Curious about starting out as an agency nurse? Want to know how an agency nurse job could help your career to progress? Nursing offers a fantastic foundation in which to build a truly rewarding career. Once qualified, nurses have the option to follow an enormous range of career paths, across primary, secondary and tertiary care. Some choose to focus on a specific area or group of patients, while others are driven by working towards a leadership role. As you move upwards in your career, as will your earning potential. To find out more about agency nurse pay rates or how much nurses can earn, visit our Salary Hub. Whatever it is you’re looking for, working as an agency nurse can offer significant career progression opportunities. 

 

An agency nurse job allows you to gain experience at your own pace, using agency specific opportunities to your advantage. Here, we’ve explored the ways in which agency nurses can get the most out of their career, and how agency nursing could help you to progress. 

 

nurse working for a nursing agency

 

Gaining Exposure in your Agency Nurse Job

Working in an agency nurse job can often mean undertaking assignments in a variety of different settings. You can gain exposure to a range of working environments including a ward, A&E, a prison or a care home. Agency nurses can experience multiple workspaces and learn what works from them and what doesn’t, so that after some time they can focus on the areas they love. Equally, agency nursing can allow you to travel to new locations, across the country. For some, the idea of always being in a different location or environment is the most attractive aspect of agency nursing. If you like variety and are motivated by a position where no two days are the same, then an agency nurse job might be the perfect solution for you.

 

When it comes to nursing, gaining exposure is incredibly valuable in order to progress your career. You will meet a huge range of different medical professionals in an agency nurse job, learning different practices, routines and procedures with every assignment, in contrasting locations and surroundings. Not only does this supplement your knowledge, but also allows agency nurses to quickly learn how to adapt and hit the ground running.

 

Agency Nurse Professional Development & Training

We mentioned previously that nurses often choose to specialise in a certain area, or with a specific group of patients (such as an oncology nurse or A&E nurse). Working with a nursing agency means that you can state your job preferences and secure a position in a sector that interests you. At Mayday Healthcare we offer our nurses access to training and CPD (Continuing Professional Development). 

 

Aligned with Skills for Health, our training courses not only keep our agency nurses compliant and able to complete their revalidation, but also allows nurses to broaden their horizons and learn new things. Given that agency nurse jobs give a great amount of flexibility, agency nurses can undertake training at a time to suit them, without the need to fit it into a rigid work schedule.

nursing careers in nursing agencys

 

Agency Nurse Networking and Nursing Agency Job Fairs

One of the benefits of working with a nursing agency is the network you will develop during your agency nurse jobs. Networking is an excellent way to progress your career, as the age old expression says “it’s not what you know, but who you know”. Building a network will allow you to create a rapport with a wide range of medical and healthcare professionals, as well a hiring managers and recruiters. A strong network opens a number of doors in your career. The nursing community spans far and wide, and there’s no telling where your agency nurse job may take you. 

 

Both NHS organisations and private healthcare providers hold meets-up and open days to let nurses get to know like-minded individuals, sharing knowledge, challenges and building strong connections. As well as networking “in real life”, consider using professional social networks to connect with your peers and colleagues such as LinkedIn. We’ve seen a number of our nurses find mentorship through the network they have cultivated during their time with Mayday Healthcare as an agency nurse. 

 

Partner with Mayday Healthcare 

When it comes to progressing your career as a nurse, it’s likely you’ll have a lot of questions to ask. We’re here to help. At Mayday Healthcare, we take pride in offering our agency nurses a rewarding and lucrative career path, as well as access to advice and industry insights. We know the nurse recruitment market inside and out, so with our guidance you can make better informed decisions about the direction in which you want to focus your career. Our consultants take time to get to know our agency nurses, and our teams work hard to form solid relationships with our nurses, so that we can best facilitate future career moves. It’s our firm belief that a partnership approach adds the most value, so once you’re part of our nurse network, we’ll do as much as we can to help you as you progress in your nurse career.

 

Create your own nursing future 

Finally, the more effective way to progress your career as a nurse is by taking the reins and driving your own success. Whilst we work tirelessly to support our agency nurses, those that flourish are typically proactive in their approach to gaining experience, learning new things and putting themselves “out there”. This is key in order to accelerate your career, and in turn your earning potential. So what can you do to help push your job in the right direction? We recommend a number of things, including undertaking training in areas that interest you, over and above the required CPD courses, exploring potential career paths by asking your consultant or leader for more information, researching and reading about your specialisms. 

 

The beauty of working with a nursing recruiter such as Mayday Healthcare is that an agency nurse job offers the flexibility to work and study, should you wish to supplement your knowledge and progress your career.

 

If you’re interested in finding out more about how an agency nursing job could support your career progression, contact a member of our team today or register here.

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