Anyone tried agency nursing...

babynurselsa, RN · Sep 23, 2005

I say go for it. Just be very careful not to allow yourself into an area for which you have no training or competency. Some less than scrupulous agencies will try this on you. Some hospital staffing offices also have the mentality that a nurse is a nurse is a nurse. I work ER and NICU. I will refuse any assignment that tries to place me in say ICU, Ortho etc. I don't know nothing about caring for a total hip.

jenlynnrn · Nov 5, 2005

I just started agency myself and although I have 3 years ICU background, that is all the experience I have, so I am consider myself sill a little new nurse. I went from ICU to Cath lab and my agencies all want me to work ICU but feel I can't b/c I lack the experience.....PACU I can do and have been doing nicely. Anyway we are in demand, tell them what you want, and what you don't want.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Nov 8, 2005

You'll never know until you give it a try. I mostly worked for Favorite Nurses. That's because I always got work from them. They respected my request to only place me in certain facilities I had designated, so I was kind of used to how things were done in those places. The only downside is that they would wait until 2 hours before the start of a shift before calling to cancel me. Sometimes as they were cancelling me they would offer an alternative spot in another facility that I didn't usually go to. It was up to me to say yes or no and was not considered refusing an assignment if I said no in a situation like that. If you turn down too many assignments that you are offered, they will stop calling you.

SWRN84 · Nov 8, 2005

I worked for Favorite Nurses doing home health visits. I have often wished I had more recent hospital experience and could work agency that way. I have friends who do it and wouldn't work any other way.

LAM2005 · Nov 12, 2005

I have worked agency nursing for the past 6 years, and although it has its disadvantages, I LOVE IT!! Being a single mom of 2 teenagers, it allows me the freedom I need to spread my time with their schedules as well and of course to decide when I need a break for myself. In my experience as an agency nurse, I find that you need the confidence to go into strange and unfamiliar settings and do your job. Most of the time, the staffing at these settings are wonderful with helping you out in the areas that you are unfamiliar with, such as the paperwork or computers. These facilities also offer an orientation to familiarize you with their facilities. I have only been "thrown" into situations without an orientation per my choice, not often, but a few times, and believe it or not, you do survive. The one important thing you have to remember when you are an agency nurse and you are walking into the unknown is that your patient is TOP PRIORITY. Always ask when your not sure, for such things as, and what I find the most important, it knowing who your patients are, especially in a long care facility setting. Also remember, your a nurse, you were trained to do your nursing skills no matter where you work...the only thing that changes with agency nursing is the faces and the paper work, charting, etc....and those come to you easier than what most people think. GOOD LUCK TO YOU!!!!

barefootlady, ADN, RN · Nov 12, 2005

Each nurse has a different story to tell regarding the agency nursing experience. You will never know how yours will be until you give it a try. Please do research and find an agency with a good reputation, that seems to be where many nurses experience a negative outcome. The agency is not as ethical and truthful as it should be. Good luck and let us know how it goes if you give agency nursing a try.

tencat · Nov 12, 2005

I was wondering something about agency work. Are you allowed to take time off between contracts? Can you say "I won't be available for the next two weeks" after you've fulfilled a contract? I was just wondering. Thanks.

suebird3 · Nov 12, 2005

the 3 agencies i worked for gave us a test, showing us strengths and weaknesses. that helped.

[color=#483d8b]

[color=#483d8b]suebird :chuckle

deltaroxxy2 · Nov 12, 2005

Hi,

I did agency nursing for a year. The advantages for me you:

1. Flexibility

2. Change of pace.

3. Increased pay.

Disadvantage

1. Sometimes they tried putting me on floors where I wasn't properly trained.

2.If anything goes wrong, some RNs try to pin it on the "AGENCY" RN.

3. Unless you are assigned to a certain floor for a period of time, the regular RNs really don't know you and sometimes they can be a bit reserved.

Overall I did enjoy the experience and would probably do it again.

Good Luck!!

Roxanne

suzanne4, RN · Nov 12, 2005

I was wondering something about agency work. Are you allowed to take time off between contracts? Can you say "I won't be available for the next two weeks" after you've fulfilled a contract? I was just wondering. Thanks.

Agency work is different from a travel contract. It is considered per diem work, you only work when you want to and there is a shift available for you. Your hours are not normally guaranteed.

So there are normally not contracts per se, you can work as much as you want, or as little.

LAM2005 · Nov 12, 2005

Tencat,

In regards to taking time off, yes, if you fulfill your contract obligation and go to your scheduled work days, you can take as much time off as you need. I do this sometimes myself. For instance, this past summer, I worked 27 days from the beginning of July until the beginning of August on a contract, after I completed the contract, I told my agency that I was taking 14 days off to go to Myrtle Beach...it works out great. I guess personally, you don't have to ask permission with agency, you don't have to put in for time off, etc., however...the disadvantage is that you do have to be disciplined because you take the chance of being cancelled by the facility that you were scheduled with and that means that you have to do make up time. I find myself, that if I get cancelled during the week one day, I might have to pick up one day of the weekend. But it doesn't bother me as I don't do it all the time. Hope I answered your question ok, if you have anymore, please write.