How to Start Your Own Nursing Employment Agency

Nursing is a highly popular profession. Nearly three million people hold nursing licenses, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nurses face many career options including full time hospital staff work, medical research and employment at freestanding medical clinics. Nurses may also seek to work for nursing staffing agencies. Agencies provide short term and long term per diem employment to qualified candidates. If you have a medical background or just a deep interest in the field, starting a nursing employment agency may be an ideal choice for you.

Things You'll Need

• Office space
• Paperwork
• Record storage area

Show More

Instructions

• 1

  Set up an office space. You will need to have a separate space for yourself. This will allow you to interview candidates for employment and speak with potential employers quietly. You may also need an area to store important records and contracts where they can be accessed when necessary. The office space can be a room in your house or a suite in a leased office building. The nursing staffing head may want to consider hiring someone to assist you in conducting interviews and creating payroll. An office space should have a separate area for a fellow employee to do so without interruptions.

• 2

  Get contracts. Get in touch with nursing employers such as nursing homes and hospitals. Contact the human resources departments. Prepare a presentation listing your qualifications to provide the facility in question with qualified nurses. Present a business plan detailing your ability to work with the organization in question to meet its needs. Any contract should spell out the rate of hourly pay as well as any extra funds for nurses who work at night and on holidays and weekends. If necessary hire a lawyer to assist you with this process and make sure all documents have legal standing.

• 3

  Recruit candidates. Order business cards and write up easy-to-read fliers with information about what you can offer nurses seeking employment. Contact local schools of nursing and colleges that offer a major in nursing and those that offer a master’s degree in the field. Ask if you can speak with students on career day. Call up local companies that help nurses pass state licensing exams. Get permission to talk to students who are studying for their licensure. Place advertisements in local and national nursing magazines about your nursing recruitment business. If you have a background in nursing emphasize your understanding of their career concerns to your fellow nurses.

• 4

  Create a system of employee evaluation and verification. Have standardized forms made up that every applicant must fill out. Ask candidates to provide a copy of her nursing license, certification or degree and employer references. Develop a series of interview questions designed to help make sure the prospective employee is the right fit for the position. Provide materials such as bandages and have the nurse demonstrate her understanding of procedures such as changing a patient’s dressing in front of you.