Am I getting the short end...?

[KalipsoRed]

Hi!

I'm a tele/med-surg nurse. I worked cardiac stepdown for 2.5 years before I decided to do traveling. I chose travel nursing because my dad is ill and on occasion I need to be at home with him for 1 or 2 months at a time. I have discoverd that for the most part I like travel nursing better than just plane old bedside nursing, it breaks up the monotony, allows me to meet new people, and to experience all the good and bad there is in nursing. I love it!

Now I have only accepted assignments from one company, NursesPRN. What I like about them is that they are friendly and that I ususally accept the housing provided and they get me nice places to stay...or so I thought. For example I was in Wisconsin from January to May working 5 days a week 8 hour night shifts and every weekend. My take home pay (which included incidentals and food allowance) was $1,100 a week. I was staying in an extended stay hotel, which was very nice. I like hotels because I'm lazy about cleaning and they usually come in and clean once a week or once every other week.

But after talking to some of the travelers I worked with, from my company and other companies, they kinda make it sound like I'm getting screwed but no one would tell me what they were making and if they did they would say it in a per hour basis, so I couldn't tell if that included a housing stipened, if that was their base pay, or if that was their base pay plus incidentals but not housing like I stated my pay.

Anyone willing to help a newbie out here? How do I go about getting better pay? What companies get their clients the best pay without sending them to the worst assignments or worst schedules...and if they do those things they automatically compensate. I'm just not sure how to negotiate this stuff.

Thanks for all advice in advance!

[79Tango]

Thats what travelers from other companies do.. They love to make others feel they are getting screwed when really they are the ones getting screwed and are trying to make themselves feel better. You are banking $11OO/Week + they pay housing? What's wrong with that deal?

You could always call the Extended Stay and ask what the monthly rate is, divide that by 160(# of hours in 1month) and add that to your take home. That should give you a good idea of what you are really making.

[hkLD5150]

I just took an assignment in Bakersfield, CA.....I spoke with a few different agencies & I decided to go with the company that I thought had the best reviews......I'm taking home $1719 per week with benefits. I will be paying for my own housing but I found a finished one bedroom for $760 per month......I think I got a pretty good deal, however I did have my recruiter send me 3 different pay packages:

1. Taking the full stipend

2. My company paying for housing

3. Straight hourly wage

needless to say after looking at what I would be taking home per week which each package I went with the full stipend....Good luck!!