Discover the soft skills that can make a difference on every agency nursing shift, from communication and adaptability to professionalism and teamwork. Learn how to integrate quickly into new clinical environments, work effectively with established teams and build the habits that support safe, professional practice.

The ward needs someone by 7am, but NHS pre-employment compliance can take six weeks - a gap that's widening as DBS turnaround times slow and CQC scrutiny increases. Rather than treating speed and quality as opposing priorities, the solution is doing the compliance work before the shift is ever needed: agencies that maintain continuously verified registers close the gap that ad hoc, point-in-time checks leave open.

Fixed rotas. Salary caps. Shifts you would never have chosen. If any of that sounds familiar, you are not alone. A growing number of nurses are returning to agency work - and discovering that the trade-offs they accepted in permanent roles no longer have to be the deal.

If your NMC registration is current and you are still practising, coming back is simpler than you think. Here is everything you need to know.

She almost became a pilot. Today, Precious Masenda is a palliative care nurse whose clients request her by name - and Ambition24hours' Nurse of the Year 2026. 

On International Nurses Day, as the ICN calls on healthcare systems to empower nurses to save lives, we asked Precious about the unexpected path that brought her to nursing, the first shift she'll never forget, and why palliative care is, in her words, "my bread and butter." 

Founder Penny Streeter OBE reflects on nearly 30 years of putting nurses first - and what empowerment looks like beyond the slogan.