Hourly pay

Glad to hear another traveling nurse say the pay is sour these days. I finished an assignment recently that only paid $27/hour plus housing. The housing unit was a condo owned by a local resident who leases out the condo through a local condo rental agent on a seasonal basis for "visitors/tourists" in the city. The unit wasn't up to par, and the pay wasn't what I used to make years ago as a traveler.

I want to take another travel nurse assignment eventually, but not unless I read about a company that really puts its nurses first as far as pay and housing. Every company/employer seems to thrive on our hard labor as nurses, but they don't want to pay for that hard labor we are asked to give them at their places of employment.

BTW...for the record.....Aureus Medical did me wrong big time on the last assignment, so I would NOT recommend that company to anyone looking to travel. I did enjoy the staff I worked with however, so that was the only plus to the entire three month assignment.

I have been with RN Network since 2000 and have found them to be the best. I did 2 assignements with Intellistaf when I could not find an assigenment with RN Network I wanted. Intellistaf had poorer housing allowance, insurance and "customer service". RN Network offers a housing stipends or excellant housing. The insurance is great and all benefits start first day. The contracts are easy to understand and I have never been caught "Unaware". I will be glad to talk further if you like at nursemom@rocketmail.com
Judy Wilson has been my recruiter at RN Network for the whole 4 years. It is important to have a recruiter who you can trust and who is looking after your best interest, and Judy does just that.

wondering if any of you traveling nurses have kids...I would LOVE to try it but wonder how realistic it is with a 10 year old.

i've been traveling for about a year. so far i've been paid over 30/hr with housing and per diem for meals and car allowance. i have my own health insurance. and that gets paid for on some assignments.

you should definitely shop around for better deals with other agencies. and if you want something haggle for it.

Which travel company are you with?

i'm with club staffing right now. i've also had assignments with the allied, not the nursing side, of MSN. the nursing side of MSN doesn't pay as well from what i've heard. and i've been with a smaller company called integrity health care. remember not all assignments pay as well. but so far i haven't had any trouble finding a job. right now i have to call 3 agencies back and tell them i already have an assignment. as soon as i''m done with my 3 week vacation