Thinking of bringing in agency nurses

live4today, RN · Jul 30, 2003

As a former agency nurse, some places I've worked treated me very nice, and some treated me as if I weren't there...ignoring me, not wanting to lend me a hand when I needed it, etc.

Again...one more way nurses eat nurses. :rolleyes:

angelbear · Jul 30, 2003

Were I work we utilize agency. I think what helped was our nurse manager explained that they were going to bring them in because we were all a great staff of nursing and she did not want to see us get burned out. We have had them for over a yr now and for the most part they are treated well by staff and they themselves provide excellent nursing care. Just my 2 cents.

graysonret · Jul 31, 2003

I've been an agency nurse for many years now and am registered at 2 agencies. Being "self-employed", I consider my reputation as a good nurse, one of my most important assets. So, wherever I work, I try to give the best nursing care that I can to my assigned patients, get along with the staff, and finish my shift on time...being professional all the time. Of course, there will always be those shifts from "h*ll", but they are few. The benefit comes from places calling and asking for my availability for them. Sure makes life easier, especially from places that rarely use agency nurses.

BadBird, BSN, RN · Aug 1, 2003

I work agency and I can say that the staff really appreciate us, of course I have been going to the same facility for a long time now so many just view me as staff. There will always be bad shifts but that is the exception. I think the staff realize that if we weren't there they would be dangerously short staffed. After working in a place for a while they get to know your skills and strengths and develop a trust. I have worked in one facility that was horrible for both staff and agency, I simply don't go back, great isn't it to have such choice.

mdfog10 · Aug 29, 2003

I am always disappointed to hear when registry(agency) or travelers are mistreated by fellow nurses. I understand the need for them and make sure they are welcomed and get their questions answered. The only time myself and regular staff are upset is when temporary staff have a bad attitude or their skills/knowledge are not up to par.

Rapheal · Aug 29, 2003

My best buddy on med/surg is agency. She has worked there for years and I truly love her and her work.

Please don't take this the wrong way but may I ask why you are contemplating using agency? If it is just to supplement staff for days when you are short because of vacations and call-offs then they should be well accepted. If the reason is that staff nurses are leaving for other reasons then there may be some issues.

luv2nurseinER · Sep 8, 2003

As both an agency nurse and a manager I am privy to both sides of the coin. As suggested above, when I decided to use agency in my ER I explained to the staff that it was to help them and try to prevent burnout. I interveiwed a few agencies and talked to other ER managers in town to see who they used and who they refused. I also made clear my requirements which were the same as for staff, ACLS, PALS, TNCC...My staff was great and gave me great feedback on who they liked and didn't like. It worked out really well and when I studied my stats, I was able to see where and when we used agency and that allowed me to justify hiring 1 1/2 fte's. Hope this helps.

tangox44 · Oct 20, 2003

I am currently exploring the possiblity of starting up a Nurse Staffing Agency. I am looking into recruitment overseas(specifically India). I wanted to know if anyone has had experience in recruiting overseas and what are the requirements for someone to be able to work in IL as a nurse. What are all the examinations that need to be passed. Thanks.

melbnurse · Oct 20, 2003

We use Agency Nurses quite a lot , to replace "sick calls". I think it is very important that the nurse is orientated to the unit , appropriately.

As we use " primary nursing" it is also important that the Agency staff are given a comprehensive handover , regarding the patients she is to care for .

I have found that the majority of Agency staff, are committed to good patient care, but have certainly come across some bad ones too. Their attitude seems to be , " I am only here for 1 shift , so I will just get through it with the minimum of effort" and this means that the regular staff have to pick up the load .

We have mechanisms in place to deal with these occurreces