To consider giving up my full time job to be an agency nurse?

[TheWorldIsMine]

I currently work full time, 6 days a week and it's killing me. I miss out on a lot of social events, work a lot of weekends, as working all of the Christmas bank holidays - I just hate it.
Anyway I've just registered with an agency and found that they are offering shifts to suit with much better pay. I could drop down to 30 hours a week and still bring home £200 more a month than I currently do! Plus I could choose my own weekends and holidays.

Obviously only snag is it isn't guaranteed work but bloke in phone said it's more less a given that if get at least 30 hours a week.

I'm so tempted. DH works full time and we could get by short on his wage if it all went tits up and I could get another nursing job quite easily if I wasn't picky (worst case scenario).

I'd say think very very carefully about doing this.

If you're only a year post-qualified then you are potentially limiting your longer-term career as only doing bank and agency work could really limit your future job prospects. You may be considered as inexperienced, poorly skilled or not a team player, which can hamper applications.

Agency can be a money spinner, especially if you are in a specialist area or have additional qualifications, but IME you tend to be thrown in as just another pair of hands and may not develop the skills and experience you need.

I know where I work (and where my DP manages) you'd not be called for interview if you applied to work for us having only 1 years PQ experience on a general ward, and then only agency experience.

There is a massive drive in many trusts to not use agency nurses and to rely on bank staff if needed, and even then sparsely.

If you are experiencing stress and anxiety currently, then agency may exacerbate that - it can be soul destroying being just a pair of unappreciated hands, with no consistency, no professional development, no pastoral support from your team or line manager.

Of course for some, agency/bank is perfect for them but I'd hazard a guess that they are older, have some years of nursing behind them and are not overly reliant on having to earn xx amount per month.

(Oh and just out of curiousity - how do you have student loan fees to pay off? Did you do another course prior to your nursing training?)

My DH did it for a while.
Pros: Money is good, when you get shifts. You really need to sign with a couple of agencies to get work.
Cons: No sick pay. Lot of work in care homes. Treated as a lesser nurse because you are agency. You have to go through their training in moving and handling etc, (unless NHS passport), which you need to pay for. You need to pay for uniforms etc .If you dont take their shifts, they stop offering you it. Plus if you work between agencies there was a lot of tax code splitting

DH gave it up and went NHS

sidge I'm a nurse who was also paying off a student loan from my nursing degree, the bursary is / was drastically lower for adult learners on degree rather than diploma, so I took out a 2k student loan in my last year, sad but true, and this was over 6 years ago

anyname ah I see, thanks for explaining. I was a bit confused as I know nurse courses aren't subject to the university fees (well not until 2017 anyway ) but hadn't thought of maintenance loans.

I really think the OP would be better off looking for an NHS job in a different area/speciality/with different hours or shift system. Far better to have a sideways move than leave in the early years postqualifying IMO.

I switched to agency work from working the last 20 years in a NHS hospital. I work 22.5 hrs instead of the 37.5 hrs and earn more than I was doing and was before was expected to do overtime without being paid. Best decision I ever made as do a short cycle of working but then have made enough money to have a break and spend quality time with son. I have more control what jobs I do and have always been offered work.But then I've had 20 + years experience. I do think you need to have experience though.
I set up limited company, a business account and ask an accountant to do end of year tax. It's not as scary as you think and I've never had anyone treat me less than as usually pleased they have more staff. Great way to test out different work environments and meet new people.

I agree that in the early years post qualification, you should stay within the nhs, just maybe look for a different role or ward. My own experience of agency nurses is that their role on the ward is limited and I do think that is to the detriment of professionals development.

I'm really surprised your manager won't consider an hours reduction. My work have always been incredibly flexible about shift patterns and it's the single reason I'm still there! Over the years I've done nights and days at different points, dropped my hours to 15 a week when the dses were tiny and have slowly increased, back to full time soon. Work have always been very supportive.

Why not do a few bank shifts within the NHS first to see if you like it? I always think it must be very stressful for bank nurses being put on a ward where they don't know the patients, the layout, other staff etc etc. Often they are on their own with just a hca as well, especially for nights. The wards that require bank nurses also tend to be the wards that are struggling to recruit nurses, often for good reasons. Your very early on in your career, do you really think you would be knowledgeable enough to work on different wards specialising in different areas?

I would love to chat with anyone who has balanced being a nurse with caring for their children. Care work is really undervalued. There was a 1978 exhibition made called Who's Holding the Baby? I want to do an updated version of it - looking at the way mothers and carers manage their work and childcare.

I do both, part time nhs, agency shifts to make my money.

It's a god send, also you can join a couple of agencies, if work dries up for one, the other can still provide, any problems, just join another...there are loads out there.

Wouldn't leave security of my nhs job completely, as I pay nhs pension and a regular (crap) wage.

It's a different world! Oh and not all nursing homes, I do all sorts for my agency, it's great, really enjoy it.

A lot of the nurses I have worked with have done this. Some go onto the NHS bank and agency at the same time and split time between the two. Their pay has increased and job satisfaction too. They no longer work Christmas and holidays unless they want too and can take summer holidays as and when they want, not a week doled out by the sister.
I'm working my notice with NHS, I'll be in a private home doing 24 hrs a week earning more than I do now. As I'm coming closer to retirement I'm not bothered about the prestige of working in a hospital and being with Dementia patients in itself is rewarding. I will be paying into a retirement plan too it'll be a small one but better than nothing.

I joined an agency 4 years ago but now registered with 2. Yourworld and labmed. They offer different rates so check as they cream a lot of commission off. I earn so much more, have no worry getting holidays and more free time. I'm older too so don't worry so much about things like I used to. Best decision I ever made.