Advice regarding travel nursing with a family?

ChrisMMS · Apr 19, 2018

Hello DaniellePeraza,

I'm a recruiter, but am currently working with a few nurses who bring their family with them to each assignment. These are the things that I've learned and what my travelers have taught me overtime, hopefully they are useful for you as well.

1) Be upfront about your family situation and find an agency/recruiter that is willing to work around it. A lot of agencies will attempt to do shared housing or place you in a motel to save costs for themselves. While the go to for most travelers is going to be an extended stay you'll want to make sure that they are providing the necessary amenities for you and your family.

2) Pets are handled different ways by different agencies so this information can differ. Generally if you are bringing pets there will be a pet deposit and a pet rent monthly added onto the general rent. For most agencies this fee comes out of the travelers pocket unless you are under budget than they may offer to cover the pet deposit/rent.

3) Try to get block scheduling if possible, from what my nurses tell me it makes handling day to day tasks with the family much easier. Luckily your husband is going with you so he will be able to watch over your children and dogs while you are at work. If your husband is in the medical field it is possible to get him a travel contract as well so you could both be working while on assignment unless he plans to watch the children and dogs full time.

4) If you are needing benefits for you and your family I would look for companies that have great insurance benefits and 401ks available for your family. Your overall pay package maybe lower because of these benefits, but I think in the long run it'll be more beneficial for you if you are needing coverage.

NurseCheung, MSN, RN · Apr 22, 2018

That's awesome to hear you want to be a travel nurse. I have been a travel nurse for the last two years. I travel with my husband and our two dogs. We live in an fifth wheel and own a tax home when we don't travel during the holidays. It works for us; however, it can impede where you can work depending if a campground is located close by. I have driven up to 45 minutes to an assignment just so I could be close to states where there are things to do. It's just one way to travel and always have your home with you.

We attempted to do the housing through the agencies; however, the pricing was horrible or our only options were hotel stays. Both of which we didn't want to do and couldn't justify that much money being taken from our paychecks.