5 Benefits of Working with a Medical Staffing Agency
As a travel nurse, you’re familiar with the benefits of travel nursing including flexible schedules, exploring new places, and advancing your skills. But what about the advantages of working as a travel nurse for a medical staffing agency?
While some medical professionals prefer to stay at one medical setting for their entire career, travel nurses who work with a staffing agency can quickly find new job opportunities, working environments, and work schedules to customize their workload and expand their resume.
If you’re a travel nurse looking for job opportunities, consider working with a travel nursing staffing agency to take advantage of these benefits:
1. Generous Pay (and Other Bonuses)
Employees, no matter the industry, seek jobs that pay well based on the position type, location, required experience, and responsibilities. When it comes to the medical field, travel nurses are often paid higher compared to salaried workers employed directly by a health organization. This is due to the travel nursing profession itself, but also because, in some cases, staffing agencies do not have to pay medical benefits.
In addition to a higher pay, working as a travel nurse for a staffing agency may allow you to collect payments more quickly, sometimes after each shift or weekly.
Medical staffing agencies may offer referral programs or other bonuses to their employees. For example, ECMStaffing’s referral program offers current, former, and non-employees the ability to earn up to $500 for directing qualified candidates to the agency.
Medical staffing agencies may also offer housing stipends to help cover housing costs during job assignments. Housing stipends are typically available for those who meet certain criteria, and stipend amounts will vary due to factors such as location.
2. Guaranteed Work Schedules
When working with a medical staffing agency as a travel nurse, you’ll typically receive travel contract assignments with guaranteed work schedules. Guaranteed shifts provide clarity to both the health organization and employee. As a travel nurse, you can count on steady work from predetermined schedules.
Contract assignments at ECMStaffing, for example, have duration periods of 4 to 26 weeks (or sometimes longer). Employees with these schedules are also eligible for benefit programs and increased pay rates.
3. Recruiter Support
Another perk of working with travel nurse medical staffing agencies is that you are often assigned to a recruiter that will work with you to find job assignments. Doing so helps the agency understand your job desires and provide an efficient process for everyone involved.
At ECMStaffing, our recruiters take the time to collect information from you during the hiring process about the types of contract assignments you are most interested in working. This is a vital step during the onboarding process to ensure we are meeting your needs and able to match you with the right assignments. Our recruiters provide one-on-one support and are always available to answer any questions or help you find the next assignment.
4. Variety of Work Environments
Being a travel nurse allows you to explore new cities and meet new people. And with that, you’re exposed to various health care settings, coworkers and managers, and new patients. While this may seem challenging for some, it’s an exciting opportunity for many nurses to get hands-on experience in a variety of work environments that they wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to explore.
With help from an agency, travel nurses can experience new work environments to find their preferred healthcare setting or help prevent burnout that can happen when staying at a job long-term.
At ECMStaffing, we offer assignments at several different facilities including:
- Assisted Living Facilities and Nursing Homes
- Clinics
- Healthcare Organizations and Networks
- Hospitals
- Mental Health and Psych Facilities
- Skilled Nursing Facilities
- Surgery Centers
- And more!
Not only will you have a variety of medical settings to choose from, but you’ll also have opportunities to work in different states. For example, ECMStaffing currently offers positions across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Arizona, and Montana.
5. Career Growth
Travel nursing agencies regularly offer a wide range of jobs due to the growing state of staffing needs. As a travel nurse filling these much-needed positions, you’ll be exposed to:
- Increased networking opportunities, which can greatly benefit your career in the long run. You’ll constantly be meeting new co-workers, managers, and other medical professionals with whom you may form long lasting and meaningful connections.
- Various health care facilities, which each have their own staffing, patient, and nursing needs. From smaller clinics to large hospitals, each setting will offer its own challenges and demands, making this a great opportunity for growth as a nurse and as an individual.
Medical staffing agencies may also offer perks such as on-going educational opportunities for you to grow your skill set outside of the daily nursing tasks.
Still curious if working for a medical staffing agency is right for you? We’re happy to answer any questions you may have about working with an agency and what you can expect at ECMStaffing. Contact us at 253.475.0695 or send our team a message here.
Also, learn what other medical professionals are saying about working at ECMStaffing.