1st job at a medical staffing service

Nurses LPN/LVN

Published

I am a new LPN. No previous medical experence. I just got hired as a medical staffing agency, to be sent to different facilities. My concern is if this a good idea. I totally did not ask about training periods. Why did I not ask about training. Now that I am thinking about it. I kind of assume there isn't one. Oh my I don't wanna be thrown to the wolves.

Anyone know how medical staffing agencies typically work and if this is a bad move?

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I just accepted a position at a medical staffing agency. I didn't ask much about training and I should have. Ugh. I am a new nurse with no medical experence outside clinical.

I am a nervous wreck now that I'm thinking about it. Will I be thrown to the wolves? Anyone familiar with how medical staffing usually work? This isn't home care so I'm a little uneasy about going to facilities with 0 experence and if I will get some training or not.

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

These are jobs for experienced nurses that require minimal orientation and can basically walk in the door, be shown where to find stuff , basic charting and off to work. The facilities will give you a brief orientation but no training as they are expecting a competent nurse ready to work.

As a new grad you really need a staff job with a proper orientation to guide you as you begin your career.

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Since you are a new LPN, I would not recommend this course of action. Working agency requires a strong set of skills as a foundation. Things can be chaotic, and you will be expected to be able to function in that enviornment. Agency work oftentimes involves walking into a questionable situation and creating order out of chaos in my experiences inofar. You must be prepared to adapt on the fly to any number of happenings.

In example, last night I showed up to a place Id filled in for a number of times. There were no CNA's for 37 patients. Guess who got to do it all? Or last weekend when I went to a brand new facility. There were 4 codes in the building. Although they were not my patients, I needed to step up and take charge. The other nurses were standing there frozen just staring at the patient. Force of will won't restart a stopped heart or restore respiration in a downed patient. Neither will a panic reflex.

Things happen. My experiences with agency have been such that you absolutely must have a solid set of skills as a foundation. Therefore my recommendation is not to go that route until you are comfortable functioning as an LPN. Your agency should know better than to literally throw you to the wolves by hiring and working you.

TL/DR version: Agency is best done by nurses with experience.

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Thank you all :)

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