Building Relationships As A Locum Nurse

"During uncertain times, having a variety of people on your side can keep you busy, offer solutions and stop you from losing hope."

Misha Farlowe, of AppLocum offers advice on how Locum Nurses can build and maintain relationships whilst working in new environments, and highlights the necessity of positive working relationships.

Topics covered in this article

Introduction

Colleagues

Practices & Hospitals

Agencies & Consultants

Introduction

Locum staff are more at risk of isolation because there is not a day-to-day community of colleagues who you can bond with over years of shared work and space.

Building strong relationships can be fundamental not only to your career, but your wellbeing too.

Working relationships provide opportunities to learn, network and find people who push you to achieve.

Equally, they can make the days easier and put a smile on your face when your energy is starting to flag.

It is not only the relationships with colleagues that matter, but agencies and practices too.

During uncertain times, having a variety of people on your side can keep you busy, offer solutions and stop you from losing hope.

Colleagues

Locum work can be lonely.

Putting in the effort to establish a positive relationship with your colleagues, whether you are there for days or months, can make a real difference.

It helps you beat the isolation and makes life more bearable.

The Mental Health Foundation has stated that “friends form the foundations of our ability to cope with the problems that life throws at us.”

Surrounding yourself with driven, positive people can give you a more hopeful outlook.

You can be that positive force in your communities too.

When you first join a new environment, entering with a burst of confidence to introduce yourself to your colleagues will help you to fit in and get comfortable more quickly.

---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------

Something as simple as remembering their names or making a friendly comment can make the right people warm to you quickly when they see you’re putting in the effort to connect.

Ensuring you pass on crucial information to your colleagues at the end of each shift in a good, detailed handover will also help them to really trust and respect you.

Note down important details such as who needs to be checked up on and when to administer patients’ next dose of medication.

These colleagues can help you in return.

They can offer advice on how to reach your best potential, help you out when tasks get a little too overwhelming or offer references if you need them.

If you can get in contact with other agency Nurses, such as through work or online forums, it can also be a good way to find out about suitable shifts and bond over the locum life.

Practices & Hospitals

A constructive relationship with practices and hospitals can be a great way to keep regular work and build contacts.

One way to set strong foundations is to arrive prepared so that right from the beginning they see that you are dedicated to doing an excellent job.

Ensure that you have all your paperwork, your identification card and essentials for the day.

Try to get there early, check the handover carefully and understand exactly what you need to do.

These things may seem obvious but remembering to do them every time will show that you are responsible and someone that they will want to work with again and again.

It can also be a good idea to research the organisation where you are completing your shifts.

This shows your passion for the work and makes their job easier during induction.

Showing that you are professional and hard-working can make you a preferred candidate for organisations and agencies can request you directly if they think you’ve done a great job.

Agencies & Consultants

Finally, the relationship with you and an agency can have a real impact on your career.

If you establish a strong relationship with a consultant, they will come to understand your individual needs better and better as time goes on.

They can match you to jobs and offer advice based on your availability, your preferences and what you want to achieve in your career.

In turn, they can lead you to your perfect placement or challenge you to step outside your comfort zone and learn something new about yourself.

By matching you to a practice or hospital that fits you, they help strengthen your relationship with that organisation too, helping you find more work!

A good consultant really puts in the effort to build supportive professional relationships with nurses to meet their needs, encourage them and match them to jobs they’ll love.

Learn which relationships will help you thrive.

AppLocum is a multi-discipline recruiter for salaried and locum healthcare professionals, view their current job vacancies here.

Let me know in the comments your thoughts on working as a Locum Nurse and what I've said about building relationships - let's chat there!

Oh, and please Like this article to let me know you enjoyed it - thank you!