Is traveling still going strong?

Jildaelaine · Jan 2, 2009

Hi, I am a 14 year RN veteran and I had the same idea you did. So I got a contract with Nursefinders a travel agency, and went to California. On my trip out there ( we drove and toured the country), I was called by the hospital I was going to work for and they pushed my contract back by two weeks because of their low census. I had already left my job at home and packed up everything and was half way across the country with my family. So, the agency rerouted me to Sacramento to do perdiem work until the contract started. I managed to get one 8 hour shift in that two week period that was not cancelled at the last minute. When I did start the contract, they had recently cancelled like 36 travellers at another Kaiser facility in Santa Teresa so the Santa Clara branch took on several of those to compensate. Long story short it was supposed to be a 16 week contract and turned out to be more like 8 weeks. And they had trouble finding anything else in the area in time for me to start working again in a reasonable amount of time. I did research and supposedly California is the shortest on nurses in the nation. And the Santa Clara hospital is in San Jose which is like the 3rd largest City in America by population. So I left, went back home to Alabama and found a Baylor weekend position that pays several dollars more an hour than the travel job did and I just pick up an extra prn shift at another hospital in the area during the week for more cash. Try the travel thing if you like, I am glad I did just for the experience of being flung into the unknown and surviving it intact. I know that I am a better nurse than I considered myself to be before doing it. But unless you are single and don't mind living in a one bedroom hotel room and having NO job stability, I wouldn't do it. Jilda Davenport, RN

neurorn6 · Jan 3, 2009

I'm not going to lie, right now contracts are tight, but they are out there. If you are looking to travel, start doing your homework. Just because CA, has nurse patient ratios, that doesn't mean that is the right place to start. You might want to think about starting out closer to home. I live in KY and just extended in SC.

You have to be flexible in this industry. You have to find the right company and the right recruiter. Your recruiter is your lifeline. There are hundreds if not thousands of travel companies. You just have to weed out the good from the bad. Consider what you want, want you need and where you want to go. I suggest you make a list and when you speak with a recruiter ask lots of question. I have found that the larger companies pay less then your moderate companies.

Currently things are tight, but that's true all over. This forum can provide tons of information and help.

Good luck and let me know if I can help