Many nurses seek employment with nurse staffing agencies as they have can more flexibility in how much they work and where they work. Many healthcare staffing agencies are the providers of choice for long-term care facilities when they are in a pinch during call-offs or as staff members leave their employment. The nurse functions as an employee of the staffing agency. The agency may offer full benefits, paid time off and a powerful advocacy for the nurse choosing to work with them. A major draw for working with an agency is that a nurse may be able to leave an assignment before the completion of an assignment if they find working conditions to be less than desirable. If a nurse is working in an area with an acute shortage of nurses, the wide availability of open nursing positions gives the nurse more options in choosing the places they work. If one position is no longer a viable place to work, there are plenty of other options.
Travel Nurse Agencies
Travel nurse agencies are one kind of staffing agency where the nurse may choose to work in an area closer to home, but still enjoy many benefits of travel nursing such as a housing stipend that can be applied to their rent or mortgage without having the need to relocate. As most travel agencies also pay for travel to and from work, a longer commute is not as much of a drawback than if the nurse was an employee of the healthcare provider.
One slight drawback to working with a staffing agency is that many do not have after-hours staff to answer questions or report problems at the working site. This should be taken into consideration when choosing an agency. The biggest drawback to working with a staffing agency is that upon completion of an assignment, further employment is not guaranteed. Therefore, a nurse may want to work with more than one agency at a time to ensure continued income and a variety of assignments from which to choose.
If you are interested in finding a job with a travel nurse agency register today!