Must... Find... Food...

Meet Agency Girl. She's an RN who has been working per diem for several agencies. She has entered the dreaded Drought of Low Census and is quickly getting to the point of sharing the dog's food. Come explore Agency Girl's options with me and help her out with some advice.

Agency Girl is feeling the pinch from The Drought of Low Census.

**Ring**

**Ring**

"Hello?"

"Hi, Agency Girl. They don't need anybody. You've been cancelled." The disembodied voice is quiet and toneless.

Sigh. "Thanks," I say, and bite my lip.

Crap. That's six in a row.

I call the other three agencies in town, hoping for the best.

"Any needs?" I ask, waiting for the inevitable negative.

"No." "Unh-unh." "Nada."

"No shift for you!" Bummed, I put the phone in my pocket and crank up my favorite mood lifting music.

I trudge over to the fridge, hoping that there has been a miracle since the last time I opened the door.

Nope. The universe hates me today. Buddy, the Wonder Poodle, runs over and helps me hunt.

I find the sad carcass of a cucumber, some slimy lettuce, and a wedge of cheddar that's only green on one end. Buddy sniffs my bounty twice, turns up his nose, growls, and runs to hide under the bed.

I think there are still a couple of crackers in the cabinet. I may be able to get a snack out of this, hopefully one that I won't woof back up. I kick the door shut.

I stalk over to the computer, drop into the chair, and check out my bank account. My jaw drops.

That can't be right. Blink, blink.

I clear the cache, shut down the browser, reboot, and try again. No change.

"Mama needs a new job, Buddy." Buddy whines from under the bed in sympathy. He's running low on treats, which is a disaster on the same level as running out of toilet paper.

It's utter pandelirium!

I search the local job listings. Some more per diems have opened up since this time last week, so I tweak my profiles and cover letters and resubmit. Maybe I'll get a call this week.

I check my email to see if I had any hits on the furniture and TV I put up for sale.

"Big money, big money, no whammy!" I screech out my mom's favorite battle cry. I have no idea what it means, but she wins at Baptist Bingo all the time.

"Let's see... you'll send me $4,000 if I send you $400. Trash! The Prince of Nigeria requests your assistance...Trash! Viagra for vixens...Eeeew. Double trash!"

At least the fake Nigerian prince is hot.

My stomach rumbles. I've already skipped too many meals in the last week and my scrubs are getting a little loose. I wonder how the food bank downtown works. But, that's Plan E. I'm not quite there yet.

Time for Plan D.

I practice soulful looks in the mirror and adjust my top to hide my tattoo. No point in antagonizing anyone. I wash my face and try to look young and pitiful.

To the Skype!

**Ring**

**Ring**

"Hello?"

"Hi, Daddy..."

-------

Agency Girl is going through what I like to call The Drought of Low Census. One of the more common problems of being an agency nurse is the unpredictability of shifts. In high census times, you could work seven days a week. In low census times, well... Have a backup plan.

Most hospitals have a predictable fluctuating pattern, with lower census in the summer. Many hospitals in rural and suburban areas have wildly swinging census patterns that go up and down depending on the travel patterns of their citizens. Examples are the "snowbirds" that desert their summer homes every fall and flock to warmer climates in the winter, and the migratory workers that swoop in during harvest time and follow the seasonal crops.

Some strategies that have kept food on my table include working with multiple agencies, landing local contracts, block booking, diversifying, and, of course, getting a "real" full-time job.

(Agency Girl: Scoff. Why would I want a real job? You have to work holidays and weekends! And do mandatory education. And see the same people all the time. And deal with the politics - super yuck!

Me: Shush! Busy here!! One of us has to make some dough.)

What is a local contract, you ask? It is basically traveling in your own city. You get the same 13 week commitment, minus the housing stipend. You are guaranteed shifts per your contract. All on the same unit, too, which is nice.

How about block booking? This is like a short contract, except for the contract. You aren't guaranteed any shifts. You sign up for 3 shifts a week for four weeks. It's a lot like being a PRN float employee, so you basically cover all the units you are qualified for. It's best to be qualified for a lot. All agencies need specialty nurses like ICU, Tele, NICU, etc. If the hospital needs you, you go in. If the hospital is overstaffed, you are the first to be cancelled.

The main thing is to be flexible. Get oriented with all the healthcare systems each agency covers and have 5-6 days a week available. Be prepared to commute. Look into diversification options, such as teaching clinicals at the local diploma mi- *cough* - career colleges for ADN RNs, LPNs, or CNAs, depending on your license and degree. You can also sign up for multiple types of positions, if you are comfortable, doing LTC, LTACH, SNF, rehab, corrections, etc.

For all of you experienced agency nurses out there, what advice would you give to any newbies or wannabe newbies experiencing The Drought? What other options have I left out?

Also, submit your suggestions for an Agency Girl adventure. At the end of the month, I will pick the one I think I can write a whole article on, do a special edition, and give you credit for the idea.

Look for Agency Girl's next adventure when she finally gets a shift and goes to an unfamiliar unit for the first time.

Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
I wasn't angry.

No, you weren't. But I see it often here where people actually seem to get annoyed sometimes when other people don't care about their anonymity, or don't say "Oh my gosh, you're right! I must change it posthaste!"

Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.
Goodness, RubyVee, did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning? I don't know why you, Altra, OCNRN63, and LibraSunCNM have decided that this story is so wrong. I'm not good at figuring out veiled references over the internet.

I would appreciate it if you would approach this as a teaching moment instead of lambasting me.

I really think the dire predictions about my future employability are a little over the top and vaguely threatening. And, RubyVee, my husband is proud of me for publishing an article. He's not very concerned with a fictional bare larder. He's more upset that I didn't include a second dog patterned on our Jack Russell.

I would be happy to discuss with any of you what you see as wrong with this article, but it's kind of hard to when I have no idea what your problem with it is. Altra made a good point about stereotypes and we talked about that, but I don't understand what else is making you all so hostile. And make no mistake, I feel like I'm under attack.

I feel pretty small right now, and I don't like feeling that way, especially when I don't even know what for.

Consider whether you make nursing look small, when you depict a nurse character as a nasty mess of unflattering stereotypes -- dependent on Daddy, and in a precarious financial situation she can't control now, as she has purposely avoided the permanent employment that may have insulated her from day to day fluctuations in census.

I'm not seeing much difference in the gentlemen who line up outside of your hardware store hoping for a day's work at odd jobs and your character "lining up" via phone hoping for the same thing -- nursing odd jobs that require no commitment, no investment of responsibility ... and no future.

These are not the images of nursing I hope to see on the splash page of Allnurses.com, to be viewed by hardworking nurses, nursing students and wannabes, and the lay public.

While I agree that the article depicted agency nursing in an unflattering way, I want to mention that working as a temp nurse is not in and of itself an evasion of responsibility, or evidence of an immature attitude. If one is competent in the areas of nursing in which one will be working, and is able to provide quality patient care, neither the facility nor the patients are losing out. The nurse who works as a temp pays the price in terms of job security, assurance of income, benefits, and regular scheduling, exchanging these things for flexibility and lack of long term commitment to the organization; the organization does not require a long term commitment as it is not providing the above benefits of permanent employment. If these are not concerns for the nurse or for the organization, no-one is hurt by the nurse working as a temp. There are many reasons a nurse may wish to work as a temp, and may not wish to enter into permanent employment with an organization. If the individual nurse can afford not to be permanently employed, and chooses not to be, for their own reasons, as long as they remain current in their practice and provide competent, quality nursing care, I don't see any reasons to stigmatize nurses who work as temps.

Specializes in Post-Surgical, Med-Surg, Travel, Agency.
Consider whether you make nursing look small, when you depict a nurse character as a nasty mess of unflattering stereotypes -- dependent on Daddy, and in a precarious financial situation she can't control now, as she has purposely avoided the permanent employment that may have insulated her from day to day fluctuations in census.

I'm not seeing much difference in the gentlemen who line up outside of your hardware store hoping for a day's work at odd jobs and your character "lining up" via phone hoping for the same thing -- nursing odd jobs that require no commitment, no investment of responsibility ... and no future.

These are not the images of nursing I hope to see on the splash page of Allnurses.com, to be viewed by hardworking nurses, nursing students and wannabes, and the lay public.

Ah. You have a problem with agency nursing. Understood. Perhaps you should avoid my threads in the future. I will be writing a lot about agency and travel nursing.

Agency nursing is a lot like day labor in your view. These nurses are there to fill daily holes. When census is super low, the way it was in my area this spring, it is a lot like lining up and hoping. It's just a reality of the job. I didn't like that very much either, so I quit, especially after I booked myself 4-5 days a week and would only get one shift. This lasted for two months. I learned my lesson, that I am not up for that much risk, and that I need more than one shift per week to stay financially stable. But I will forever be grateful for the resilience and self-sufficiency that I learned.

We will not see eye to eye on this issue, I believe.

OCNRN63, every pile-on has a beginning. I thought you were at the start. I see I misinterpreted your post as much as you misread mine. I apologize.

chicookie, I am so sorry that happened to you. Your solution is the most creative I've seen! I am in awe of crafty people. I don't have the patience for it. I'm glad things have picked up for you.

Specializes in Medical Oncology, Alzheimer/dementia.

Back in 2004-2005, I worked as an agency LPN. Work was plentiful, pay was great, and life was good. So good, I sometimes had to turn down shifts. Then the new year rang in. My agency called me with available shifts from one nursing home I went to a lot. I booked 15 shifts for the month of January. She called me back the next day to tell me shifts were canceled. "Which ones?", I asked. She replied "all of them." I found agency work to be flexible and undependable. I haven't worked agency since then.

OP, I understand your writing style. Trying to give it a humorous tone, when it actually can be a dark time for those trying to make it work. Agency Girl sounds like a few nurses I've known personally.

Specializes in Oncology.

I actually appreciated the humorous spin in the first post, and hope this won't cause you to cease attempting humorous articles. It's a nice break the same research essay type articles repeatedly.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this fictional depiction of nurses as day laborers? Or on the "work holidays and weekends ... do mandatory education - super yuck" comment?

Fiction is an imaginary piece. For fiction.... it's pretty spot on. The author describes the perks of agency nursing quite well.

Consider whether you make nursing look small, when you depict a nurse character as a nasty mess of unflattering stereotypes -- dependent on Daddy, and in a precarious financial situation she can't control now, as she has purposely avoided the permanent employment that may have insulated her from day to day fluctuations in census.

I'm not seeing much difference in the gentlemen who line up outside of your hardware store hoping for a day's work at odd jobs and your character "lining up" via phone hoping for the same thing -- nursing odd jobs that require no commitment, no investment of responsibility ... and no future.

These are not the images of nursing I hope to see on the splash page of Allnurses.com, to be viewed by hardworking nurses, nursing students and wannabes, and the lay public.

I found agency work to be the hardest work I've ever done. It requires extreme flexibility and using your nursing skills in new environments is quite challenging.

Agency work requires a strong commitment and holds a unique place in solving staffing problems.

My 4 years of agency work taught me many skills that most certainly aided my future work. It was a shining example to future employers that I was flexible, could learn fast, and quickly develop rapport with coworkers.

Specializes in Critical Care.

I know you said this article was meant to be humorous, but I don't feel sorry for most agency nurses and low census. It was the life they chose, in most circumstances, and usually are getting paid much more than regular staff. If they choose that, they need to be prepared for the down times by being smart, having money saved, credit cards available and/or a home equity line of credit. Also as you mentioned yourself, many are married so truly are not that destitute because they have their spouses income and health insurance. I wish I had the freedom to be pool, but it's just me and I have no one else to support me or offer me health insurance. It would be nice to not have to work so many weekends and holidays, but then again truthfully I'm a creature of habit and wouldn't like to constantly float and especially not between hospitals. I'm not that adventurous.

Anyway if you choose to do agency, you know there are lulls and need to be prepared. Worst case scenario you can usually go back to regular staff somewhere. Although I have met someone who ended up doing agency when she was laid off from a nice clinic job she loved and was never able to get another clinic job again. She would literally cry when she was overwhelmed and it was obvious she hated hospital nursing. However, she was not the nicest person and liked to tattle on people so I can see that her personality and behaviors contributed to her getting let go from her previous job. Also one person confided to me they weren't making that much only around $30/hr and I don't know if that is because they were working for a cheap company, but starting pay for new grads is around $24-25 where I live and usually agency/pool are making upwards of $40-50/hr but I guess it depends who you work for.

I know you said this article was meant to be humorous, but I don't feel sorry for most agency nurses and low census. It was the life they chose, in most circumstances, and usually are getting paid much more than regular staff. If they choose that, they need to be prepared for the down times by being smart, having money saved, credit cards available and/or a home equity line of credit. Also as you mentioned yourself, many are married so truly are not that destitute because they have their spouses income and health insurance. I wish I had the freedom to be pool, but it's just me and I have no one else to support me or offer me health insurance. It would be nice to not have to work so many weekends and holidays, but then again truthfully I'm a creature of habit and wouldn't like to constantly float and especially not between hospitals. I'm not that adventurous.

Anyway if you choose to do agency, you know there are lulls and need to be prepared. Worst case scenario you can usually go back to regular staff somewhere. Although I have met someone who ended up doing agency when she was laid off from a nice clinic job she loved and was never able to get another clinic job again. She would literally cry when she was overwhelmed and it was obvious she hated hospital nursing. However, she was not the nicest person and liked to tattle on people so I can see that her personality and behaviors contributed to her getting let go from her previous job. Also one person confided to me they weren't making that much only around $30/hr and I don't know if that is because they were working for a cheap company, but starting pay for new grads is around $24-25 where I live and usually agency/pool are making upwards of $40-50/hr but I guess it depends who you work for.

That is not correct. Agency nurses make about the same hourly rate as staff. The HOSPITAL pays twice the going rate... with most of the difference going to the agency.

In addition, the agency nurse does not receive the BENEFITS that staff nurses receive. Last time I did agency... that was about $8 an hour, I did not receive.

Specializes in Post-Surgical, Med-Surg, Travel, Agency.
I know you said this article was meant to be humorous, but I don't feel sorry for most agency nurses and low census. It was the life they chose, in most circumstances, and usually are getting paid much more than regular staff. If they choose that, they need to be prepared for the down times by being smart, having money saved, credit cards available and/or a home equity line of credit. Also as you mentioned yourself, many are married so truly are not that destitute because they have their spouses income and health insurance. I wish I had the freedom to be pool, but it's just me and I have no one else to support me or offer me health insurance. It would be nice to not have to work so many weekends and holidays, but then again truthfully I'm a creature of habit and wouldn't like to constantly float and especially not between hospitals. I'm not that adventurous.

Anyway if you choose to do agency, you know there are lulls and need to be prepared. Worst case scenario you can usually go back to regular staff somewhere. Although I have met someone who ended up doing agency when she was laid off from a nice clinic job she loved and was never able to get another clinic job again. She would literally cry when she was overwhelmed and it was obvious she hated hospital nursing. However, she was not the nicest person and liked to tattle on people so I can see that her personality and behaviors contributed to her getting let go from her previous job. Also one person confided to me they weren't making that much only around $30/hr and I don't know if that is because they were working for a cheap company, but starting pay for new grads is around $24-25 where I live and usually agency/pool are making upwards of $40-50/hr but I guess it depends who you work for.

I give up. I've tried to come up with a reply that isn't negative. I've got nothing.

Thank you for stopping by.

now that Im old and I have missed too many weekends and holidays with my family i feel free to say it is super yuck and one of the crappy parts of the job. as for nurses depicted as day laborers where do you work where you don't feel that way many times? sometimes when that phone rang at 5am and I was cancelled I was sooo happy to rollover and snooze awaaayyyy........:cat: