Are you a nurse with skills in ICU, pediatrics, or another specialty area? Are you considering the benefits of working for nursing placement companies?
A nursing placement company will offer work to nurses on a travel, temporary, or per diem basis. These individuals may go to work in hospitals, homes, or physician’s offices throughout the country.
How does nursing placement work, and what are the benefits of a nursing agency?
Let’s take a look.
There are currently more nurses retiring than there are nurses to replace them. The resulting nursing shortage, particularly in rural areas, has led to a growth in nursing placement agencies. Many agencies will provide a stipend for housing while you are out of town.
Your nursing placement agency could get you working as a per diem nurse. In these cases, you will be “on-call” in case there is a last-minute cancellation or immediate demands.
You may also be placed as a “travel nurse,” in which case you will work on short-term contracts lasting anywhere from four to six weeks. The contracts are usually done on a case-by-case basis depending on the need of the facility.
You may also be hired on a temp-to-perm basis. In these situations, you might be hired to bridge the gap or find out if you like a new geographical location. You can have the option of going full-time after your trial period.
Working for a nursing placement agency, rather than a hospital, rehab center, or doctor’s office, has a number of benefits for nursing professionals.
One of the main reasons nurses might choose an agency is a flexibility. A parent with small children, for example, may prefer a per diem schedule where they are not working every day.
The occasional holiday or weekend is worth the trade-off if they get to spend more time at home and save money on childcare. When their children are in school full-time, they can use the experience gained while working for an agency to find a more permanent position.
Some nurses with fewer obligations enjoy the variety of a travel nurse’s schedule. They can see different parts of the country, meet new people, and gain different kinds of experience. Every few weeks, you can get a change of scenery and have a new schedule.
You can also take time off when you need it, such as a couple of weeks between assignments. If you’re the kind of person who really values work-life balance, working for a nursing placement company could be right for you.
Unlike salaried employees, those who work for a nursing placement company can negotiate higher pay and benefits depending upon their placement. Most nurses who work for agencies also offer quick pay options. This means that you can get paid right away or within hours of finishing your shift.
Some nursing agencies don’t supply benefits such as insurance. In these cases, benefits can often be supplied by private insurance companies. You can check with your agency about which ones their employees are usually the happiest with.
Some agencies, however, do supply medical, vision, and dental insurance the way a traditional nursing job would. They may also provide things like a 401K or referral bonus. Make sure you know about all of the benefits available to you before choosing an agency.
Relationships at work can often be a cause of real stress for full-time employees. Oftentimes, competition, jealousy, or annoyance from colleagues can make your job dreadful.
When you work for a nursing agency, however, your work environment is constantly changing. This means that there is less time for hard feelings to develop between workers since you’ll be leaving soon anyway. If you are in a temp-to-perm situation, you can get a feel for who your coworkers will be and move on if you aren’t happy.
Maybe you’re looking to build your resume or try out different types of working environments before you figure out where you’ll be the most effective.
Working for an agency can give you an opportunity to develop a diverse skill set. You may work in emergency care, hospice care, or physical therapy. You can get experience working with patients of all ages and from different walks of life.
The skills you learn can be easily transferred to new environments. They can also help you figure out where you are happiest and best suited.
As a full-time employee of a hospital, outpatient facility, or doctor’s practice, your time is often spent on non-patient-related tasks. You might be supervising others, counting inventory, or updating documents.
When you work for a nursing agency, however, you’ll spend most of your time doing the work with patients. Their well-being is the most important part of your job.
You can focus on developing positive, productive relationships with patients that will inform the rest of your nursing career. Meanwhile, you are helping out other nurses and facilities by making sure that they are fully staffed.
This will make the healthcare facility happier and more efficient. And patients will notice the difference!
If you value flexibility, experience, and balance, working for nursing placement companies could be a wonderful option for your nursing career. With the right company and the right assignments, you could be in high demand in no time!
Don’t stop getting smart about working for a placement company now. For excellent employment opportunities and benefits, contact us today.
