Are new grads hired for agency work?

rn/writer, RN · May 30, 2006

I can't tell you specifically about AZ, but I can say that I don't know of any reputable agencies that will hire nurses without any experience, either for home health or hospital work. In home health, especially, you have to be extremely confident and capable in your skills--there is no immediate co-worker to ask for a quick look at something you're unsure of. You can call a peer or a manager, but you're pretty much on your own in the short term.

If I were a new grad, I wouldn't WANT to be on my own in home health until I'd had a couple of years of good solid med/surg care under my belt. For my own sake as well as that of my patients.

But it may be a moot point. Agencies generally have minimum requirements for any specialty area they would send a nurse into. The good ones, that is. Who knows what the bad ones might do. But then, the next question is, how long would an inexperienced nurse--and her license--last in such an environment

nightingale, RN · May 30, 2006

Hello,
I am new to allnurses.com and would like to know if new grads are hired as home health employees in Arizona.
Thanks

[MOUSE]Welcome![/MOUSE] I am glad you have found us.

You are on the Agency Forum, and perhaps you want your post in on the Home Health Forum; let me know if you want it moved and I will do so. For now, here is the Home Health Forum Link:

Home Health Forum

I agree, you do have to have at least a year, preferably two years expereince as a Hospital Nurse (usually med surg) to be comfortable with your skills etc. In today environment, you may find a Home Health Agency is willling to place you sooner (not good for the patient or your license). The conversations on the Home Health Forum will be enlightening and rewarding in obtaining information in helping with your decisions on when you are ready; if not, pose those questions yourself.

Please let us know how we can help you.

luvmy2angels · May 30, 2006

Were I live there is only one agency that will hire new grads. most of them require that you have at least 6 months to a year experience and they prefer if you have hospital experience.

MTBanRN · Jun 12, 2006

Yes, new grads are hired by agencies. There should be some type of clinical experience and licenses for the ststes that they are interested in working for. The clinical experience will assist with the new grads gaining employment but it will not assist them with getting the salary desired. The most a new grad will be able to get is the state they are intersted in working for and the hours they want to work. They would definitely have to have their visa's. The good agencies will hire them.

Trauma Columnist · Jun 12, 2006

MtBanRN - I think you might be discussing agencies for international students/RNs. This thread is about agency nursing in the US. It refers to nurses who work for an agency and then get assigned to different hospitals to work - temporary work. It doesn't require a visa or anything like that. However, new grads would not be the best in this situation because experience is what they are counting on.

JohnBearPA · Jun 28, 2006

The two agencies I work for will take on new grads, but both agencies are run BY nurses, FOR nurses, and both owners graduated from my nursing school, and realize the education and clinical experience that my school (which is rated as "the best" in my area) provides. I would strongly suggest some hosp. or LTC experience tho, because it sure was a different world out there from what it was when I was in school!

eddy · Jul 5, 2006

Agencies that hire new grads are not fit to be in business in my opinion. Their Liability Insurance company would probably agree. That aside though, due to the nature of having to often just "jump in" to a difficult situation, I would HIGHLY suggest that you get a minimum of 1 year experience before going the agency route.

NewYorkCityRN · Jul 6, 2006

Every agency I have worked for in NY requires at least 1 year of hospital experience. I think it's a great idea personally. Each agency I have worked for have also been run by nurses who know the importance of experience. Good luck to you! A year will fly by.

Sippy RN · Dec 12, 2007

A good agency should require at least 2 years of experience... if not more. The best advise is to get the hospital base experience, no matter what.

SuperStockRN · Dec 12, 2007

I agree with the earlier posts that it is not a good idea to go into Home Health Agency work until you get some experience.

I would decide what kind of Home Health you are interested in - adult, child, infant, geriatric, critical care (ventilators), etc. Then I would go into that area for atleast a year. If I wanted to go into Pediatric Ventilated care, I would start on a general Peds floor, then work my way into a Peds ICU, then consider home care.

The earlier post was correct about having to pick up on suttlties (sp?) of the patients you are seeing. Although my primary specialty is ER and I am comfortable triaging and looking for those symptoms, I believe it would be even more difficult to pick up on those in someone's home where they might say they feel well when they aren't. At the ER, they atleast present believeing that perhaps something might be "off".

Don't get discouraged! It's difficult to be a new grad, new nurse and have others say that you shouldn't go right into exactly what you want to do... we just want you to be prepared and safe for yourself and your patients!

Hope this helps!

caliotter3 · Dec 12, 2007

It depends on the individual agency whether or not they will hire someone without experience or not. Some will, some won't. I was hired by a home health agency while I was still in school (had a new LVN license). They hired me to work a specific case and I believe that hearing that I was on the verge of getting an RN license played a part in me getting hired. The home health agency where I did my home health clinical rotation while in school, told me they wouldn't hire me until I had at least a year of med surg experience. One of my school friends moved to another state after graduation and was hired by a staffing agency with no experience by telling them she had two years experience, as someone had advised her to do.

The only circumstances that I would advise someone new to go with a home health agency is if you are being hired for a specific case and they promise you a thorough and complete orientation to the case. Without a good orientation to working that specific case, you don't really have the background to be able to handle the many problems that can arise with home health, or staffing nursing homes and hospitals, for that matter.