What is metro nursing?
Table of Contents
What is metro nursing?
Metro nursing means you have total flexibility and control of when you want to work. This is for the healthcare professional who wants to design their own life, their own work schedules and earn a higher hourly rate.
Healthcare professionals always focus on the “pros” and “cons” of this particular lifestyle.
PRO
• Highly hourly rate
• Weekly pay (that’s, right, cha-ching!!)
• You type in YOUR availability for the week. No need to ask for days off as your design your roster for the week
• Ability to QUICK PAY (which means it hits your account the next day) – small fee applied
• Ability to learn from different facilities, expand your clinical skills, meet new inspiring people in different multidisciplinary team at different facilities
• Get out of your comfort zone – grow as a healthcare professional
CON
• Yes, you can be cancelled. This can be the biggest “fear” of being agency. The “minimum” amount of notice to cancel your shift is 1 hour before shift start time. Most of the time, you will have at least 4 hours’ notice. But the agency will do their best to get you a new shift at another facility, which you can decide to accept or decline. It’s best to let the agency know ALL your skills and areas you would be willing to work, as this enables them to find the best options
• Become addicted to the agency lifestyle (Oh wait… That’s a PRO 😛 )
HOT TIPS
1. Click on SHIFT DETAILS on the shift being offered and find the address, parking information etc.
2. Search online for the hospital/facility you have been allocated and access the hospital map – gives you more of a visual on where to go
3. Be prepared the night before. Have your uniform ready, pack your lunch, and make sure your phone is on loud, so you can hear a phone call of the agency contacting you for any reason
4. Once you start doing shifts at particular facilities, YES the first time you will be nervous, but the more you do it the easier it becomes. In ANY new job, things will feel foreign, but the more you do it, the easier it is.
5. A rule of thumb is to aim to be at a NEW facility a minimum of 45 minutes early. This helps calm the nerves, find where you need to sign on, locate your ward, put your bag away and commence your shift.
THE eHCA APP EXPLAINED
HCA has an incredible app that is compatible with all smartphones
You can choose your availability 24/7 for a mixture of AM (morning), PM (afternoon) and ND (night duty) shifts
You will get an ALERT on your phone to inform you that you have been allocated a shift.
You can then read details about the shift and choose to either ACCEPT or DECLINE the shift
DAY-TO-DAY SHIFTS EXPLAINED
Once you have placed your availability on the app, you then start being “allocated” into shifts. This can be at different facilities in your locations (so in one week, you can work in multiple locations)
Once you’re allocated a shift, then you can look into the details of the shift:
Hospital/facility
Time of the shift
Address
Parking information
You can either ACCEPT or DECLINE the shift
BLOCK BOOKINGS EXPLAINED
These bookings don’t appear on your app.
Block bookings mean you can get allocated “bulk” shifts in one particular facility
This can be between 2-12 weeks depending on the requirement of the facility and your requests
You need to call HCA and speak to a consultant and ask for these particular bookings CALL NOW
These can be areas such as aged care, medical, surgical, theatre (scrub scout, anaesthetics, recovery), ICU, ED and more