Which agencies are the best?

What you are looking for will not be found on this thread. You are looking for a company that will sponsor you. Agency in US nursing refers to per diem work in the US..not a permanent position.

Try posting on the International forum.

I have been with InteliStaf here in Seattle for about 13 months and I just love them. I work full-time with them. I checked out a few other agencies before signing up with InteliStaf. Here are the main reasons I chose them over some of the other agencies.

1) Choices. They have contract with all the hospitals in the area. This gives me more choices than with some other agencies.

2) Good pay rates. I don't know if InteliStaf has the best rates, but I have found they are consistently higher than Maxim and some other of the larger agencies.

3) Benifits and Insurance. I have Blue Cross/Blue Sheild health insurance through InteliStaf. I also have Dental, Vision, a 401 K plan and vacation benefits.

4) Travel Division. InteliStaf has a travel division. Although I personally have not been on a travel contract through them, I know a few of the other InteliStaf nurses I work with have. This was convenient for them because they did not have to go to another agency to get a travel contract.

5) Lots of Offices through out the US. When I was looking to sign up with an agency, I wasn't sure if I was going to remain in the Seattle area. My recruiter told me that InteliStaf had offices in most of the states, and that my file could be easily transfered to another InteliStaf office if I decided to relocate.

6) Credentialing Interview. I was told when I was hired that InteliStaf was the only agency that required their employees to go through a credentialing interview. I have talked to nurses from quite a fww other agencies, and none of them were required by their agency to go through this. While this step may make the hiring process a bit longer, I think it makes InteliStaf a more credible agency for the facilities they serve.

7) Small Things. I was unaware of this when I was hired, but the Seattle office does a good job of doing little things. I have received cards of appreciation from the staffers for picking up some late call shifts. They also have a free scrubs program in which they give you a free set of scrubs after working a certain amount of hours. I don't know if they do that in every InteliStaf office, but the Seattle office does a good job of making me feel like I am appreciated.

7) Referral Bonuses. I have made a good chunk of change from InteliStaf for just refering a few people to them. I don't spend my time recruiting other agency RNs. I don't have the time or energy for that, but I am freqently asked by other agency nurses if I am happy at InteliStaf. No agency is perfect, but from some of the horror stories I have heard from some other agency nurses, I consider myself quite lucky to be with an agency that I really enjoy.

There are also a few new things InteliStaf has added since I have been hired.

1) On-line Hiring process. One of the RNs I just recently started working with said that she completed her application and most of her paperwork on-line. I wish this feature had been available when I was hired. Another one of the RNs I work with said that she renewed her skills checklist online also.

2) JCAHO accredidation. The office here in Seattle is going through the process of being JCAHO certified. I think once they get their certification, they will be the hospital's first choice among agencies.

I would encourage you to check out a few different agencies and find which one will work best for you and your goals. For some reason or another, InteliStaf may not be the best choice for you, but I would definately encourage you to check them out.

And here are some reasons to avoid them. Weak contracts, small choice of facilities, poor pay rates, BAD BAD BAD payroll departments.

Of all the companies I have ever worked for this is THE WORST.

Never again.

I have come to the conclusion by talking with other nurses who have worked for various agencies, one office can be the worst while your next experience, with the same company, in a different city or state can be really, really good.
I understand that every agency is not going to be exactly what I want, but I'm not going to just give up on my current one because a few things have happened. After speaking to another nurse at work last night, I definately think I need to be more available and try to form some relationships with my staffing department. After all, I am here to work and they are the people that are going to call me to get me working.
Rather than give up on my current agency, I'm going to give Intelistaff a call and when one can;t work me the other one hopefully will.
I'm new to this and am trying to keep an open mind.

Intelistaf has a pretty poor record in the Kansas City area.

Makes one wonder how much attention their bloated top heavy corporate office pays to quality control and recruitment of skilled and honest office staff. In Kansas City at least, it seems they don't pay any attention at all.

Choosing an agency is really difficult and with the national agencies you can find out more about them from websites so picking through a national one is not hard at all. Personally, I tried after school looking for agencies and eventually gave up and just went with one where the recruiter just kept calling me after I talked with him and always was nice and had a good attitude. All in all if you know that you can get a certain pay with one agency the other usually can match it so just choose one where you will like the contact person that you deal with. I've worked with Medix Health here in Phoenix for a little while and found them to be nice and always able to get me where I want to go when I want it.

I have remained loyal to Kforce for years. Just started with Nursefinders but I really have gotten the best experience from Kforce in Irvine.

This post is about per diem work in California. Not the type of agency that you are looking for. These agenceis do not work with nurses without green cards and work experience in the US already.

For what you are looking for, post it in the International Forum.

can anyone recommend the best agencies to work for in London UK ? ta

I have worked for Favorite Nurses in the past and always found them very nice to deal with. They always had many shifts for me to pick from and the pay was pretty good. Check them out. They are nationwide, and do travel, contract and per diem. I also worked for All About Staffing, but they only staff at HCA hospitals - great pay also. Good luck