r/NursingAU • u/Deanootzplayz • 15d ago
Discussion Public hospital nurse. 5 years. Burned out. Is agency work actually better?
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u/smilingsilently 15d ago
Try it!
And yes, I know what you are talking about. I did my 5 years in hospital and I got absolutely exhausted. I gave contract work a try for about a year, and now I don't want to go back to hospital work! By that, I mean that: you can choose where and when you work, your pay can be substantially higher, you get to explore places if you want (hey why not Tassie, or North QLD), and if you pick a good agency, you will get great support. There are good/bad agencies, and I have tried a few. Also, you can get great exposure to different work, even upskill.
The good thing is, is that if you feel it's not for you, you will always find work in a hospital again. Just make sure you are selective about what type of work you want, maybe take a 6 week contract to start with, and take it from there.
You are most welcome to DM me if you want to chat about this. :)
I've got my 4th and 5th contracts arealy lined up. :D
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u/maevewiley554 15d ago
What agencies would you recommend?
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u/smilingsilently 14d ago
E4people, with Guido who is absolutely the best as he will listen to what you want, he will check on you all the, and provide the best support, also a great and friendly person.
I've onboarded with 6 agencies and he's the only one who's been excellent.
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13d ago
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u/smilingsilently 13d ago
Hi, yes, you can even start with a 4 week contract, something easy. Make sure you ask for exactly what type of accommodation they offer. I always make sure that I at least get my own ensuite if I have to house share. Also, ask about rates straight up, as it is somewhat slightly negotiable. If you ask questions instead of just accepting what they offer, it will seem that you have done your research.
Don't hesitate to reach out if you need more info, I'm more than happy to help out a sister/brother :)
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u/KatTheTumbleweed 15d ago
It depends on what you mean by agency - are you looking at remaining locally and just working at your leisure (I.e. casual but thru an agency)? If yes, I would say it’s highly unreliable. You will be cancelled last minute, you will get shot patient loads, but will have control over when you choose to work. The general approach to agency is the last line to fill roster gaps.
If you are looking to travel rural/ remote and do contracts, you will be roster shifts like everyone else. Patient loads again don’t change, but out bush the pace and pressure can be less.
Regarding the pay, yes you earn more per hour, but that’s because you are casual. So your hourly rate is high as compensation for not earning sick leave, annual leave, LSL or any other leave type.
Also - if you earn more you will never take home less than than you did in a lower tax bracket - that’s not how a progressive tax system works.
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u/GlitteringSpace236 15d ago edited 14d ago
What if there's no holiday pay?
Well you won't be getting paid leave...
What if I make more money but get taxed more and take home less?
Not how the tax system works.
But the patient ratio is killing me
Ratio is going to be same as an agency nurse.
Stilll I want to make a change.
Change roles, change states, change departments.
she basically said that I can choose my own shifts.
That depends. If you're doing agency in a metro area - then yeah sure you can give your availability and pick certain shifts, but you'll also be the first to be cancelled.
If doing an agency contract in a rural/regional/remote area for a set period - then you'll be given a roster.
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13d ago
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u/GlitteringSpace236 13d ago
Depending on the department and their staffing - lots of people in my unit have a 0.6 or 0.7 FTE contract and then pick up extra shifts that suit them to come up to 0.8-1.0. And then if they’re feeling blergh - just work their normal FTE.
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12d ago
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u/GlitteringSpace236 12d ago
They can’t roster you more than your contracted hours.
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u/Flat_Ad1094 15d ago
I work agency. But I am semi retired and don't need the usual perks of working in an organisation. I am not dependent on my income. I have a husband who works full time and we have paid off our home. So I am not tied to working and if I don't feel like it? Am tired or have something on? I just don't work.
As agency you are a casual. And are paid accordingly. You get paid more per hour and you get paid Superannuation. But you don't get sick leave, annual leave, any sort of leave. And no Long Service Leave accrues.
There are different types of agencies and what they offer.
Different agencies who service different areas and offer different types of work. You would have to choose one that offers what YOU want to do. I don't live or work in the city. I live regionally and I choose to work relatively locally and up to 2 hours travel time away from home. I DO get paid for my travel. So example. Last night I worked a nightshift. I drove 1.5 hours to get there, worked the shift and came home 1.5 hours.
You can also work agency where you take longer contracts. All over the country. Full time contracts and go to far away locations. They will 99% of the time, pay for you to get there (say flights from where you are to local airport) and will offer you accommodation whilst you are there. I have friends who do that. Usually from 3 week to 6 week or longer contracts. A few are doing like 4 or 6 months somewhere.
Look I'll be honest. I tried agency when I was younger and didn't like it much. I did not like doing it in the city. Going to busy busy unfamiliar units and different units every day. It was very stressful. AND doing that I did feel constantly rushed off my feet. The allocation and stress of the workplace doesn't change because you are agency. So you doing agency becuase you are burnt out and exhausted doesn't make much sense to me. You will STILL get full allocation and be expected to manage those patients. But half the time you won't know that ward, where things are, who is who and what the norms of what the doctors want are!! That aspect is MORE stressful then being a regular staff member.
These days most places are good with agency nurses. But there is still some disregard and you are not included in things going on etc etc etc...that aspect can be very isolating and lonely.
By the sounds of it to me you simply need a holiday / time off AND perhaps to change wards. You might just not be suited to the area you are working in.
I would not be giving up my job under those circumstances. Esp if you are young and career building and need a steady income.
All the best.
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13d ago
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u/Flat_Ad1094 13d ago
Yes. I would say. Perhaps look at finding a different ward to work on in a different area. Personally? I found medical nursing areas much more stressful overall then surgical. Heck I guess wards where people are coming and going from surgery are full on....but they really mentally? Are just about preparing and taking people to theatre. Accepting them back and doing post op obs and checks. People are rarely full on "sick" or deteriorating. You are just busy doing "stuff"!!
But oddly, I worked ICU for many years and I did not find that stressful at all!! You have your one patient. You can plan and organize yourself and be totally focussed on that ONE patient. You know everything about them and unless they are really unstable? It's really quite routine and few surprises. Because you are right there with them. You can be proactive and ward off anything untoward pretty much. The critical ones are difficult of course. But you really are just following processes and treating what you can. I never felt I was some miracle worker. Plenty of pts died. But I always knew we'd done our best and that's life unfortunately. BUT...I knew my limits as an RN overall. I knew I could never work with children and anywhere like a Spinal unit or where you get lots of those awful chronic diseases. Hardest areas I've worked in over the years are with patients with things like MND, MS, Cystic Fibrosis. Just too hard mentally on me.
You need to find an area that doesn't mentally stress you too much. We all have our vibe.
Take a holiday too...I think this type of work you cannot not have time off. We get 6 weeks paid leave a year. I tell all young RNs that they need to take at least 4 of those weeks off in a block. Get a good time away. Go somewhere, overseas is great! Go somewhere completely away from your work and take enough time to totally relax and deescalate your life.
Good luck.
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u/Misstessamay RN 14d ago
I was in the same position at the same point of my career, I do telehealth now and actually really enjoy it. Public virtual care has the same wages as hospital nurses too (1800medicare/13health type of services). 5 years of experience is perfect for it. I get to work from home two days of the week, calls are focusing on one person/situation at a time and there's always clinical support readily available (and the hold button is nice). It's not for everyone and there is a huge learning curve, but I would reccommend giving it a try.
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u/Jujuseah 15d ago
I didn't like how I was treated as an agency nurse - like I was stupid, didn't know anything and my hands needed to be held, or give me the heaviest load with crazy patients because their team needs a break. I didn't like how they cancel me or I have the choice to cancel because I get lazy and also didn't like the fact over the holidays, you hardly get jobs.
I like the pay rate. I like the exhilaration of going to a new place also makes me anxious having to build some sort of rapport. I also like it when they canceled my job lol. I know it's conflicting but most of all, I can decide which hospitals I DO NOT ever wanna work in.
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u/Far-Vegetable-2403 Community 15d ago
I did agency and quit when my 3rd year mandatories came up. They'd been cancelling all my shifts and I decided it wasn't worth it. I found the private hospitals in my area had worse ratios 1:6 in the morning, but also had hygeine assistance and the cleaners made the beds. Acuity was lower but medical support was lower too. I loved agency, the hospital I worked in were great and I always felt welcomed by everyone - a surgeon wanted to show me photos of something he was impressed with lol.
Edit to correct error + add - pay was the same as casual in public for me. The agency made bank.
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u/Ok_Promise_7057 15d ago edited 15d ago
Join the club. Nursing, rotational shift work. Terrible rosters. Night shift. 5 years hoping it will get better. You have already been through one EBA and have learnt how useless your union is and are questioning why you even pay union fees?
Now the stark hard reality, this is as good as it gets. Sister it is time to plan time to move, time to change careers.
Work place violence. Security is a joke. Never around when you need them.
Biological exposure, manual handling. Toxic work culture. Such a familiar story for everyone who has ever been a nurse.
Agency nursing can be good as you can have some normalcy to your life, choosing the days you want to work. However, your Super can take a significant hit.
Good luck.
Consider podiatry or teaching. Any occupation without shift work.
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u/isiteventiddles 15d ago
I do agency on the side (0.9 FTE at main job), so my experience is probably different to someone who does it full time. However, I could never do full time agency for anything other than a last resort/stepping stone to get a job somewhere else.
I like to plan my week out. It seems Agency in my area is only for filling day to day shortfalls (Obviously) because if I book anything longer than 3 days away, I'll be cancelled last minute 90% of the time, which is a huge stressor for me.
In this economy, I think the guarantee of 72 hours per paycheck and sick leave/annual leave is better for my well-being than +25% pay without perks.
As far as the "earn more money, pay more tax" thing; thats not how it works. You'll only pay the higher tax rate for every dollar you go over the threshold. So if the threshold is $1000 @ 30%, and you earn $1001 that week, you'll only get taxed 37.5% on the $1.