Help!!! Have you ever worked as a travel nurse?

[snyderrobyn]

:confused:I am an RN at a small community hospital. I have been working ER for the past 4 years primarily (and just because I said small community doesn't mean I haven't seen PLENTY), but I have also been trained and have worked in L&D, ICU and charge roles. I was hurt on the job in 2007 and worked with restrictions until about 6 months ago when I was reinjured and had to take some time off for physical rehab. Now I am back and better than ever! LOL. The problem is that when I came back in February I was given a desk position that I hate (I MISS MY ED!!!) and now they seem to be trying to find a reason to get rid of me. I am constantly told what a GREAT job I am doing and that I am an AWESOME nurse, then yesterday they tell me that they aren't going to continue to train me into the role I am in because my passion lies elsewhere (direct care nursing) and that they are going to allow me to keep doing what I have been doing but my hours are going to be cut from FT to PT (80 to 40 hours a pay period: can you say OUCH??!!) I am the main earner in my family and I am the holder of the benefits (my hubby is self-employed, no benefits there) and we have 4 children who need medical and dental that I will no longer be eligible for in a PT status. I am then told, but if a nursing position opens in the future you are welcome to apply....... Nothing like being told "you're the greatest - but we don't have anything for you anymore so you might as well leave" right? Anyway, none of the hospitals in our area seem to ever hire! So I have been toying around with the idea of TRAVEL nursing, but there are SO MANY different agencies that all try to tell you how great they are and I don't know where to start!!! I need to know from people who have or are traveling what the best and worst companies are, how much you will ACTUALLY get paid, what the benefits are like, and is it managable with a family????

[1996RN]

i don't know what to say about your injury and work experience and all of that, but i can give you a good resource to get connections and info about travel nursing. i travel nursed for 3 yrs and had a great time, made lots of money, lots of friends across the country, and saw some beautiful sights. anyway, it's a very dog-eat-dog business, and yes it's a BUSINESS, so you have to learn to be savvy or else travel recruiters will take as much advantage of you as they can. i researched this forum and read and talked on it for about 6 months prior to taking my first assignment, and i still got screwed the first time around. but here ya go, it's Delphi Forums: Communities for friends, groups and businesses, and then the subforum is called 'travel nurses and therapists'... read read read! and ask, ask, ask!! good luck!

oh yeah, benefits and pay are usually great, but remember, you're usually going to hospitals where local nurses dont want to go, so they're usually not the most ideal assignments, but keep telling yourself that you can do anything for 13 weeks! manageable with a family?? not so sure, i did mine when i was single and it was great, but i dont know what you're family is willing to put up with.

[Simply Complicated]

I did travel nursing for 2 years, and loved it. I tried to go back, but I only had MS experience, and it became to competitive. Specialties are what they need. As the other person said, you do need to do your research or you will get screwed. Keep in mind also that it is contract to contract so you don't have a lot of stability.

As far as pay, benefits, etc. Everyone will offer you something different. I always preferred the straight shot pay scale. I made an hourly rate, plus they paid my housing. Otherwise you may not know what you are really making. You can get a stipend, if you don't want to take their housing.

When calling around, you need to not let them talk you into anything. Know what questions you have, and want answered. If they want you to apply before they will give you any info.. move on. There are too many agencies to put your time into it just to get info.

Do you have set places you want to go, or are you up for anything? Some places want to know what you want, and will try and get you a job. I prefered the places that will give me a list of what they have, pay included and let me pick who I wanted them to submit me to.

Do you need to be licensed in each state you travel to, or do you have a compact license?

The best thing to do is figure out what you NEED to make at a minimum. NOT including housing. Some places will try and include that in to your hourly. You won't even get a sent price. They will say you will bring home X amount per pay period. GET AN HOURLY RATE. Do you need a rental car? That can affect your amount. If you can give them straight up.. I need to make X amount an hour to survive it will help you out.

Remember they are working for you! Don't let them give you the run around. I like the smaller companies that know you. Not the big huge ones where it takes days to get back to you. I worked with Travel Nurse Solutions, and loved them. I got screwed on my first assignment as well. Found out I was making $7.00 an hour less than the other travelers for the same job. I switched immediatly.

Things to ask about:

Day 1 benefits

travel stipend

FULL utilites paid, fully furnished if taking housing?

Are there extension bonuses for extending your contract?

There are a lot more, but I can't think of them right now. I'm happy to answer more questions if you have them. The biggest thing is, is to know WHAT you want, and find it. Not what can they offer you!

Oh just to add, I never had any issues as far as going where others didn't want to go. I had great experiences. Mostly places that needed more staff at certain times of year, or just needed short relief for one reason or another. A lot of it is what you make of it!

[bbedit]

THanks so much for the info!

[NightNurse876]

How much experience does one need to start as a travel nurse...