What shortage?

Loray · Feb 2, 2003

Hi Leeca,

Try joining nursebanks/join different agency,ring up places,work further from home to start with if you have to. Keep ringing the agency with av or asking why no work. This time of the year can be a problem post christmas. Be flexiable to start with

until you get settled.

Best Wishes Loray.

sehbear · Feb 3, 2003

It's all about the money really isn't it....

In the EBA of 2000 ( i think) when we won nurse patient ratios the public sector also won an embargo so to speak on agency.... agency can only be employed to cover sick leave.... shortfalls are can be covered by bank though....

Join a hospital bank is my suggestion... and keep your chin up! :rolleyes:

llg, PhD, RN · Feb 3, 2003

I find this thread interesting because it relates to something I am starting to see happening in the United States. As an early response to the nursing shortage, many hospitals turned to agencies to fill the holes in their schedules. However, because agency nurses are so expensive, many hospitals are starting to dramatically cut back on their use of agency nurses.

My own hospital is getting "tight" with its use of agency nurses and/or traveling nurses. Instead, my hospital is trying to improve its deals for "per diem" nurses and other such job categories that mean that the nurse actually works for the hospital, but is flexible with when and on what unit she works. The hospital is trying to lure nurses from the agencies into these job arrangements by offering them more money than regular staff in exchange for the flexibility of scheduling and unit-assignment. For the hospital, it is cheaper than hiring from the agency. For the nurse, they make a little less than they did for the agency, but they can count on working when they want to.

From the above posts, it sounds like something similar is happening in Australia. Am I interpreting the situation correctly?

llg

leeca · Feb 3, 2003

llg

Yes you are interpreting it correctly.

Who do you talk to in the hospital to go on the nursing bank? Do they put enrolled nurses on the bank as well, as l'm not a registered nurse yet.

Been trying to get into uni to become one, but that too is very hard to get in, maybe better luck next year.

Tookie · Feb 4, 2003

we work with a casual bank of employees in a rural setting - we have a number of people on call - but weh you ring them they are either - going to work elsewher - to schol or have famly obligations - (all of which is understanding abd part of the reason people beome casual until they become permanent) it can be a fine juggling act between keeping your existing staff happy with their amount of shifts (without burnng out) and keeping new and potentially good staff interested and on the books without lsoing them - Students who are greta to employ as they are learning are reall y employed for a litimited time both day availability due to classes and placement and the knowledge that once they finiah their course they will move on to consolidat ein an acute or other area

Will be a particualry diffcult probelm for all ars of nursing but especially aged care.

Aime · Feb 5, 2003

Hey people, yeah, know the feeling. I live near a large rural town, and it's really hard to find work there. I've put in several CV's to the limited amount of places that take Div 2's(enroled nurses), but so far, nothing. It seems that the town is full of older health care workers, and they won't budge even when they reach retirement age. I'm beginning to wonder if it's my mature age status that's holding up employment options for me. I could sell up and move to Melbourne (State Capitol) but I just couldn't bare to give up my lovely country way of life for the 'big smoke'. I'm still hoping that something will turn up soon. I'm a worker, and can't sit around here much longer. Good hunting to all the others that find themselves in the same situation.

Grace Oz · Feb 6, 2003

I think our good run as agency nurses is coming to a close. The hospitals have wised up & are employing their own nurses on either a casual or part-time basis. Given the down side of agency, ie; no guarantee of work, last minute call outs etc, I think a lot of people are now looking for something more 'stable' & that will lead to full-time / permanent work. People want to be able to obtain home loans, car loans, personal loans etc & banks etc want you to have a guaranteed income. So... casual work isn't suitable for folks needing to borrow money for those things. I think people are definately looking for more security.

I've done agency on & off for many years & it's had it's pluses & negatives.

My recommendation... try & obtain employment in one place. Begin building your leave entitlements & superannuation. Also, you get to become a part of the staff, get confident & familiar with the facility & might qualify for ongoing training within the facility or at their expense in an outside programme. I think it's less unsettling being in the one place. Agency nursing can be quite unnerving at times. Good luck!

Cheers,

Grace

frannybee · Feb 6, 2003

I worked P/PT for many years due to uni commitments, then when I tried to get a F/T job I was told it was bank or nothing. When I got to Sheffield I applied for a F/T job with the NHS and it took them 9 weeks to reply to me. By this time I'd had enough and joined an agency. I was on something called a medical contract, which means I agree to work a set number of hours (say 37.5) and the agency agrees to find me those hours. If they fail to find me enough shifts to cover those hours, they pay me the shortfall (eg if they could only find me 30 hrs of work, they would have to pay me the last 7.5hrs regardless). Anything over your contracted hours is paid as overtime.

Generous sick pay (promised 2 wks but I ended up with 4) and 28 days paid holidays to be taken when you choose. Weekly pay and a damn good one at that. Pension plan (superannuation to us Aussies) if you wanted it.

I ended up working with that agency for 12 months on 2 long-term placements, neurosurg ITU/HDU and surg OPD. If shifts were lean on those units I moved around, but for the majority of the time I stayed well put. Both units offered me permanent contracts but at the time I couldn't justify the £3500/yr drop in wages! There was also a nasty clause in my contract - if I worked in a trust with the agency I had to agree not to work within that trust within 6 mths of leaving the agency or else the trust would have to pay a £4500 poacher's fine. Unfortunately I hit a visa crisis when we moved to Swansea and I had to get an NHS job to stay in the UK, so here I am - a full time NHS staff nurse.

I loved my agency time but when I went for the interview for the job I'm in now, I was informed my work history was 'spotty'. Working agency apparently didn't count as experience, nor did my years of part-time work.

Grace Oz · Feb 7, 2003

Don't you just love those POMMIE sayings??!!! "Spotty" work history?!?!?!! LMAO.

It seems we're damned if we do & we're damned if we don't... I'm talking in relation to working as a nurse! We can't get full-time work, so we join an agency. We work agency & when being interviewed for a full-time position, we're referred to as having a "Spotty" work history!! Buggared if I know!!...

How the hell is anyone supposed to get a start??

I feel SO sorry for the young ones coming into (or who are already in) the profession. It's the same in other professions / industries as well. Can't get a foot in the door due to lack of experience... can't get experience due to no-one willing to give you a chance in the first place!!

It's bloody ludicrous & makes my blood boil!

If they'd just return nursing training to the hospitals,it'd solve a multitude of problems!!

But then what the heck do I know?!?!?!... Only been on the planet 52 years & haven't really been observing!!... MUCH!!...

Cheers,

Grace

frannybee · Feb 7, 2003

UK nursing students do 3 times as much in-hospital training as Qld students (2300hrs as opposed to 800hrs) but they seem to be less confident and more reliant on the more established staff, IMHO. Things that we take for granted as being part of basic training (IV administration, male catheterisation etc) are 'additional responsibilities' over here and you have to do additional training before you can do 'em. I had to do an inservice on male cathing, even though I was the ONLY person there who was qualified to do them unsupervised, and had to supervise the Matron before she was able to do it alone - bear in mind, I was working as a care assistant at the time, while I was waiting for the UKCC to tell me if I could have permission to use my 2 month old (QLD) nursing degree.

It still riles me - I wasted 8 months waiting for them.

Aussienurse2 · Feb 9, 2003

It's paticularly difficult for EEN's to get work though because they are training these Aged Care Workers to take our place. They can do all the grunt work, some are even being trained to do simple dressings, BSLs, and TPR's. The R.Ns do the meds and the paperwork so what is left for us to do? They have out placed us in a determined desire to cut costs. Of course it will result in more mistakes being made especially when half of them can't even tell you what universal precautions are! let alone maintain a sterile technique! They rarely acknowlage that we have a duty of care preferring instead to refer to the patients charter of rights. Ahh it's all going to heck in a handbasket and that is the reason I'm doing my RN's. I've given up on the health system.