Whether it’s filling in gaps during a staff member’s maternity leave, using temporary nurses while you’re hiring permanent employees or supplementing your staff during flu season, there are many reasons to bring travel nurses to your facility — but why not make the process easier?
Here are a few reasons hospitals work with travel nurse staffing agencies:
Accessing a wide pool of candidates
Writer Danielle Bullen recently spoke to several nurse hiring managers about why they work with staffing agencies, including Jennie Cunliffe, business manager at Duke University Hospital in Durham, N.C. She learned that one benefit managers like best is having a large number of nurses from which to choose to get an impressive healthcare professional to work at their facilities.
“We use an agency more often when they provide quality candidates,” Jennie, who has worked with RNnetwork for several years, says in the article. “If they can do that quickly, we turn to them more.”
Getting help fast
A nurse who already holds a license in the state in which the facility is located can potentially start working in a matter of days, as long as the credentialing, travel and housing requirements are also taken care of. Nursing agencies also help nurses obtain state licenses when they need them, working closely with state boards to ensure all the paperwork is filled out correctly and the nurses can start as quickly as possible.
Streamlining the hiring process
When facilities work with travel nurse agencies, their hiring managers don’t have to spend hours on the phone or in conference rooms conducting interviews, scanning resumes online and posting openings on job boards. Agency recruiters find nurses who are qualified to work in that area, present their CVs and references, and allow hiring managers to go from there — saving them time and providing quality candidates at the same time.
Finding the right cultural fit
No facility wants to hire a nurse who doesn’t fit in with other staff members, is difficult to work with or is unhappy with the location or the job. Nurse staffing recruiters get to know nurses personally, find out which states and regions they’d like to work in, ask about their preferred work settings and schedules and determine which jobs best fit their skill sets — all to find a great match for both the nurse and the facility.
When nurses are dissatisfied with their housing or location or are having issues with the work load or staff members, they can reach out to recruiters first to address concerns and hopefully reach a solution before involving leaders at the facility.
Hiring nurses who can jump right in
Travel nurses are used to meeting new people, becoming accustomed to a different facility and quickly learning various systems and procedures. Hiring managers love that the onboarding process generally lasts only a few days and they can count on the nurses to pitch in and provide care with ease.
Now that you know why it pays to work with a travel staffing agency, see why nurses enjoy working with RNnetwork — and check out the full article about the benefits of agency relationships in this ADVANCE for Nurses article.