Best Travel Agencies

[babowman3RN]

Hello all fellow nurses!I'm a relatively new nurse with almost 1yr experience in Tele and Cardiac Step Down. I'm VERY interested in traveling, always have been. I live in FL and for my first assignment or 2 I'm wanting some local contracts. But! I'm having a hard time with ALL the agencies. =( I'm interested so far in American Traveler, RN Network, Intelistaff and Sunbelt...not really narrowed down, huh? Lol. Anyways, I know this question is asked a lot but I kinda want some updated info. Has anyone travelled with these companies and/or other ones? What kind of information should I ask the recruiters when I talk to them? I'm wanting to get all of this down so therefore when my 1 year mark hits in just a few months, I can already have a clear picture and get the ball rolling. I'm one who likes to plan ahead of time, research, make lists of Pro's and Con's, research some more, make more lists, etc, before making a big decision. ;-) I'm a dork, I know. Any info would be fantastic! Thanks so much!!!

[NedRN]

Your questions are too broad to be answered in a forum post. Keep talking to agencies and much will become clearer. Questions will come up after every conversation that you can now pose in your next conversation.

Every single agency has fans and detractors. If you want specifics, just read lots of posts here and on other traveler forums.

While the travel market has gotten better by leaps and bounds, just a single year of experience may not be competitive. You are directly competing with many travelers who may have 5 or more years of experience with a couple years of travel. I have 20 with 17 years of travel. If you are a manager and it costs you the same for either one, which one will you pick? I might suggest moving up to ICU if you have any interest in critical care. A couple years of ICU will allow you to work almost anywhere if the economy keeps improving.