Surg.

Start on thursday, had orientation for 4 hours today on computerized charting...everyone there that said they had worked there as a agency nurse had a good experience..so hopefully will be good experience

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