Frustrated and feel lied to by agency nursing.. Advice!

[nurse441]

Hello folks, I'm a new grad RN. I ran into a slight issue. 3 weeks back an agency called me about a school nurse position. i got really really happy.. trust me i was soo happy! I met with them about several times now, did all their paperworks, signed onto their payroll. Im completely new to agency nursing. They said they can offer me a school nurse position. The first vibe i got from them was : they were NOT being upfront with me. They were being soooo vague and confusing telling me "we already have several nurses working at several schools now, but they're about to quit so you can have their job". So i asked when does this job start? " we don't know yet, only when they quit". But on the other hand, they were being very specific about the details of which district the school is, what kind of patients they have, etc etc...

So i got curious.. and i actually found the job online myself!!! All the info the recruiter been telling me matches the job description, only that they're taking 1/3 of the paycut and offer $25/hr

I know i'm walking into this agency knowing they will take a chunk of my paycut, but I feel like they just continously tell me white lies like, "you're hired, but you don't have a job yet", "a nurse is about to quit". "we don't have a start date for you yet, but soon". and then they hand me an exact job description. So what i'm guessing right now is that the agency is actually negotiating with the school for the job, and in fact i probably don't have a job.

i'm just confused and feel kinda cheated.. i feel like i just dealt with a car sales men.. just bunch of white lies to get you in the door, and more white lies to get you to stick around. i don't want to go into nursing and work for some company who is in it just to make money. i don't know what to think.. anyone share similar frustrations with agency?

[oramar]

This is typical agency behavior. The do not consider themselves to be lying, it is normal business behavior according to them. Usually after you deal with them you build up a tolerance to it and take everything they say with a grain of salt. Your comparison to used call sales people is a good one because the behaviors are based on a need for profit. Perhaps someone will say they have an agency that is always up front with them and lucky them. However, I worked for several different agency and found the fact that the only one that looked out for me was me pretty consistent across the board. The good thing is that in this enviroment you are free to look out for you and only you and not feel bad about it the way you would an employer. I once started the hiring process, did all the blood work and physicals at the agency expense and then never worked for them. They kept calling me but I had made other plans.

[txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN]

ive been a agency nurse for many years and they charge the company fee's to staff you out there or they would not make no money . i know that when i was working as a lvn (before i was a rn) the round about fee they would charge a company was between $ 45-50 /hr but then i would only get $22-24/ hr of that.... they probably have several agencies that staff the schools and they are just waiting for those other nurses to either finish out their contracts or quit...if you are working for a agency you wont be employed with the school district but the agency .agency is not a permanent job so you probably still need to be looking for something permanent..i would also caution you as to why they are hiring a new grads ...are they desperate or just stupid because agency typically requires 1 year of experience....when your working agency you are expected to function at 100%...hit the ground running and need minimal direction....

[nurse441]

thank you guys for the advice.

I think i just had it enough with this agency. I called today and they let me know that they have a 6 day total position, in 3 months...6 DAYS TOTAL!!!!!

Now i honestly feel like i've been stringed along to sign the paperwork.. and they told me this GREAT job they "might" be able to offer. but in the end, they don't have it, and they only so they can see me sit around and maybe have something in the future.. but honestly, am i gonna sit and wait for a 6 day total position...

i think i'm done with agency.

[nurse441]

to all the other new grads, just stay away. they're a complete headache. i've heard of Okay things with flu clinics, but otherwise... BS!!!!!!!!!