Travel RN Compensation vs. Current non-travel Compensation

losbozos · Sep 26, 2013

But if the traveler is cancelled by the hospital for just one shift, should the nurse have to pay the agency? Not a sick call or cancelled contract. We don't get paid if we don't work; we shouldn't have to pay them.

NedRN · Sep 26, 2013

I agree, no traveler should have to pay for a shift cancelled by the hospital. I replied to your original post on my phone so missed the low census part. Good contracts cover this possibility, even better contracts require the hospital to pay for cancelled shifts, usually after some minimum number of hours. For example, Banner hospitals pay after one missed shift per pay period, Sisters of Orange hospitals (about 9 in California) guarantee 90% of contracted time. The agencies contracted to such hospitals should not penalize for low census lost hours. Facility contracts that don't address this issue theoretically pay 100% but the reality is most agencies don't hold them to it and try to take their lost costs out of the traveler's pay.

In a perverse way, I prefer contracts that have termination clauses and discuss missed hours - the hospital and agency are more likely to stick to the letter of the agreement.

wildnursebrendan · Nov 14, 2017

Hi,
My pay in is in mid $30's....the travel pay does not seem to be anywhere close to what I make right now.
I recently got an offer, But it does not come out to be a lot.
Contractual Hours: 36
Estimated Weekly Compensation:
$540.00 Taxable Wages ($15.00/hr * 36 hours)
+ $1,251.59 Weekly Stipends
$1,791.59 Weekly Gross Compensation
Can anyone please help explain why there is such a big difference? I thought Travel nursing was supposed to pay more?

I know this post is really old but on the off chance someone sees this, am I missing something about the math on this?

$35/hour = $1260/week

whereas the travel assignment was $1791/week.

that is $2,000 gross more per month, which is significantly higher, and with the added benefit of paying less in taxes due to most of the travel compensation coming via stipends.

mickeyrose912 · Nov 18, 2017

Hi,
I am currently a RN in Western MA with 2 yrs of Med/Surg/Tele/Stepsown experience. My pay in is in mid $30's. The cost of living is not too high either. I am looking to travel for experience, but the travel pay does not seem to be anywhere close to what I make right now.
I recently got an offer, But it does not come out to be a lot.
City: Boston, MA
Specialty: TELE - Any Shift - Boston, MA
Duration: 13 weeks
Contractual Hours: 36
Estimated Weekly Compensation:
$540.00 Taxable Wages ($15.00/hr * 36 hours)
+ $1,251.59 Weekly Stipends
$1,791.59 Weekly Gross Compensation
-15% Hypothetical Tax Rate (adjustable based on your W4)
$1,710.59 Weekly Estimated Net Compensation after Taxes
Additional Compensation Factors:
Travel Reimbursement: up to $0.00
Weekly Medical Benefits: $50.00 towards Anthem Medical Benefits
Can anyone please help explain why there is such a big difference? I thought Travel nursing was supposed to pay more?
P.S. I want to travel to NYC and South FL. Which companies would be better?

I envy your current situation! I graduated with my BSN in 2014 from Boston, but there were barely any jobs at the time, so i relocated to Florida. I have been working as a nurse about 2.5 year with 1.5 of that being in the ER and I make $28 an hour... You'd be shocked how poorly most of the south pays. New England pays the best, but you also need to calcuate in the cost of living.

NedRN · Nov 20, 2017

Some of New England pays well for staff, as well as parts of the Mid-Atlantic, and some union areas of the Midwest (when housing costs are considered into compensation), virtually all of the West Coast and Alaska. Not so sure about Hawaii staff jobs. Florida is becoming OK pay, but not when you consider the usual working conditions.