Have you ever worked through a agency?

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I am a new nursing grad and looking for a job. Would you give some advice for being agency nurse?

Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.

I wouldn't have minded your answer but you started out with "WRONG". That goes beyond blunt and is rude.

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Specializes in They know this too!.

I think I have seen some New Grad ads for PDN a few years ago. I remember a family hired the New Grad with no experience over me. Needless to say anything is possible. I don't live in the area anymore so I am not sure if they still do it the same. I do see New Grad agency ads for School Nurses. My experience as I was way too nervous to work for agency as a brand new nurse and never thought I would. I began working agency after a year in LTC and then again a year after getting hospital experience. It brought me to Travel and now I am back working for agency.

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To the OP. As others have stated agency may not be the best place for a new grad. You literally have NO orientation and training, It can be difficult going into different enviornments and specialties as an experienced nurse much less as a new grad. Is there a particular reason you are interested in agency nursing ? Have you been applying elsewhere and how is your search going ?

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Specializes in Hyperbaric Medicine and Wound Care.

There seems to be an erroneous assumption that all agency work is in the field of home health. As a new nurse I worked for an agency that staffed LTC call off's. It didn't require that much orientation due to it being mostly med passes and wound care/dressing changes. If you can find one of these agencies it is a fantastic way to gain some experience, especially in standard patient care i.e. IV start/stop, bag hanging, BGL/Insulin admin., and time management ( I rarely worked a shift where I didn't have less than 25 patients. My advice to a new nurse would be to start off on 3rd shift. The patients are, generally, asleep, no management around, and no family members to hassle you.

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There seems to be an erroneous assumption that all agency work is in the field of home health. As a new nurse I worked for an agency that staffed LTC call off's. It didn't require that much orientation due to it being mostly med passes and wound care/dressing changes. If you can find one of these agencies it is a fantastic way to gain some experience, especially in standard patient care i.e. IV start/stop, bag hanging, BGL/Insulin admin., and time management ( I rarely worked a shift where I didn't have less than 25 patients. My advice to a new nurse would be to start off on 3rd shift. The patients are, generally, asleep, no management around, and no family members to hassle you.

I was scoping out the agency forum and was very happy to read this. I am a new grad and I just signed up with an agency that staffs LTCs. I AM doing 3rd shift. I am hoping this is a great place to start while I build up my resume and gain some experience.

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Specializes in Emergency.

I have a whopping 1.5 months of nursing experience (but a 20 year medical background) and an agency wants to place me in home health, corrections and similar jobs that most agency nurses don't want. I'll take it, it's all experience I can add to my resume. (My month and half experience is LTC/SNF, I will also per diem that given a chance.)

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Specializes in LTC and Pediatrics.

There are two different kinds of agencies: Private Duty Nurse and Per Diem (work in hospitals or LTC). I don't know what or if Medicare/Medicaid has rules regarding experience, but I think that they don't. I have a friend who did pediatric private duty straight out of nursing school. I do the per diem facility (LTC) after one year of experience. For hospital per diem, they usually want 2 years experiences.

I enjoy what I am doing and I always work NOCs

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Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.

None of the agencies I've worked for whether private duty or Medicare/Medicaid facilities ever wanted a specific amount of experience. As with any place you work, some are good and some are horrible. When I was a new grad I got hired by an agency who said they required at least a year of med-surg experience because the client lived across the street and his mom liked me and threatened to go to a different agency who had already hired me.

I have to disagree about working the night shift as a new grad. If, as the poster stated, all the residents are sleeping, what can you possibly learn? If there are no management people around and very few other nurses who will you ask questions to? Learning to deal with families is a very valuable skill you won't learn over night unless you have those pesky family members who think it's their right to camp in the patients room.

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