As a healthcare professional, you can come across many different ways to work and you may be unsure which path would be best to take for your career and lifestyle. Here, we discuss just a few of the many benefits of working with an agency, in particular Athona, as opposed to working via bank staff.

Working with an agency

When you register with an agency like Athona, you’ll have access to a range of benefits such as exclusive partnership discounts, a specialist 1-2-1 recruiter, free CPD through our regular webinars and CPD allowance and our many online and in-person training courses. Other benefits of working with an agency also include:

  • Access to shifts before any other healthcare professionals due to our Tier 1 sponsorships in some areas
  • Discounted appraisals and help with the revalidation process, via our industry-recognised team
  • Freedom to choose day or night shifts, permanent or locum work, specific locations that suit you best and competitive pay rates
  • You can be registered and out to work in as little as 3 days
  • Our in-house compliance team ensure your compliance checks are always up to date, meaning you stay compliant and ready to go out into your next placement
  • Better for middle to long-term placements
  • You can work in multiple Trusts and explore working in different environments and specialties, meaning you would have wider work opportunities
  • Each week we run 2 hassle-free payrolls
  • Typically better pay rates than if you work as bank staff

Working as bank staff

When working as bank staff in the NHS, you will be covering wards and departments in hospitals to provide cover for both planned and unplanned gaps in staffing. You will be contacted as and when there is a shift that needs to be covered and sometimes this could be for a day, week, or longer.

If you choose to undertake a bank shift in a particular Trust, you may be unable to work through an agency in that Trust for up to 1 year (based on the date of your last placement). As well as this, you may find it more difficult to form connections and become a part of a consistent team as you will be filling an array of shifts in different hospitals. Due to this slight disconnect, you could receive less supervision and support in comparison to other staff members, which could restrict and hinder your growth and development in your role.

Overall, there are many benefits of choosing to work through an agency like Athona to helping you find your next role in the NHS or private sector. Begin your registration process with us today by quickly completing our short form and uploading your CV so we can get to work with finding you your next dream role.

E: info@athona.com

T: 01277 217 777