Truths of Agency/Travel Nursing

Specialties Agency

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Specializes in CVICU.

Theses are many of the truths I came to the know after doing many years of agency and travel nursing. Feel free to add on if there are any you came to know that I have not listed.

1. Nobody cares what you did before

2. Nobody wants to hear how you did things at your old job

3. Contrary to what you might think or have been told, you were not hired because of your valuble skills and experience.

4. You are a bandaid

5. Until the staff gets to know you, you will most likely be given the patients that none of them want.

6. Prepare to clean up a lot of stool

7. You need to be a quick learner.

8. You will not be given a full orientation, so get over it.

9. When going to a place for the first time show up early and give yourself a tour if need be so you know where things are at the start of your shift.

10. After doing agency work for a while, all you will need to start the shift is to know where the coffee and the bathroom is, the rest you deal with on an as needed basis.

11. Be flexible. If you are needed in a different area than you were hired for, refer to #4

12. If you can fill a need for the ageny at the last minute, they will love you. It makes them look great to thier client.

13. Instead of complaining, remember that you are being paid handsomely for what you are doing.

14. If you are an ICU nurse you might be asked to work on a Med-Surg/Tele Unit. Get over it. See #4, #11 and #13

Specializes in Peds, Med-Surg, Disaster Nsg, Parish Nsg.

Moved to Agency Nursing forum for better discussion.

Specializes in Med/Surg, DSU, Ortho, Onc, Psych.

'Paid handsomely for what I do'??? No way am I paid what I am worth! I'm only staying in this job to get approval for a home loan for now, otherwise, if my pay doesn't increase soon, it will be asta-la-vista agency!

I don't think we're paid enough for the amount of times I've gone in at the last moment (literally been BEGGED to go in), & the times I've run around to 4-5 different departments, just when I've got my patient list sorted & work organised. We also don't get a 'bonus' for being on call, like some people seem to get.

Under law with the agency I'm at, a full orientation and documentation saying such has been done must be instituted, the it's faxed thru to the agency. If it's not done on the first shift, it must be done the next time u go there.

I'm going to start my own thread re agencies and they way we are treated sometimes, as happened to me yesterday.

How would everyone cope without us I wonder?

Specializes in ER.

I just want to add that there are many reasons why a nurse signed up for travel/agency and it is not only because she/he cannot get a permanent position. But because she prefers to work around her family's schedule. For me for instance, family comes first. With agency, I can pick days to work or not. I spend all holidays with my family. Work weekends if I want to and not because I have to.:p

Please Repost this in the Travel Nursing section... There's a few people over there that need to read this a few times...

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