Travel Nursing Advice

Silverdragon102, BSN · Dec 30, 2014

Hello and welcome to the site

I have moved this to our Travel Nursing Forum but better response from members who have experience

tjl41 · Dec 30, 2014

Hello and welcome to the site
I have moved this to our Travel Nursing Forum but better response from members who have experience

Thanks for responding

NedRN · Dec 30, 2014

Ow, $21?

Yes, travel is a very bad option for you right now. To be minimally competitive, you need two years in a specialty. Because you are even considering travel, I can only guess you are working at a small hospital where you don't even know what you don't know. I would recommend trying a bigger, preferably a major teaching hospital before traveling. That will also get you a change of scenery you want and perhaps a better hourly.

BTW, ED will be the better specialty for travel. You just want at least 18 more months as staff first.

tjl41 · Dec 31, 2014

Actually I work at the second largest hospital in Iowa.

NedRN · Dec 31, 2014

That's good! So they are probably a level one. That is an excellent edge over many ED travelers.

When you do go traveling, try to do one assignment a year at a level one. Some level one hospitals will require recent level one experience even if you will not be doing trauma.

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Dec 31, 2014

From my experience, it's the RECRUITER you work with that matters. I work with one that is affiliated with an agency with many negative reviews and I cant complain in any aspect of my experience. Top hospital, excellent pay, and I'm always kept in the loop. Take agency reviews with a grain of salt ... If you click with a recruiter, he or she will look out for your best interests.

Trjl · Jan 24, 2015

Hello. I do agree with some of the others. You may need a little more time in nursing to get hired as a traveler. If you enjoy ER, you may find that you will get better pay and more opportunities as an ER nurse. Although there are a lot of med-surg out there as well. I would highly suggest going ahead and calling a few travel agencies and speak with some recruiters. They would be the best ones to tell you if you are hireable right now.

I am in the med-surg realm of Travel as an oncology nurse. I don't find the pay as good as people seem to think it is. I have probably been paid between $30-33/hr, and that includes my housing stipend. (which is never 'free') That is why the ICU/ER nurses do better $$ in travel. But sometimes you end up getting more by adding on your travel expenses, loyalty bonus's, etc. The housing issue for me is usually a pain. Understand that if the company finds you housing, that if they offer you $1200/mth in housing and they find you a place for $800/mth, they pocket the $400 difference. If you find your own housing, you get to pocket the extra money. I too have heard not so great stories about companies finding housing. And experienced it with my first job (long story), so I have chosen to find my own places since. Airbnb, Home away from Home, Craigslist, etc.. have all been helpful in finding furnished housing. And it takes some searching but you can usually find something not too expensive. If you aren't picky, there are always people looking for temp roommates or someone renting out a room and that can save you a lot of money.

I work with Cirrus. I can't say they are the best, but so far I have not had any issues with them. But make several calls and interview them and ask them what makes them different than another company and why you should pick them. Ask them about your healthcare insurance (some don't actually offer it!), how long do you keep insurance after your job is up (and do you pay extra for that) bonus's, travel expenses, licensing fees, any sick time, or any penalty for calling in sick, are just a few questions to ask them.

I am not sure whether you live in a compact state or not. If not, it may cost you some money to get licenses in other states. Some jobs do not want you to even apply unless you have license in hand. And if that is the case, your company will not pay for your license. But if you get hired with enough time to get a license, they should reimburse you. And because of that, just be aware that in between jobs, you may have 1 to 4 weeks in between assignments. Will you have enough money to sustain yourself while waiting on the next job to start, or do you want to stick close to home so you can go home in between assignments if needed.

Sorry this got so long. I do love what I am doing right now, even though I still consider myself new (just under 2 years traveling). Travel nursing has given me an opportunity that I would have never had. Seen places I would have never seen. I enjoy coming to a hospital and not having to get involved in the drama. Although when you work with a great group, it can be hard to say goodbye, but moving around is why you do this job.

Best of luck. Aside from reading these forums, I subscribed to Travel Nursing for a while, reading up on the life of a traveler before I got involved. I think it made me feel like I was going in with my eyes wide open from the beginning, so I have had very few disappointments along the way. Best advice: Travel companies may sound too good to be true, so ask specific questions about promises that sound great. And READ your contracts before you sign them.