Nursing in the United Kingdom has a historical perspective. Thanks to Florence Nightingale, the role and perception of nursing have undergone tremendous changes. Today, nurses are no longer the assistants or helpers to the doctors. With years of quality education, practice, and extensive training, they have become professionals in their right. Some nurses are experienced so much so that they can fill in the shoes of a physician
This could be the reason why more and more nurses are opting to offer individual services rather than being a permanent employee at a hospital or a health institution. For example, a Nursing Agency in London will provide nurses with the option to work the shifts they want as well as the role they want. The emergence of nursing agencies has played a vital role in making the lives of the nurses in the UK a bit easy. Working as an agency nurse has many advantages, one being a very rewarding career.
Some of the major benefits of working as an agency nurse include:
- Flexibility and freedom of shift selection where you can pick up shifts that suits your work-life balance. It brings freedom to your work, allowing you to control the way you want to work and where you want to work. A nursing agency can fit around your travelling, children, and studies (if you are pursuing higher studies).
- With a reputable nursing agency, the booking process quite straightforward. That means accepting shifts is easy. Nobody can force a particular shift or role on you. You can simply accept or reject them based on your preference.
- One of the biggest reasons why you should work as an agency nurse is great pay rates. Agency work offers a much higher pay rate as compared to working as a permanent employee for a hospital. Based on your experience and area of expertise, your rates will be defined. You can make as high as £200 or more just by working a single shift.
- When you work as an agency nurse, you open doors to work in a variety of work environments. You can not only have a preference for your shifts but you also get to choose the location as well. From home care to aged care, mental health care, complex medical tasks, and more, you get to explore different work environments that a permanent nurse at a hospital cannot. This allows you to get more experienced and professional in your field.
- One of the main reasons why nurses are preferring to work with an agency is that it allows them to grow their professional network. The most you explore, the more you get to work with different people and professionals in the field. Since you will be interacting with a variety of professionals when working in a variety of locations, you are not only broadening your networking opportunities but also are boosting your working knowledge.
- Working as an agency nurse provides you with an opportunity for the advancement of your own professional development that you get through working different shifts of your choice. As you explore different shifts and build your network, your professional capacity and skills will expand. This will allow you to enhance your clinical skills and gain more work experience, something that’s worth putting in your updated CV. You will be working in a variety of departments across different locations.
- Last but not least, being in the healthcare industry demands you to be always on your toes. The practices are ever-changing and with the inclusion of the latest technologies in medical science, your job will require you to be updated all the time. Continuous learning and training is a must if you are a nurse. Since you will be working as an agency nurse, you will get access to numerous training opportunities. It will allow you to keep your skills and knowledge polished while allowing you to learn new things. The best part, if you want to pursue higher studies in nursing, you can easily prepare your schedule according to that. You will not be bound by the shifts and work environments that prevent you from pursuing anything further in your field.
There are more than 300,000 nurses in the United Kingdom working in different settings, including health centres, hospices, nursing homes, hospitals, and even communities. Some nurses are now better trained, thanks to nursing agencies and the privileges they provide. With the skills and experience, they got from being an agency nurse; dedicated nurses are now becoming nurse educators.
If you are a nurse or are aspiring to be a nurse, it is important that you look into all your options. It is important to have a good understanding of nursing jobs available in the United Kingdom so that when you become an agency nurse, you can explore your options accordingly.
