It's about that time for me to start acting on my plans. One of my major plans is to start a nurse recruiting agency in the next year or two. I've heard many things from different people that are doing what I'm planning, and all have had different approaches. I don't know where to start. Business majors, entrepreneurs, those that are within the industry, and even those who know of someone doing nurse recruiting...please share advice, what should I do first, etc. Thanks in advance
I'm aiming to basically be a small nursing agency. Maybe to 1 or 2 hospitals/clinics at first, but hopefully it grows later. Sort of like a place to call "on-call" nurses. I have a couple of cousins from overseas that want to come here and help me build my business. Of course, the visa approval and other things affect the process, but I'm told it's possible. I just want to know what the ropes are in starting a nursing agency. I've read books, but this seems like a business that requires more "street knowledge" than book knowledge. How do I get nurses from overseas to work here under a working visa? Who do I speak with to get my foot in the door at local hospitals or clinics? Is there a contract between the nursing agency and the hospital/clinic for staffing nurses? Who makes the decision in the hospital?
There was a story on 60 Minutes about 5 years ago about the nursing shortage and how they were recruiting nurses from overseas places like South Africa, India and the Phillipines. Here is the text of the article: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/01/17/60minutes/main536999.shtml
I would type in google and do a quick search. There are many pharmacist recruiting companies already, so I'm sure there are nursing ones as well. If you do start one....good luck!
There are a bajillion nursing agencies. The amount of money to be made as an RN is pretty ridiculous, and you'll make even more if you're willing to travel. The bigger/better agencies will set you up with a place to live AND give you a monthly stipend on top of that. The RN's salary will be higher because they're willing to travel. AFAIK, all benefits are handled through the agency itself, and not the hospital, though this varies from agency to agency. I don't know a thing about the business side of it....you could try calling a few of the existing agencies....maybe they can offer some kind of advice. They might not though, seeing as how you're trying to be their competition. When I'm done with nursing school, I plan on being a travel nurse myself. Best of luck to you.
I would love to do something like this, but I'm an x-ray tech. That's all good, but my girlfriend will graduate as an RN in May. I doubt there is any way we get sent anywhere together. The travel jobs are a sweet deal, though. The travel people I've talk to are set up with housing that's paid for, they're payed a stipend for food and gas everyday, they're payed a lump sum for being somewhere every day, and then they're payed their salary. And the salary is usually at least 10 to 15 dollars and hour more than you would make at a regular, stationary job. The only other thing hindering me is that I'm planning on going back to school in the near future, and would not be able to do this if I was traveling.
The one thing I've learned in this type of business (it's all businesses, but this one especially) is that everyone keeps their cards close to their chest. It's not that big of a market, so the information is harder than usual to obtain. My girlfriend is in nursing school and will graduate this year. We plan on her getting some networking done within the industry and talk to her future coworkers that are agency nurses. I do know that the norm is that the agencies pay the nurses a much higher hourly rate, but the benefits (if any at all) are nowhere near the quality of hospital employers. I wish I knew where to start. There's so many different ways
