Agency Experience?

I currently work as a staff nurse in a MICU, but am having a lot of trouble with the way I am being scheduled. I was thinking of sticking this out for at least a year and then going agency, working only ICU assignments so that I would have more flexibility. Can anyone tell me if the experience I would get through agency nursing (ICU) would count toward the critical care experience, or if this would possibly hurt my chances during application?

Thanks!

Yes, this type of experience counts. As to whether it hurts your application, it really depends on what types of assignments you take. It would be best to accept assignments from larger hospital systems and not small rural systems as your experiences will probably be better at the bigger places. Being flexible and adaptable are good qualities in a CRNA and you can argue that point during your interviews. Good luck to you.

skipaway, crna

My best friend who has been a CRNA for several years now worked as a traveler for about five years before she was accepted to school without any issues. It gave her a great diversity of types of patients.

i am an agency nurse. i made sure that i let the schools know that i had been contracted on various critical care units from some of the "best" hospitals in the chicagoland area. I even included some recommendations from supervisors while on assignment. i think it can show your ability to work under pressure while adapting to varying environments. i feel agency can teach you independance because of so many units that dump on you and lack a willingness to help. in essense, it can sharpen your decision making skills. of course i did it to pay back some bills, but in the end i treated it like one big learning experience. nursing is a job of common goals. it was nice to see how various facilities take different paths to reach the same place. i.e. preferencial drugs etc.

chris

I am currently working agency in ICU areas only, and making application to NA schools. At one interview I had last year, I got a little flustered (hopefully not noticeably so) because I had worked in more than one unit and the interviewer viewed it as being restless and not willing to make a commitment. Since then, I've been agency. I will push the adaptability, use of critical thinking skills, and vast learning experience of the travel nurse in my next interview. Having no teaching hospitals in my home area motivated me to travel, and now I have spent time in several large teaching-hospital units. I believe the variety and environment of this type of hospital are worthy of notice on application. Just my opinion, but I'm sticking to it.

Agency Can be looked in a couple different ways in my opinion. First you could say that you are agency for financial preparation. Second for a variety of assignments. However the problem with agency at times can be the type of patients that units will allow you to take care of. Some units only give there most critical patients to their core staff. I knew of a agency person that applied who I thought was a solid candidate and see did not get in. She got an impression from the interview that being agency was not a strong selling point on her application.

I have been a traveler for 2 1/2 years in a large MST-ICU and I think it helped me get accepterd to my first and only choice, on my first try. I used many of the above pints in my essay: flexibility, adaptability, self reliance etc. It must have hit home becuase i got the slot. Good luck. I woudl definitely say that the bigger the hospital the better the oppurtunity looks.

Brian

I must admit I was a bit nervous going into my first Crna program interview in fear of the board questioning me about being a traveler. I travelled in PICU's for 2 years before I just resettled in a 40 bed adult SICU/MICU. My interview was very positive and the director praised me for travelling. He felt it showed that I was flexible. He also stated that he felt people who travel realize that there is not just one "right way" to doing something. I was very surprised by his response! And, I agree with him. Having a 2 day orientation and then being out on a unit on your own (and obviously performing with compassion and competency) proves that you have to be somewhat gutsy and flexible! Good LucK!

YEAH, Travelers RULE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was a travel nurse before applying to CRNA school. It can definitely add many positives to your application as previous posters have mentioned. The only thing that was a problem for me, was finding a good reference. You will need a reference from a co-worker and from your current supervisor. As an agency/travel nurse, you don't form those strong, long-term relationships with your co-workers and your nurse manager. While they will probably gladly fill out the reference form, this isn't always enough. Other applicants will have letters from nurse managers that have worked with them for years and know first hand what an excellent person/practicioner they are. You will really need to find someone that will sit down and write a long, sincere letter to the school. It's hard to ask someone that has only known you for a short time to do that, and most schools will want a rec from a current supervisor. I still think the positives outweigh the negatives, but just keep that in mind when you go to apply.

One thing that I always do with all of my reference letter writers, is that i give them a copy of my CURRENT resume, with a clearly stated goal, and I also give them a letter which outlines some thing sthat they may want to include, for example:

My college professor may not remember off hand what I did for extra curricular nursing school activities. But a short list will remind them.

I write down what the admission council is interewsted in, Example: Hemodynamic, complicated cases, vent management.

Try to give the writer a clear understanding of what you.

Write down personal specific's, otherwise your letter may sound like eveyr other form letter they recieve. You want yours to stand out!!

good luck

Brian

I must admit I was a bit nervous going into my first Crna program interview in fear of the board questioning me about being a traveler. I travelled in PICU's for 2 years before I just resettled in a 40 bed adult SICU/MICU. My interview was very positive and the director praised me for travelling. He felt it showed that I was flexible. He also stated that he felt people who travel realize that there is not just one "right way" to doing something. I was very surprised by his response! And, I agree with him. Having a 2 day orientation and then being out on a unit on your own (and obviously performing with compassion and competency) proves that you have to be somewhat gutsy and flexible! Good LucK!

Travelling does show how you can quickily adapt to different situations. I did one travel assignment and realized it was not for me. So places use you as hired help contracting you for a specific unit and working you all over the hospital. So after too many nights in the ER and some on tele floor I decided it was time to get something permenent.