Assignment Nightmare

Specialties Travel

Published

I have almost completed my first assignment and it has been a nightmare. My housing is ghetto, in an extended stay hotel which is basically a room with a little kitchen area, no place to put anything and its ugly. There is section 8 living there and the fire alarm goes off(its deafening)about 4 times a week(usually when I am in shower or asleep). I don't get my mail, staff is unprofessional and rude, etc. I could go on and on. Plus it takes me 1/2 hour to 45 minutes to get to work. Agency also overpaid me which I didnt realize because I get direct deposit and pay stubs went to my moms house. So now I have to pay it back. I have had had ZERO input into my schedule. For some reason a secretary in th nursing office is in charge of me and she refuses to call me back. I was told I had to work every other weekend, and one EVE and one Day as far as Xmas and NY was concerned. I have worked almost every weekend and she put me on EVERY holiday. That is NOT in my contract and I would never agree to that. It was changed to an eve and a day by another member of administration and then this secretary changed it twice after so I had to canceel my plans. My agency did not back me up on this at all. I have brought up the housing issue SEVRAL times and nothing has been done. Agency never calls me back. Plus I was told insurance was PPO and it is an hmo. How can you have an HMO if you are traveling? Does that mean if I move I have to change my primary doc every 13 weeks? The ER I am working in is fine.. its just everything else! Am I overreacting?????:crying2:

I too want to know whic company it is , so I can stay FAR away from them and tell my friends too . I can't believe your recruiter yelled at you , I would ask to speak to his/her boss immediately and report what is going on . Sounds like you need to get a new company . Good luck to you

Specializes in L&D/MB/LDRP.

For some reason I think I know what company this is. It sounds a bit familiar. What I had to do was go to the Regional Director who got things moving. You also can talk to the VP who will get things moving. You should report your recruiter to the powers that be! Never stop at your recruiter! If you feel unsafe you should take it up the chain of cammand. I bet your recruiter will sing a different tune then. Also, this company that I think this is never seemed to pay me correctly either. I got things resolved by talking to higher ups so I have no problem anymore. That recruiter does sound like a jerk though.

For some reason I think I know what company this is. It sounds a bit familiar. What I had to do was go to the Regional Director who got things moving. You also can talk to the VP who will get things moving. You should report your recruiter to the powers that be! Never stop at your recruiter! If you feel unsafe you should take it up the chain of cammand. I bet your recruiter will sing a different tune then. Also, this company that I think this is never seemed to pay me correctly either. I got things resolved by talking to higher ups so I have no problem anymore. That recruiter does sound like a jerk though.

I agree with you. I'd be on that phone telling the recepitonist, "I want to speak to the President of your company......NOW.

Makes me so angry to hear of these companies who hold nurses hostage. This recruiter probably knows this nurse can't afford to be out of work.'

I tend to bunch my days together at the end of my contract and try to bunch them up on my new contract to have a week off ,, Thurs to Tues so I can get things in order.

I sure hope she gets things fixed . It's so hard to work and do a good job when you are so stressed.

Terra,

I just read your reply saying you are renewing, I'll bet your agency is calling you back about the renewal!!! When you finally get them on the phone for that, get the recruiting manager on the phone, INSIST ON THE MANAGER/SUPERVISOR ONLY, get your housing issue resolved in that phone call.

In the future you may have to be willing to say NO to get what you need, NO new housing, NO renewal - they don't make money if you are not working and its probably too late to cancel your housing.

Sounds like you have a lot of lessons learned, I wish you the best.

I would DEFINITELY find a new agency to work for! you can always cancel this contract. i would try to go ahead and line another job up first. If they are not doing what they promised and placing you in unsafe conditions than you certainly have a reason to. I hope things get better for you! My agency is great, give them a call. Premier healthcare out of atlanta. they pay well, etc.

Thank you for posting the negative side of travel nursing. tips we can watch for.

M

Specializes in trauma ICU,TNCC, NRP, PALS, ACLS.
But their rationale is that my contract specified I would be getting paid one amount but they paid me another so in essence it is my fault. I didn't catch the error right away but they said because it was in my contract I shoul d have brough the overpayment to their attentionis this so?

how is it going now....

For all of you that have had a terrible experience as a travel nurse, I as Clinical Director of an agency apologize for the rest of us that have made your life miserable. Travel assignments in general are not in the best of places, so when you add extra stressors to your life i.e. pay, housing, disrespect etc, it isn't fair. Travel nurses are an important part of the nursing profession and generally don't get the respect that we deserve. It takes a lot of skill to hit a new facility 3 or 4 times a year and perform way above average. We are a huge asset all you need is a little respect.

cory

Specializes in ICU/CCU/ER/CVICU.

Which agency are you with? I'm about to go back to travel nursing after 10 years at home and there are sooooo many out there now. Some of the ones that were horrible seemed to have cleaned up their act and others have obviously disappeared.

If you only have two weeks left on your assignment, add one more week or so for packing, traveling, etc. That gives you at least three weeks to find a new company, go to a state that has walk through licensing and move in. Change companies NOW.

What company is this? I don't want to go with them!! Also I have EVERYTHING spelled out in my contract BEFORE I sign it. This company is messing you over bad!!! Have you asked the other Travelers what company they are with and do they like it? You could switch companies in just a few days. Check on it!!!!

If you are doing another assignement you can certianly have the company find new housing. I usually find my own and then have the company pay for it directly or pay me the subsidy.

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