Whether you are a nurse interested in attaining new skills, making a career change, diversifying your experience, or just looking for a change of pace, temporary nursing is a great option for a variety of reasons.  In fact now, as more healthcare providers continue to see the value of temporary nursing assignments, is the perfect time to take advantage of these opportunities.

“Healthcare employees are always in demand,” explains Amanda Bleakney, Senior Managing Director of The Execu|Search Group’s Health Services division.  “Even during the recession, the amount of patients needing healthcare didn’t change!  As a result, during the recession when many organizations didn’t have the resources for a large full-time workforce, we saw that many of our clients relied on temporary employees.  As our economy recovers and more full-time opportunities become more available, we are still seeing that there is still a lot to be gained from temporary nursing.”

It’s also important to keep in mind that a temporary assignment does have the potential to lead into a full-time placement.  As Amanda notes, “Many of our clients have specialized hiring needs and hire on a temp-to-perm basis to ensure there is a proper match for all parties involved.  Additionally, temp assignments are a great way to get your foot in the door – employers are typically more willing to hire nurses that they have seen working for them reliably in lieu of making a full-time commitment to someone they have not seen on the job.”

Therefore, taking advantage of the accessibility of temporary nursing can result in a satisfying match for a number of different nursing professionals looking for opportunities to gain hands-on experience and build a strong network that can span their entire career.

For instance, this type of nursing can represent a stepping stone, a career path, or even a way of gaining familiarity in new fields.  This means that whether you are a recent nursing grad who is trying to figure out which field you want to specialize in, or a more experienced nurse interested in pursuing a new interest, temporary assignments can help you decide which direction to go in.  With a shorter term assignment, you have the opportunity to either choose to make a more permanent commitment to that field by attaining a certification and looking for a full-time position or try a different area if there isn’t a fit.

In addition, temporary roles can offer you the flexibility to schedule your hours around your priorities, such as the pursuit of higher education, or for those looking for full-time placement, the potential to ensure that you enjoy doing the job and working within that facility.  If you don’t, these short- term, temporary assignments make it very easy for you to move on and try something else.

Of course, there are caveats to taking on temporary roles, and the work is based significantly on a combination of clinical and interpersonal skills.  One example of a strongly-suited candidate for temporary nursing might be someone who is capable of juggling different tasks, interacting with new faces on a daily basis, and who possesses the mental focus needed to adjust and quickly contribute to constantly shifting teams.

If this sounds like something you could do, you can check out our hundreds of temporary and temporary-to-perm nursing assignments by searching, here.