Nurse

With some 126,000 nursing vacancies nationwide and growing, hospitals are in desperate need of nurses. To find them, healthcare providers now more than ever are relying on nurses placed by temporary staffing agencies. As a result, the demand for supplemental staff is giving nurses attractive career options not previously available.

“Nurses want choices and flexibility,” says Liz Tonkin, RN, BSN, CEO of South Florida–based All About Staffing, Inc., an affiliate of hospital company HCA.

Rather than tap into the same dwindling pool of nurses, All About Staffing was created to supply quality nurses to help ease shortages within the HCA facility network.

“We have unique systems in place to assist our facilities in recruiting and retaining talented nurses for core positions,” says Tonkin. “At the end of the day, what our hospitals really need is a core group of people.”

Opportunities for a Lifetime

The agency recently developed the “Opportunity For A Lifetime” slogan to showcase its variety of career options for healthcare professionals.

“As we continued to grow, we recognized that if we’re going to tap into the mindset of today’s generation of nurses, we have to bring career option and choice into the professional working environment, so that it would work for nurses yet meet the needs of the patients and facilities,” says Tonkin. “So that’s how we came up with the the program.”

With “Opportunity For A Lifetime” in place, nurses can choose to work per diem, full time, or as a traveler — all while staying in control over their work schedules, assignments, and locations. Nurses say this is benefiting them because it allows them to move through the program without losing benefits. They earn more, yet maintain the security and comfort of working for a major healthcare corporation.

Telemetry nurse Mallerie Lambert-Potts, RN, works for All About Staffing. She left her full-time hospital job eight years ago because she needed the flexibility to work around her children’s schedules — something she says you can only find working for an agency.

“HCA has come a long way over the years,” says Lambert-Potts. “It’s wonderful what they’ve done in creating All About Staffing.” A bit ruefully, she notes that there’s a silver lining to the nursing shortage. “We have more choices today — and we deserve it!”

For OR nurse Dori Sommers, RN, BSN, the flexibility of working for an agency is allowing her to balance work with raising a young child and still earn more. “I know that when working for an agency, you run the risk of getting canceled,” she says. “But someone once told me if you’re a good nurse, you’ll always get called. And it’s true!”

While many nurses are taking advantage of the increased flexibility in working for an agency, Tonkin notes that it’s not for everyone. “What we’ve found over time,” she says, “is that an agency nurse is truly a mindset and a lifestyle. Somebody who really wants to be working full time can’t survive in the agency world.”

Have Suitcase, Will Travel

All About Staffing has grown exponentially, expanding into 20 markets across the country and into areas such as permanent placement, international recruitment, and new graduate programs.

With the recent launch of its traveling nurse division, nurses are taking their skills on the road, joining the ranks of thousands of other nomadic health professionals who are being sent to help ease the nation’s severe healthcare worker shortages.

“We realized that many of our own nurses were leaving to join travel companies,” says Tonkin. “Even nurses coming out of school are looking for the excitement of traveling while they’re young. We want to be able to tap into that and open their eyes to an environment that promotes free agency and allows them to be themselves and do whatever they want in their lifetime.”

First-time traveler and one-time international recruit Luis San Gabriel, RN, very carefully weighed the pros and cons before signing up with All About Staffing.

“To be honest, from the time I applied to the very last minute before signing the contract, I was hesitant on whether to travel,” San Gabriel recalls. “I was weighing my options. Looking back, I have to say this was a big step for me, but I’m glad I did it. Traveling is giving me a chance to explore, and I have the option to choose where I want to work. It makes you feel good that in one way you can help out [in easing the staffing shortage]. Hopefully, more nurses will be encouraged to travel.”

Kathy Kohnke, vice president of travel operations for All About Staffing, says the division is ahead of schedule and is receiving a positive response from nurses who are looking to travel.

“People want to belong to one employer. Now, it’s even easier for them,” she says. “They can become a traveler, come back join the staff, or work per diem. Our goal is to have people stay within the HCA network.”

Travel nurses typically make an initial commitment of 13 weeks at a facility, receive free housing and other benefits, and have the option of extending the assignment or choosing another location.

“Ninety percent of the time, a traveler will extend at the same facility,” says Kohnke. “Our hospitals are in desirable locations — Atlanta, Denver, Nashville, Miami, and other exciting metropolises. There’s so much to do that usually you can’t do everything in three months.”

Travelers can look to their recruiter as a mentor who will stay in contact with them throughout the assignment to find the best fit to meet both their professional and personal needs, says Kohnke.

“Nurses want the feeling of belonging, having input, and having flexibility with good benefits. We think we can accomplish all of these needs. This in turn will be good for the healthcare industry.”