Agency Nurse

What Are The Advantages Of Agency Nursing: Hear It From An Agency Nurse

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Week 3 and we are still emphasizing why all nurses should by all means be in charge of their schedules.

Over the years here are some ways nurses in the UK have been augmenting their income:

  1. Have a full-time job elsewhere, when you get a chance pick an extra shift assigned or found at the agency.
  2. Work overtime, i.e long days and double shifts etc to make sure the salary is higher when the calender hits the last day of the month.

This week we had an opportunity to speak to one nurse who is transitioning to become a full-time agency nurse and she had this to say

… I work 4 nights a week, from Sunday to Wednesday and the other 3 nights and days, I’m with my family. I went to a church outing for the first in a decade last week and I didn’t have to work the Sunday I got back because there was no pressure for me to unlike last time.

I have managed to pay back my small loan I’m working towards building my second home in another country I really can’t complain. And to think three months ago I was depressed after our family holiday when things were not going well for me financially……

This lady was advised by her friend an agency nurse, to do agency nursing full time and she was forced by circumstances to do it. She is the happiest person around because she is seeing the benefits.

She has more time with her family, her finances are not in a quandary and she has more time for social events because she can manage her schedule.

When I asked her if she misses the security of her old job she said she doesn’t, especially the double shifts.

Just like her, sometimes there is absolutely no reason for you to pick those double shifts when you can have a flexible schedule. To get started on your agency nursing journey call us on 03300300031 or email us at info@myshifts.works alternatively fill in this form and we will contact you.

Toxic Work Environment

Nurses, Is Your Work Environment Toxic?

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Toxic Work Environments, one of the topics less discussed on the web, no employer would ever want their workplace to be described as toxic right? Research has cited that over the years, a toxic work culture is one of the most cited reasons why people quit their jobs. A lot of us do not even realise that the environment is not ideal, because of various reasons, however a survey on the internet by Conductor discovered that web searches for “toxic work environment quiz “increased by over 500% this year.

What is a Toxic Work environment?

According to Forbes:

..toxic means “poisonous” and/or “causing unpleasant feelings; harmful or malicious. ClearForce CEO Tom Miller says it can be anything from bullying or harassment to a company that engages in unethical practices and is dishonest with its employees

Forbes

There are many reasons why many will stay in a not-so-ideal workplace. Some are not really aware that the traits exuded by their superiors or co-workers are toxic until they leave that environment and start working elsewhere. Not to mention the fact that some employers have adopted the “take it or leave it phenomenon” of letting employees know in one way or the other that if they think this environment is not ideal, they are free to leave.

In the African country of Zimbabwe, a woman shared her toxic work environment story and she said she stayed because she was afraid she would not get another job. Unemployment is rife in that country and a lot of people are qualified to do most jobs. For every vacancy, there are thousands if not tens of thousands of applicants. In Scotland, a lady endured in a toxic work environment for years because she needed to gain expereience in her field.

What Can Be Done About Toxic Work Environment?

A week ago, The Guardian published a story that said, the Royal College of Nursing was marred with allegations of:

..bullying, misogyny and a sex_ual culture where women are at risk of “alcohol and power-related exploitation

The Guardian

Given the fact that the Royal College of Nursing is one of the biggest Nurses Union in the world, this further alludes to the fact that, many envrionemnts are probably toxic to many people and the superiors are probaly not aware of it.

Now that we know, its possible to be in a toxic enveronment and not know it, or endure because of various reasons, what can we as nurses do?

  1. Take the toxic work envronment quiz on the web and see if you are working in an toxic environment
  2. Stand up against any toxic traits you do not like
  3. In some cases, switch to agency nursing, you will be working in different work stations and envrionments, you have a chance to cherry pick which place you can go to and which ones to avoid.

In case you need help transitioning to agency nursing, call us on 03300300031 or email info@myshifts.work and we will help you.

We Are Hiring

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Over the past few months, we have indicated on social media that we are hiring. We have placed several advertorials in different formats hoping to catch a wider audience of people offering what we are looking for. Pivotal Solutions has said recruitment/hiring is not an event but an ongoing process, and we stand by such declarations. This, therefore, has inspired us to cast a wider net and tell anyone and everyone that consumes our content that we are continuously recruiting at our agency. We are looking for

  1. Registered Nurses
  2. Theatre Nurses
  3. Registered Mental Health Nurses
  4. In some instances Health Care Assistants

We are based in Dudley but our services stretch to the entire West Midlands and further afield. This gives many an opportunity to work in their local area, limiting their travel time to and from work. Why must you choose us in a pool of other agencies offering the same you may ask, and here is the answer:

  1. We offer competitive rates, our rates are great,
  2. We can fast-track your registration if there is a need for registration to be done for you to work at our agency.
  3. We will curate your schedule based on your off days and or free time, allowing you to have a bit of extra time on your hands
  4. We prioritise your health and will customise your shifts in such a way that you will get enough time to rest.
  5. We can place you temporarily or permanently and again give you extra shifts if we place you permanently.
  6. We offer a personalised service
  7. We make payments promptly and we guarantee you you will not experience any delays.

In case you have decided to work with us, please get in touch by sending your CV for consideration at info@myshifts.work or directly call us on 03300300031.

While at it check our blog which mainly gives hiring and employment tips.

Nurse attends to patient

Nursing 101, Important Nursing Tips Everyone Should Know

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Nursing 101 is the last thing you were expecting to read on this blog right? Well, to be fair it was also the last thing we were expecting to write about until this fine morning. As an agency responsible for placing nurses in great environments where they can improve their bottom line while offering a much-needed service, we have befriended and been exposed to many a nurse.

Many health workers have moved to the UK from different parts of the globe to work in UK Hospitals and medical centres. The way things are done in the UK when it comes to patient handling and general nursing etiquette in UK is different. In some African hospitals nursing are a menace, a bunch of unapproachable people who will not hesitate to read you the riot act should they decide you badly need it even when you are a patient. Some African mothers have chilling stories of how nurses shouted, scolded or manhandled them, especially during labour.

In some communities, this has been normalised because people see it as a necessary evil because they believe sometimes mothers in labour are not serious and sometimes if they are not pushed the birth might have a fatal end. While those societies turn a blind eye to such, the same is not the case in the UK. Should one desire to be a good nurse, and last in their career till retirement then they need this Nursing 101 unofficial guide:

  1. If possible find a senior nurse to mentor you unofficially or officially, and observe how they serve their patients, and how they interact with others.
  2. Acquaint yourself with UK Nursing laws, and always stay up to date on that front.
  3. Do not be a bore, yes you read that correctly, do not be a nuisance to fellow workers and even to patients. Do not constantly complain, do not talk about people behind their backs and try to be cordial with all people, patients and co-workers alike.
  4. Hope for the best but expect the worst, people come from different backgrounds and they have different personalities. They will have some traits that will probably not sit well with you. Be objective and always expect the worst even when you are hoping for the best. This will help you to not snap or react in a way that will sanction disciplinary action from your superiors.
  5. Try and maintain a healthy work-life balance and always prioritise your health. Given the availability of extra shifts and all, it’s easy to get carried away and work extra hard blurring the lines between work and personal life. By all means, find a way to separate the two.
  6. Do not forget Nursing etiquette rules.
  7. Be efficient, establish a routine and always make sure you prioritise important things on your list of important tasks for the day or week or month.

Well, these nursing 101 tips will help those that are coming to work in the UK as nurses and those that are already working in the UK. Check out our other employment tips on our blog.

If you are a nurse based in the West Midlands in need of extra shifts in your local area call us on 03300300031 or send us an email at info@myshifts.work we offer great rates.

Unmotivated employee

Feeling Unmotivated At Work? These 3 Tips Will Help

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Are you feeling tired or unmotivated at your workplace? An Instagram post popped up on my smartphone. Yes, I opened the slide hoping to see a magic trick that would help my mental fatigue. The post went on to suggest that I probably was just a burnout and I wasn’t going through mild depression, as per the results of my self-diagnosis.

In as much as I did not get what I was hoping to get on that Instagram post, I discovered that I needed to be mentally strong and find my motivation on a daily basis. However, I also did not dismiss the thought that I might be unmotivated because of a serious burnout and I worked on my schedule and the truth is things drastically changed. In their 2016 paper titled Burnout Syndrome and Demotivation Among Health Care Personnel. Managing Stressful Situations: The Importance of Teamwork J. García-Campayo and his team reiterates that, work-related stress may actually have dire consequences and it’s no surprise that demotivation can be one of them.

Having a fulfilling career in this life where others struggle to find themselves is an absolute privilege. Over the years many have struggled to find fulfilment, contentment and even happiness, especially in their work. If you are one of the content, fulfilled, happy ones, you have a reason to celebrate.

However, if you are struggling to get through the mandatory work hours, if you are feeling grumpy, maybe it’s high time you sit down and take stock of your life. If you still want to be a nurse or that health professional that you are but feel unmotivated, these 3 tips might help you. 

  1. Try and find a working equilibrium between your work and your personal life. Sometimes you are not unmotivated, you are just struggling to find that work-life balance. 
  2. Try and manage your stress levels. Sometimes fixing this one thing, keeping your stress levels low might actually help you in more ways than one. 
  3. Try and create/maintain a healthy working environment. We are all aware of the things that make our working environment toxic. It’s high time you tackle that elephant in the room and find a way to ensure your workplace is not a dreary place you hate going to every day. Chat to colleagues, make friends, don’t talk back, be considerate, help out and try to be at peace with as many coworkers as you can. 

In case you want to pick extra shifts from us, contact us via email at info@myshifts.work or call 03300300031. Check out our other blogs on work-related content.

Candidate vector created by pch.vector - www.freepik.com '>Recruiting agent

Why Health Professionals Should Work With A Recruiting Agency

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Do professionals have to engage a recruiting agency when they are in the job market or looking for a candidate to fill a vacant post, the simple answer is YES. We have to admit many things have changed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the things that changed I would like to believe the need for professionals to engage recruitment agencies also changed. Before the pandemic, before the recession that is hitting many parts of the world, the UK included, companies had ample budgets to hire personnel as they deemed fit. The pandemic then came a pressed a major reset on many things, among them expendable income. Some companies that could afford to pay 100 people per month are struggling to pay 80 today. In most cases, the job that was being done by that person that the company can no longer afford is supposed to be done regardless of the company’s financial position.

This means nowadays companies have to hire multi-skilled people who can in some cases wear multiple hats and do numerous tasks. Where will they find these people, the simple answer is from a recruiting agency they have to engage. Why a recruiting agency you may ask and the answer is because:

  1. Recruiting agencies can find candidates a little bit faster making the process faster and probably more efficient
  2. Agencies have specialist recruitment knowledge that they can use to make the process simple because they have a large pool of candidates that have been screened already.
  3. Agencies have a wider reach because they probably work with multiple companies and candidates.
  4. Because they have access to high-quality candidates which is exactly what companies will be looking for
  5. Because they have intimate knowledge of the market and are poised to better serve the candidate and the client better because of that.

Professionals should by all means always engage an agency when looking for a job for the simple reason that, an agency is there to serve your professional needs much more than a company’s in-house hiring team. By engaging a recruiting agency, it’s easy to get alerts of vacant posts either part-time or full-time and this can help you plan your schedules. Besides, it is our duty to serve you as recruitment agencies.

In case you are looking for part-time workers or part-time work in and around Birmingham, please contact us on 03300300031 or send us an email at info@myshifts.work and check out our other blog on recruitment

Soft skils

Soft vs Technical Skills, What Should Job Seekers Prioritise?

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The soft vs technical skills debate is as old as the Pepsi vs Coke discussion that has been around for as long as we can remember. Job seekers over the years have prioritised acquiring technical/professional skills, yes they have been told that soft skills matter. but academia has always emphasised the importance of technical skills. While there are some roles in different organisations that require the incumbent to be technically qualified, it is also true that in this digital era some people are being hired mainly because of their soft skills. So what are soft skills you may want to know, according to The Balance Career:

Soft skills relate to how you work. Soft skills include interpersonal (people) skills, communication skills, listening skills, time management, and empathy, among others.

While one needs a certificate to get the job, the truth is many are qualified, there is a technical skills oversubscription in many parts of the world spread over different disciplines. Some technical skills are even becoming obsolete as the world steps two feet deep into the 4th Industrial Revolution. There is a high possibility that whenever you apply for a job, there are tens if not hundreds of other applicants and of course, technical skills will get you an interview. However, your ability to interact with others and your time management skills and empathy which will be part of your interview one way or the other get you through the door.

But enough rhetoric about soft vs technical skills, many have been hired without enough technical skills, some were told to go and upgrade a few technical skills and come back and when they did, their jobs were there. Some were hired on spot without the recruiters even seeing their portfolios or resume. Why, because they impressed recruiters with their soft skills more than with their technical skills. According to Legal Jobs, you only have 7 seconds to make a first impression on the recruiter. It is important to know that given the fact that there is high demand for many jobs, soft skills are more important than technical skills. Some companies like Ernst and Young, Google, and IBM will hire someone in some fields who does not have a certificate in that field but can prove their aptitude to do the tasks at hand. Given how Generation Z has pressed a major reset of how things are done in more ways than one, it is not surprising that more companies will hire more people with less technical skills certificates but with major soft skills.

Work ethic

Why We All Need Strong Work Ethics Today

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The ongoing recession hitting many parts of the world demands many things from us, among them better or relatively strong work ethics to wade through these murky waters, if we are to come out of it in a better state. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic plunged the world into a series of bad global outcomes. Families were gravely affected, dreams were shuttered, economies were hit hard and corporations were forced to revise their models to operate under difficult circumstances. Jobs were grossly affected and unemployment is at its all-time highest in some countries. Organisations are fighting to stay afloat and employees have found themselves in situations that demand them to work harder but receive very little to no reward. It is an open secret that today, even though there is little to no reward for the work employees are doing, they actually need to upgrade themselves and have stronger work ethics. According to career consultants Indeed:

Work ethics is an attitude of determination and dedication toward one’s job

While still trying to escape the pandemic-induced hardships organisations have started rebuilding. This phase will be a make or break season for many organisations which will separate organisations that will survive the post-COVID-19 era from organisations that will be obliterated into the abssy by the recession or other problems bedevilling many economies. In the midst of all that, employees need to work harder and have stronger work ethics for the following reasons:

  1. In some cases to retain and keep their jobs – Companies and organisations are fighting to improve productivity, efficiency and financial performance. This means many organisations will be ready to part ways with personnel that is reluctant to work and or fulfil their obligations. Many of us are expandable at our jobs right now and if we do not display strong work ethics, we might make it easy for our superiors to cut us loose.
  2. To rebuild after the pandemic – many jobs were affected by the pandemic, and many small businesses even big corporations found themselves downsizing or even closing because of the complications that were brought about by the pandemic. It’s only natural that since efforts have been made to control the pandemic, rebuilding has to start and for us to get to the pre-COVID-19 era in performance, we have to have stiffer work ethics.
  3. To survive – many organisations are fighting to survive given the ongoing recession ravaging many parts of the world. This means all hands have to be on deck if organisations are to survive the recession and live long enough to fight through it. This means more robust work ethics are needed now than before if we are interested in staying afloat or planning on making a comeback.

Nurse Aide Helping

I’m A Qualified Nurse Aide, I Can’t Find A UK Sponsor, What Else Can I Do?

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Over the last few months, the UK government has given many an opportunity to live and work in the UK. We have on this blog run a series of how you can migrate to the UK as a health worker. Health Care Assistants/Support Workers/Nurse Aides migrated in droves to the UK in 2021 and 2022 mainly because getting a Nurse Aide qualification is not a long tedious process. Given the recession that is blanketing many economies in the world, unemployment at its highest in most countries, many flocked to Nurse Aides training centres and obtained the qualifications.

However, after qualifying and meeting some of the requirements needed to obtain a UK Health and Care Work VISA many are still trying to find a sponsor to give them a job and a sponsorship certificate as per UK government requirements for one to obtain a VISA. Hundreds if not thousands are stuck on that stage and possibly despairing as weeks turn into months with no sponsor in sight.

Well, optimists are all for looking for a silver lining on every dark cloud and today I will try and detail 2 options that you might sparingly call silver lining to the dark cloud that might be engulfing your horizons. If you are a qualified Nurse Aide who can’t find a sponsor in the UK, you can try and find Support Work In Canada and you can use the Nurse Aide qualification and English Test you have obtained to look for a job. All you need to do is go on social media and on Google to find agents and or recruiters who can hire you and try to figure out the rest by constantly checking with the Canadian Embassy in your country or via their website. According to an officer at a Canadian Immigration firm the author spoke to, here is a checklist of the requirements for one to obtain a Home Support Worker Pilot Permit (HSWPP):

  • Language proficiency – IELTS General Training (Band 5)
  • Academic assessment – WES
  • Certification in basic first aid/CPR
  • All degrees or professional certificates
  • CV tailored to show your experience as a caregiver
  • Reference letter from your service user to prove that you are working as their caregiver
  • Questionnaire to be filled
  • 2 Passport photographs – https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/new-immigrants/pr-card/apply-renew-replace/photo.html
  • Police certificate (Any country you have lived in for up to 6 months)
  • International Passport of the applicant and all dependents (Must have more than 6 months validity left
  • Birth certificate of applicant and all dependents
  • Marriage certificate, change of name and newspaper publication for all applicants (If married and changed name)

Perhaps Canada is not for you, you have another option, of finding work on the cruise ships which recruit many people in different roles especially those that speak many languages and have basic first aid training. Ask your friends to give you links to recruiters recruiting cruise ship workers. If you have none of those, Google is your friend.

Poor Time Management

5 Effective Workplace Time Management Strategies

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If you are like me you probably struggle to keep time, be on time and in some instances finish something on time. I am one of those students that would struggle to research or do preliminary work on an assignment at university till the day before it’s due. I’m that one person that in most cases arrive five minutes after the time we agreed to meet or start has already lapsed. I will probably do that important project under pressure because I will either miscalculate my time, overestimate my capacity or underestimate the task at hand up until the time to complete it is a few hours, minutes or days away. Sound familiar? Are you also one of those chronic latecomers to any function?

According to behavioural expert Somia Zaman, people are always late because of a number of reasons which include:

  1. Over scheduling their days. 
  2. Setting up unrealistic plans for the day
  3. Chronic procrastination
  4. Some form of anxiety which makes the transition from one place to another difficult
  5. Poor time keeping in general.

Some experts believe that some people developed the problem of chronic lateness from their parents at a young age. While Zaman also explains that time management for people with Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a bit difficult.

We have to admit that sometimes lateness and poor time management affect our work and of course, this will, in turn, affect our bottom line. In case you want to be better at time keeping, these 5 tools and strategies will help you manage your time.

  1. Establish a routine if possible, this will be embedded in your brain, making tasks easy to carry out as you settle into your routine.
  2. Avoid multitasking. This will divide your attention and energy which might affect your time management
  3. Have a daily or weekly planner with reminders and if possible set an alarm to prompt you to remember the tasks.
  4. If possible find a way to automate repetitive tasks. For example, find a tool that will schedule all your appointments for the week and always schedule those repetitive appointments first so that you will be notified on time to attend to them
  5. Using time management tools like Trello, Dropbox, Scoro, Wanderlust, Harvest and many free tools available on the internet can help you manage your time and be productive in more ways than one.