Hitchcock medical ctr-New hapshire

NedRN · Feb 20, 2016

In that immediate area, there won't be much else. Much smaller hospitals in Brattleboro VT, and Greenfield MA. Closest big hospitals are Concord NH and Springfield MA. If you need a big city for your after work life, you are out of luck in Lebanon.

While it might be too early to look at other nearby assignments, agencies should be able to ballpark quotes now. Rates tend to go up at the last minute of course. You do have time to shop around for other agency quotes to Hitchcock if you haven't already been submitted. I believe Hitchcock uses a vendor manager but I don't remember who. The cool thing about a vendor manager is that all agencies get paid the same bill rate. Which makes this an ideal opportunity to learn which agencies really pay better.

8-ball, BSN · Feb 20, 2016

Exactly what I was thinking regarding agency pay. I have not been submitted yet, I have plenty of time still and I am actually finding it very difficult to find housing that allows dogs. The housing is gonna use every bit of that $1900/month though so I might need to ask for more. On average how much do you negotiate when doing a contract increase by say $2-5 dollars/hour each time or look for a certain weekly take home...I was wanting close to $1800-2000/week take home.

8-ball, BSN · Feb 20, 2016

Also I am not committed to only New Hampshire I just want to stay near mid country to east coast for now and slowly work my way west. While still making that amount weekly. Any ideas of places to try...I have been looking on the facebook groups but they all seem to talk about west coast stuff right now.

NedRN · Feb 20, 2016

I look at what the fair market rate is by getting quotes from several agencies. If the pay is acceptable, only then might I try to negotiate up or juggle stipends versus taxable pay. I don't get a $2-5 increase per assignment, that might be a personal goal, but it is not a negotiating point. Nor is some random amount per week. Take home means what exactly anyway? Is that the amount you put in the bank after meeting housing, food, and transportation costs? Or just a net check amount before paying expenses? It certainly is not how an agency determines compensation, they base it on their bill rate and the gross profit margin they need to meet their own expenses. The agency margin may get squeezed by market conditions, or a good negotiator, but not by meeting some random traveler's idea of acceptable pay.

8-ball, BSN · Feb 21, 2016

Gotcha...by take home I meant what my check is after taxes before expenses. I am still waiting for my other agencies to get back to me on packages so that I can figure out a market value and what is fair. I just noticed with the one I have been given so far the housing allowance is lower than what housing actually cost in the area. The GSA says lodging should be $118/day and meals $64/day. If I do the math correctly that is 118+64=$182/day x 7days=$1274/week, then $1274 x 4 weeks= $5096/month...and my one agency is offering 1900/month so I don't know maybe my thinking is wrong...I know you don't want to go over the GSA amount but I also want to get the best rate possible without screwing the agency either, I know $5000/month is really high for the east cost so I dont actually expect that but trying to figure this out.

NedRN · Feb 21, 2016

The GSA rate is maximum hotel rate allowed for federal employees. It has nothing to do with apartment rates which should be significantly lower. Nor is an agency required to provide housing at all, much less the maximum GSA rate.

Take home pay without considering expenses means you could be in the hole after housing costs. Would you prefer $50 an hour take home in San Fracisco with housing $3,500 a month or $40 an hour take home in Ohio with housing $500 a month?

8-ball, BSN · Feb 21, 2016

No I totally get that. So it sounds like I am doing the best process which would be getting multiple agencies submitting me offers for pay...not submitting to hospitals yet though. Is there anything else I should do to get the best pay.

I guess my main thing is figuring out what I don't know, for example on my current assignment I didn't realize I could negotiate with agencies, I took their first offer, even though I had a few sending me offers I just took the highest one. Didn't know i could negotiate each offer.

NedRN · Feb 21, 2016

You don't have to negotiate each offer. Many never negotiate new car prices either. It is perfectly acceptable to go around collecting first offers from dealerships and picking the best offer. Negotiating after that will likely get a better price though.

Negotiating is a big topic. You can read many books (including Trump's) on the topic. There is a travel specific negotiating article on PanTravelers (paid membership level required). But it all starts with a position of strength. Knowledge is power. Collect legitimate offers from several agencies and now you have power. Proven ability as a traveler is strength. Returning to an agency you have worked for successfully is strength and allows you to ask for more or go elsewhere. If you interview and the hospital wants you, you now have more power to ask for more, or decline the assignment.

Knowing the ins and outs of contract details is power. Knowing that you don't want to take an effective pay cut for overtime is power. Knowing that if the agency is paying $500 for travel on the first assignment means they can jolly well afford to pay you $500 somewhere on an extension even though you are not driving home.

Zero sum negotiating compensation packages with more stipends and less taxable gets you a higher net at no cost to the agency (not all agencies will do this).

Asking for more money will result in learning what you can and cannot ask for reasonably. Just like buying a car, ask the agent to beat another offer you have in hand, not just match it. If you don't ask, you won't get. It doesn't take much to make a lot more money. Just one extra dollar an hour is $2,000 a year.

Negotiating is just asking for what you want and why. It shouldn't be you versus them exactly. Plenty of studies show that when a final agreement is reached by negotiation, both parties feel better about it.

8-ball, BSN · Feb 21, 2016

Thanks Ned that helped me understand a lot. I feel like I can do better now. I want to be fair to the agency too.

NedRN · Feb 21, 2016

I misstated how much a dollar an hour is worth and edited my post above. Still, just a dollar an hour extra is $2,000 more per year (before taxes). That is still real money! Think in annual terms for compensation and you will do better. It might not seem like a dollar an hour is worth much, but counting it as a $2,000 bonus may make you look at it differently.

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Feb 22, 2016

I think you can get housing in New Hampshire for much less than $1900/month. My mortgage for my 3 bedroom house in Boston is less than that. Lebanon, NH is pretty close to the Vermont border. My Mom had a friend who used to own a condo in Vermont just over the border and she would rent to travel nurses from Dartmouth-Hitchcock. Also, $64/day for food? Where do you plan on eating?