Working with a Nursing Agency: Benefits and Drawbacks

Nurses have several employment options. A nursing agency can help them find short-term contracts to work in a variety of hospitals and other healthcare settings. Learning about what nursing agencies can do for you and your career can help you in your job search and see where you can apply.

In this article, you will learn about what agency nurses are, how they differ from staff nurses, and the benefits and drawbacks of this career.

What’s in this article?

• What is an agency nurse?

• How do agency nurses differ from staff nurses?

• What are the benefits and drawbacks of working with a nursing agency?

• Final Thoughts

What is an agency nurse?

The nursing shortage has brought more employment opportunities for nurses. Aside from looking to hospitals and health facilities for work, nurses can now sign with nursing agencies to help them secure jobs in their preferred clinical settings and locations.

An agency nurse is a registered nurse who works for a nursing agency that assigns them to healthcare facilities for temporary contracts. While their specific duties can change depending on the area where they work, they typically provide medical treatment and patient care.

An agency nurse may receive an assignment to work in a hospice for a month and provide care for patients at home. They can also cover shifts at the hospital when staff members are on extended leaves.

How do agency nurses differ from staff nurses?

Agency nurses and staff nurses perform many of the same duties, and they also have similar education and training. However, they have several key differences, including the following:

Salary

Staff nurses earn an annual salary while agency nurses earn hourly wages. Aside from a salary, staff nurses also receive a benefits package that includes paid time off, health insurance, and a retirement plan. In contrast, agency nurses seldomly get benefits packages.

Work Environment

Agency nurses and staff nurses can work in various healthcare facilities, such as hospitals, nursing homes, clinical practices, and specialty facilities. However, agency nurses travel for work, so they may work at different locations for a short amount of time. Staff nurses only work at one location.

Clinical Focus

Staff nurses may specialize in one type of care or clinical setting, such as labor and delivery or emergency medicine. Agency nurses, on the other hand, may have experience in several different specialties. Since the role of an agency nurse is to fill the gaps left by staffing issues, they rarely specialize in specific clinical settings. Agency nurses help where they are needed. This can give agency nurses a more varied experience than staff nurses.

Schedule Flexibility

Staff nurses receive a schedule every week. They have a set amount of hours worked per week, as determined by the healthcare facility’s nursing management. Agency nurses, in comparison, can set their own schedules and work the number of hours they desire. While staff nurses can expect a routine with their schedule, agency nurses have more flexibility in their work.

What are the benefits and drawbacks of working with a nursing agency?

Being an agency nurse has its share of perks and disadvantages. To know if signing with an agency is the right move for you, here are its main pros and cons:

Compensation and Benefits

Nursing agencies negotiate higher wages for their staff when they work in various locations. Agency nurses usually earn more than traditional nurses. According to Indeed.com, agency nurses may earn an average of $102,465 per year, while staff nurses only earn around $80,000 a year.

However, what staff nurses lack in payment, they earn in benefits. Agency nurses rarely receive benefits, like health insurance or retirement plans. Instead, they can purchase their own private insurance. They may also qualify for government aid.

Routine

Agency nurses have a more flexible schedule. They can also choose when and how much they work. Depending on the types of work environments you prefer, a nursing agency can help you find job placements and negotiate short-term contracts. You may also travel to new locations and work in different types of health facilities of your preference. Agency nurses can work in hospitals, nursing homes, and even home health care services.

A flexible schedule can certainly help you maintain a positive work-life balance. However, if a routine with predictable working hours in a consistent location is what you prefer, you may be better off with a career as a staff nurse.

Relationships

Nursing agencies learn about your strengths, preferences, and experience, which helps them place you in positions that will suit you and your skills. Your agency can also help you develop professionally, as they can answer questions about your career and its trajectory.

However, because of the nature of their job, being an agency nurse does not have many opportunities to be part of a nursing team. Agency nurses have fewer chances of building meaningful relationships with their co-workers because they only spend a limited time at their placements. While agency nurses don’t spend a long time in one working environment, they do have more chances of meeting many other professionals.

Experience

Working for an agency helps nurses switch locations and work with different types of patients and other nurses. Because of this, agency nurses have a chance to develop a diverse set of skills. Since they can be assigned to various clinical areas, they can gain experience unique to these different settings. Experience in many areas can be helpful if your career plan involves becoming a senior-level nurse. Having a wide range of experiences and training then helps nurses increase their professional opportunities. It also helps them identify which clinical setting is more to their liking.

However, if you enjoy working with the same types of patients consistently, you may prefer being a staff nurse.

Job Focus

Agency nurses have duties that involve patient care and supporting other nurses. In comparison, a staff nurse at a healthcare facility may perform other administrative tasks, such as managing schedules and meeting with doctors. If you’re interested in focusing on patient care, agency nursing may be the right fit for you. However, if you enjoy working with the rest of the medical team and meeting other healthcare professionals, staff nursing may be better suited to your interests.

Final Thoughts

Choosing to work with an agency is a personal choice, and there is no right answer that can fit everyone. The drawback of being an agency nurse may be too much for you. They could also be minor inconveniences that are easy to overlook. A nursing agency can make it easy to find stable work, offer excellent compensation, and provide schedule flexibility.