What's in a Nurse Staffing Agency?

A nurse staffing agency works well for nurses, hospitals and doctors. Nurse staffing agencies help nurses find jobs. They also help hospitals and doctors find the nurses they need to fill shortages.

Working for the Nurses

Nurse staffing agencies generally offer temporary positions to nurses. These agencies sign up nurses who either only want part-time work or want to have a diverse portfolio. In other words, they'd rather work for several different hospitals than stay in one. Also, nurse staff agencies work well for nurses that have a highly desired specialty. For example, if an area has a shortage of forensic nurses, nursing staffing agencies may sign these nurses. Then they contract them out to medical providers who need their services. The forensic nurse may go to a lab on Mondays and Wednesdays, one hospital on Tuesdays and another on Thursdays.

A nurse staffing agency usually offers nurses positions that last three months to three years. This is a great opportunity for nurses who get antsy staying at the same hospital. Another advantage to nurse staffing agencies is that they offer travel jobs. They allow their nurses to stay close to home or go across country. This is different than a cross country travel program, which requires the nurses to leave their home and go to a completely new location. Travel jobs can last from 4-26 weeks depending on the program. Since these travel jobs are so temporary, housing and traveling costs are usually provided by the agency.

Benefits to Medical Providers

There's no doubt that this country (and many others) are experiencing nursing shortages. Aging baby boomers have resulted in more patients so the demand for nurses ahs increased. By the same token, nursing isn't as popular of a profession as it once was so the supply of nurses has decreased. As a result, hospitals can't find enough nurses. Often times when they have openings that haven't been filled, they temporarily hire nurses through a nurse staffing agency.

The agencies scan the nurses, check their references and make sure their certifications and licensee are up to date. Usually the hospital has to do this. This is a process that can take weeks. Rather than go through all of these gyrations, the hospital can call the agency and have a nurse sent over within the week. The staffing agency also works out payment, administers benefits and gives the nurse his or her paycheck.

Medical providers also like to go with a nurse staffing agency because some of the nurse end up staying on full time. Hospitals are allowed to ask the nurse to stay once their contract with the nurse staffing agency has been fulfilled.