7 reasons why becoming an agency nurse is a no-brainer

Working as an agency nurse, be it full time or casually, is sometimes perceived to be a risky career choice and not the route a family-supporting, highly qualified nurse would ordinarily go down. Well here at Kare Plus our continuously growing field of nurses is the proof in the pudding that this ideology is nothing more than an old wives’ tale. We have nurses joining our nationwide branches for a whole variety of reasons – and making more money is just the tip of the iceberg (even if it is a nice extra earner). Below are our top seven reasons to join a care agency that we’re confident will have you struggling to ever think why you didn’t sign up sooner!

1. No minimum or maximum hours – It’s a common misconception that to be an agency nurse you need to leave your current full time job. Well, this couldn’t be further from the truth. When you contact us, you can specify exactly how much work you’re after; this may one shift a month, three a week or even a full 40+ hours a week. The long and short of it is, you can use us to just top up your holiday fund or to create a whole new way of life - the choice is yours!
2. Try new nursing settings – Perhaps after many years working within a private hospital, nursing home or rehabilitation centre, you’re ready for a new challenge in a new environment. But how do you know which challenge and which environment is right for you? You wouldn’t want to leave your job, dive into a new setting and three weeks later realise you’ve made a huge mistake, would you? Luckily, we can provide you shifts in a variety of settings that you can use as trial runs to establish your next career move. Best of all, you can tell us exactly what settings you would like to work in and we can arrange shifts that fit in around your current job; so you won’t even need to take time off!
3. Develop and maintain skills – Nurses have such a wide array of skills that working in the same setting for weeks, months and years-on-end can mean certain skills can go unused and slowly be forgotten. As said previously, working for a care agency allows you to sample a variety of different settings, meaning skills that go unused in your usual workplace can be reignited and you may even find you develop new skillsets too. All in all, this helps improve your nursing, can make your working life easier and, perhaps, help you progress up the career ladder.
4. You will meet new people - Work is an essential part of many people’s lives, so enjoying what you do is vital to your success and happiness. A huge part of enjoying your work life is enjoying who you’re working with and here at Kare Plus you get the opportunity to constantly meet new people in the various settings we have shifts available. Best of all though, if you find you particularly enjoy working with your colleagues in one particular setting, let us know and we will strive to arrange all future shifts there for you.
5. A great source of variety – Even if you enjoy your current setting and rarely wake up in the morning not wanting to get out of bed, working even just one shift a week with an agency can add a little variety to change your routine and add a bit more excitement to your working week.
6. Clinical and revalidation support – We can’t speak for other agencies, but here at Kare Plus we understand that your PIN is your career, so we strive to offer the absolute utmost support and CPD to keep your career developing and on track. With revalidation now a major part of all nurses’ lives as well, we also offer ongoing support, advice and information packages to help make the process as easy as possible. We have even helped some of our nurses reconsider their plans to retire early.
7. Weekly pay – It’s probably no surprise we pay our staff very good rates, but on top of that we also offer the perk of weekly pay. This means a regular cash flow to boost your full-time job’s monthly earnings, easier money management and no more end-of-month blues. Even just one shift a week could put a further £200+ in your bank account each week – plenty enough to cover household bills, top up the holiday fund or even spare cash for a couple more takeaways each month!

So, still not convinced? If not, why not share with us what would make you consider joining a care agency – be it for part time, casual or full time work – in the comments below or on our Facebook page. If it sounds like something you do want to learn more about though, give your local Kare Plus branch a call to discuss what shifts you’re after, find out about more perks of working for Kare Plus or ask any questions you may still have. We will get the ball rolling immediately and, with strong references and a DBS, could get you shifts in as little as one week from your application – even with our comprehensive safeguarding and compliance procedures which help ensure we find you shifts in settings right for you and for our customers. Alternatively, apply directly on our website using our Jobs search page!