As an agency nurse, I'm still working for a middleman that takes more than half my pay because they connect me with clients that need my services. I've worked in various facilities that gave me the toughest assignments while the agency made more than twice my pay by literally sleeping. (I worked midnights!)
Who doesn't love one-on-one nursing? You can't do this working for hospitals or facilities. Our time is spent away from our patients charting properly to avoid being sued.
I work at a sub-acute rehab facility for the largest Catholic Healthcare Organization in Illinois. Besides passing out meds, doing some treatments for 15 plus patient for the majority of my 8 hour shift, I chart and do clerical work mainly to protect a license I've worked hard to earn. All the while I feel this Corporation is taking advantage of me, and they treat me and my nursing coworkers as unprofessional by always threatening 'write-ups.'
And in today's economy, they stress in no uncertain terms how we should be lucky we have jobs. In fact, they take advantage of that and squeeze more out of us for their greedy gain.
And where is nursing management in all this? Aren't they supposed to be our advocate? Instead, the majority of them are clawing their way up the corporate ladder only to be stressed out to make a few extras dollars just to become a higher up pawn in Corporate America's game/gain.
These Corporate giants, even though part of a non-for-profit organization, with their large salaries are laughing all the way to their vacations villas mostly on our hard work!
How would hospitals and facilities function without nurses?
I feel nurses are second only to patients.
Nurses are SO underpaid and unappreciated!
At one point I wasn't familiar with Private Duty Care because the nursing program prepared me to work closely with patients in a professional setting, they did not prepare me for that special kind of one-on-one care. That's when I realized private duty means you should be working with one patient as opposed to fifty and working for an agency doesn't always get you private duty.
However, as a Private Duty Care Provider, minus the Agency, I can be my own boss, work close to home and choose my own schedule. I realize my license must be current and I need a clear understanding of my state's professional practice act.
Having malpractice insurance is optional but very much encouraged and not that expensive when compared to what I'm handing over to the agency every single hour I work. Besides, even though nurses are covered by an agency, hospital or facilities' malpractice insurance, if it came down to us or them in the courtroom, who do you think they're going to protect?
In addition, I know it is my responsibility to pay state and federal income taxes. But wouldn't it be worth it not have to share my hard earned wages with an Agency just by doing a little initial homework upfront?
So, I thought about taking an ad out in the local classifieds as a private duty nurse only to discover this was much too expensive, and I had to question how many people were looking for a private duty nurse via the classifieds.
I soon found that many nurses are asking the same question.
How can we affordably go about getting a private duty job without handing over the majority of our wages with an agency?
