Agency nursing jobs enable private and public health organisations and institutions achieve flexibility in their workplaces and meet fluctuations in demand for medical, clinical and hospital services by utilising temporary healthcare staff. Agency nursing jobs are typically provided by leading recruitment agencies that have developed close relationship with medical organisations, which trust them to deliver a consistently high level of medical staff. This ensures that the healthcare organisations have a consistent supply of qualified staff that are able to make an immediate impact on the productivity and levels of service provided by such organisations.

Agency nursing jobs come in a variety of forms and functions. Ranging from full time, part time, temporary and cover positions, agency nursing jobs allow those nurses employed through specialist recruitment agencies to select the type of work that best suits their lifestyle and family demands. According to a recent report prepared by the National Health Service (NHS), agency nurses are most often utilised to cover for maternity leave and sickness absence. The report goes further to proclaim that the focus of agency nursing jobs is as a means of achieving greater numerical flexibility rather than covering for fulltime vacancies. However, there have been an unlimited number of occasions where those providing cover in the role of an agency nurse has lead to an offer of full time employment.

The reliance on agency nursing staff to aid in the management of public and private health institutions is set to continue, with greater numbers being needed in the future to cover for employees that are nearing the retirement age. An NHS report produced in 2010, titled Flexible Nursing indicates a continued commitment to flexible working as a management tool for those charged with the responsibility of running public and private medical services, as well as those responsible for ensuring current and future healthcare policies are achieved.

Those nurses who currently hold agency nursing jobs describe a high level of job satisfaction, with flexibility and choice over hours as the main advantage of agency work when compared to traditional employment structures. Additional motivations for securing agency work included the ability to access various work experience opportunities and securing a means of supplementing an income. Those nurses who were nearing or entering retirement, according to the NHS, found that agency work provided a means of maintaining their skills.