agency nursing??

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Specializes in neonatal, womens health.

I am thinking of working as a agency nurse in a new location, to find out where i'd like to work before applying for a full time position. I've never worked agency before, does this seem like a good idea?? Any tips would be great..

Also can you salary package as an agency nurse??

Thank you, kim

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It could definitely be a good way to get inside of different units to see if you like the staff, ancillary help, management, etc.

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Specializes in PACU, CARDIAC ICU, TRAUMA, SICU, LTC.

I worked for an agency and I really enjoyed it. I worked in a medical corrections unit for 7 months, a GI clinic for 6 weeks, and a detox center for 1 1/2 years. The only reason I stopped was due to the economy. Health care facilities pay BIG bucks to nursing agencies; many have formed their own pools. In the area where I live and work, I know of NO hospital or out pt. facility that currently employs agency nurses. Agency work is not guaranteed hours by any means. The agency I worked for took a stand with the health care facilities that utilized their services; the agency must be given a four hour notice of cancellation of a shift. If this did not occur, the facility had to pay for four hours of services (as stated in the agency contract). The money was great, the benefits lousy, although I did get health insurance (I signed a commitment of 32 hours/week). What I liked most about it was working in fields of nursing that I would have never considered. Secondly, you don't get caught up in the "nonsense;" I did my work and went home.

It was a nice change, and if not for the economy and cuts in health care reimbursement, I would probably still be doing it.

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Specializes in school RN, CNA Instructor, M/S.

You might want to look at travel nursing instead. some include moving expenses, housing, insurance it depends on what u negotiate for yourself. the assignments can be a short as 13 weeks so if you hate the place you are out in 3 months with good behavior(lol)! Just a suggestion!!

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Specializes in Med/Surg, DSU, Ortho, Onc, Psych.

Agency nursing in Australia can be good money.

Not all shifts are guaranteed; quite often you are booked and shifts are cancelled, (as patients get discharged, etc).

You can usually choose what days/hours you want. If you work weekends though you will get put in a higher tax bracket, so it may not be worth it.

Some agencies are great; others suck badly & are extremely inflexible. They have c**p attitudes & expect you to drop everything and run out to a shift (yeah, great idea if you have little kids!) Some try to push you into working on your days off and to travel further and further when you don't really want to.

When you join an agency, be firm. Tell them EXACTLY what you want, and ensure they record it (ie: I don't want to work weekends etc). Then they can't turn around and say they didn't know (I've had some nurse managers at agencies say things like this to me). Insist on good wages, after all, you are on call and that can be very inconvenient. And you ARE helping the hospitals out by going to their shifts.

I would recommend Mediserve - they are in every state/territory & capital city - fantastic & very understanding consultants. Their website: http://mediserve.com.au

Some nurse agency managers are too psychotic for words.....just do a few shifts with a couple of them to test them, then if they you bad, tell them you are leaving as there are PLENTY of nursing agencies - some also pay better than others, so ring them and ask them what their pay rates are.

Good luck.

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