I'm relocating to college station, TX and will be looking for an agency for my first travel assignment. I hold a BSN in nursing with a license in NY and a compact license via NC, where I've been working on a cardiac stepdown/PCU for the past year.

I have heard that it's more beneficial to go with a smaller agency versus a larger one due to higher profit margins and larger HCA hospitals that larger agencies attract. Growing up in VT, would also lead me to think that with a smaller agency you would be a name rather than a simple number than with a larger agency.

If someone has experience with travel in tx and could refer me to an agency that would be much appreciated! Also, as this will be my first travel experience if you could tell me the different things I should cover with a recruiter to make sure I'm getting the most out of my contract and what I am entitled to.

Thank you!

You might want to spend some time on PanTravelers to learn some basics and what might be important to you (different for everyone). You can also spend some time on forums such as this one reading about other travelers experiences. Reading between the lines can be very valuable. You will also learn that I am not a fan of Texas, and neither are many other travelers. Bad management, docs with bad attitudes, bad BON, and a notorious blacklist is the short summary. I don't know why you are moving there, but if you are going to live there, you may want to consider a staff position and get good benefits. If you want to travel, consider traveling outside of Texas for better working conditions and pay.