[passing thru]

eddy, thanks for the images.
Nurse 4 God, I PM'd you. Good thread.

[BadBird]

If you were only getting $4.00/hr more as a agency RN then you were way underpaid. Hope you are happy as staff as for me, I'll stick to agency. Isn't free choice a nice thing.

[mattsmom81]

I was finding myself making about the same as PRN staff with my last agency. Shocked me a bit. So I went back on PRN at my local hospital. I'm finding PRN's get paid a lot better these past few years (at least in my parts)!

I'm sure I'll find a better agency soon, as I will get sick of hospital politics and want to supplement with some agency again...

[NURS4GOD]

You know, it is funny how quickly I found myself (now as "STAFF") looking at the agency folks and thinking..."Why do WE have so many of THEM here tonight???!!!??? It is so easy to be a snob!!
Anyway, just an update. I am really enjoying my new position and MOST of the people that I work with. It is really great to be the place that God has for you to be!!!
Becky

[mattsmom81]

Yup..the us against them mentality is alive and well in nursing.

Nights against days, agency against staff, management vs bedside....

[Kansas Anne]

This is my first time here--enjoying the threads.
Am doing agency nursing for now--not bad, pay is ok. Had a health crisis 4 yrs. ago, and had to leave nursing for a while, and so the agency job--high tech peds works for me. The benefits are poor. Hopefully as my health improves, I will find a different job that pays better, with better benefits. Although at this point I feel like I have "lost ground" in my nursing skills. The job is over when the pt. I care for no longer qualifies for nursing care, and the agency is not known to actively keep their nurses working.
Enjoy peds--wish the health thing was not such an issue yet.

[nadia562002]

I just finished nursing school but have worked for an agency for the past 2 years as a home health aid. The upside to working for the agency is that they offer flexibility while other jobs may not. I could work full time whereever I was needed during school breaks. The downside to working for an agency is that the hours can be extremely volitile. I could put in 40+ hours one week and barely 10 the next. They also did not place me with any regular clients because they felt that they needed me more as a fill in. FIll in work can easily lead to burnout because you never know what kind of client you are gonna get. The clients do not appreciate you either.
My other beef with agency nursing is that they think that if they give you a 40 hour work week, it means taking up just 40 hours. I have been working 7 days a week to get my 40 hours. It sucks. At least I will be taking my NCLEX on June 30th. I have a terrific job waiting for me at a major university upon passing where I work a regular 5 day work week. I want my regular 8 hour shifts back.
Well, this is just my oppinion and just had to vent. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

[nightingale]

Nadia: Wecome to the board. Good luck on your NCLEX!

Kansas: Wecome to the Board. I hope you find the right nitch for your needs.

[graysonret]

Except for 3 years as a visiting Hospice nurse, and 1 year in hospital, I've been an agency nurse(12 years). I work with 2 agencies and the field has its ups and downs, work wise. Right now, it's been slow for me, but it will pick up again. I enjoy the freedom, but I can be my own worse boss too. LOL. Hope things work out well for you, nurs4god. Sometimes, agency work can be frustrating. Better for some to have a full time position, but not for me. Good luck! BTW, I was down around your area a couple of weeks ago, camping. Great area.

[asil]

Best of luck. I will being going "on staff" asap as well.