travelling in Portland OR

Might be a little late for you but I'm travelling in Portland right now. I've been here since January and just extended my present contract until November 22nd.

There are scores of ICU's here, the higher acuity ones are Providence (either Portland or St. Vincent's), Meridien Park, Legacy Good Sam, OHSU and Kaiser in Clackamas. These are all 20 minutes drive from Portland. Rumor has it of all these, that Kaiser pays the best, and offer you paid 1.5 OT option. They tend to float travellers first, so get it stipulated that you won't float outside your domain (IMC, MICU, etc)

The main trauma center is Legacy Emanuel, it's the highest level trauma center in the area. I hear they are pretty good, but don't get stuck on the Med-surg/telemetry floors---way too understaffed.

There are alot of good companies, I've worked with MSN/Intellistaff and United Human Capital Solutions, UHCS thus far. They have been really nice, and UHCS does provide the extra friendly touch. They both provide the stipend option for housing or give you housing. My coworker came with TechGroup Inc and he gets a 50/50 split. (that is he gets 50% of what the agency charges the hospital)

Housing is great, most travel nurses I know just rent a room from someone and pay them ($250-600) monthly and keep the stipend. The cost of living here is lower than say California. Alot of hospitals that are hard to staff end up being the rural, community hospitals by the beach. They pay extra well, but the commute from the city is a killer (1-2hrs).

Hope this helps you in your search. Have fun, pack an umbrella and some galoshes for the winter months and you should be fine! Call me when you are in town and we'll do lunch!