It does not matter if you wish to hire a nurse, or you are beginning a nursing career after years of experience because we live in the times in which it is challenging to find long-term employment.
When it comes to nursing, you will be able to work full-time, part-time, for an agency, or you can use agency gig-work instead.
We can differentiate numerous things that you should consider when deciding whether you should find the agency nurse staffing or not. Working for them will provide you additional flexibility and freedom in your schedule.
However, it comes with certain advantages and disadvantages that you should remember before making up your mind.
Benefits of Agency Nurses
- High Salary – If you are working as a nurse per diem, it means that you will work for a higher wage compared with full-time salaries with the employer. However, you will not get additional benefits that come with a salary. Generally, this particular job is the best if you wish to get fast cash, which is an important consideration that you should make.
- Flexibility – Since you can pick where and when you wish to work, and whether you need time-off, this particular option is excellent for people that wish to improve overall flexibility. Generally, per diem nursing will allow you to balance home and work without any additional problem. You have to choose a particular schedule and control the time you have.
- Less Stress – Since you will avoid workplace policies and politics, you can reduce the overall stress that most in-house nurses tend to experience. For instance, interpersonal relationships that you can develop with patients, coworkers, and families can cause severe stress for numerous in-house nurses. On the other hand, you should choose a per diem option, which means that you will always be in neutral territory and enjoy along the way.
- Variety – If you are curious about what you wish to do, and you wish to improve the chances of meeting new people and coworkers, a nursing agency is the best option for you. The common problem that happens to nurses is burnout, which is something you need to remember. You will be able to minimize the risk of physical and emotional exhaustion by taking per diem shifts. You should check here to learn everything on how to become a nurse with ease.
- Focus on Patients – Since you will spend on focused patient care, you can avoid doing additional mundane tasks, including counting inventory, supervising others, and many more.
- Adaptability – You will learn how to adjust better to new demographics and locations. Even though you will lack consistency, which is vital for some people, especially when it comes to relationships with patients and coworkers, you will learn how to communicate, connect and care for numerous individuals without any additional problem.
- Relationships – Being a per diem nurse means that you will improve the overall quality of a particular hospital with an idea to improve patient care. In case a health care facility is short-staffed, that could affect both workers and patients, among others. At the same time, when you are working with a nurse staffing agency, you will learn about the hours that are working for you and when the recruiters are choosing the shifts. Generally, they will learn about your interests, strengths, and history, as well as other information so that you can get the best job position possible. It means that you will gain advice, voice concerns, and ask questions when you wish to learn something. Working with a staffing agency will provide you a unique support system so that you can work without ever working for an employer.
- Chances to Diversify – In case you wish to improve your skills and knowledge by learning them, some nursing agencies will give you chances to obtain additional experience and gain extra education so that you can move up. By diversifying your skills, you will get increased job security and better satisfaction than before.
Disadvantages of Agency Nursing
Remember that this particular working solution is not for everyone, which is something you need to remember. If you wish to choose this particular type of work, you should reach the top of the agency’s calendar by getting enough shifts so that you can earn more money in general.
- Nothing is guaranteed – Similarly, as the work of freelancers, the more you work, the more you earn and vice versa. It means that if you avoid working, you will not be paid as a result. The general reality of this particular work is that you are not getting the monthly salary, which means that time off will reduce the overall income you will make.
- Retirement and Benefits Depend on You – If you become a full-time in-house nurse with salary, you will also get retirement options, and other benefits per diem nurses won’t get. That is a cruel reality you should consider. You will need to create a personal financial plan to achieve a comfortable retirement, which is a disadvantage in general.
- Less Predictable – The routine can provide you the absolute amount of comfort while working for a nursing agency, which means that you may not get the job every single time you need it. In case you have to pay the monthly fees that will not go away, it is a much safer solution to find a full-time nursing job instead. Check out this link: https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/advocacy/regulatory/ to learn everything about being an agency nurse.
- Outsider – Since you will be an agency nurse, it means that in some cases, other staff will not welcome you as you prefer. Other nurses will try to prove your worth, especially since they won’t be aware of your skillset in general. Simultaneously, doctors tend to gravitate to regular nurses, which means that you will always stand out as an outsider. That may create distaste when working for an agency, which is an important consideration you should remember. We have mentioned above that since you will rotate both facilities and shifts, you will be able to prevent a burnout, which is a common problem that happens to people. However, as a result, you will have to deal with reality in which it will be challenging to create relationships with patients.