Any Canadian RN's advice on travel nursing south for the winter?

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Specializes in ER.

Hi Everyone,

I'm seriously considering going down to Arizona for the winter, and coming back to Ontario in the Spring. I love living here, but last winter....well, it was long and cold. I have family down in AZ, so figured this might be a nice change.

Has anyone ever travelled down to the US for the winter months? Any recommendations on travel nursing agencies to use or avoid?

I have 2+ years ER experience, and already have my NCLEX, US licenses in place, and would prefer to work in an ER setting.

Any advice and recommendations would be very appreciated.

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My son recently moved to Tempe Arizona for graduate school. You'll be pleasantly surprised how low the cost of living is there compared to the Northeast. When he was looking for apartments, the leasing company called to tell us the rents went down ( By $150 month). Some places will lease for 6 months.

I would contact the hospitals myself, sounds like you would be a great person for the seasonal staff.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

I can't help you out with your question, but I do know someone who does the reverse. He lives in Phoenix and comes up to Edmonton for the summer. He works as a casual in our unit and also works as a racetrack announcer at Northlands. It's a different kind of arrangement for sure. You might try to make the same sort of deal with a hospital in Arizona where they'd put you on their PRN list but waive the usual so-many-shifts-in-so-many-months thing for your guarantee of full time work in the winter.

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Specializes in ER.

Thank you so much for your suggestion. I searched a couple of the Phoenix hospital websites, and you were right - they do recruit for contract and seasonal positions. They even provide housing etc., which I did not expect.

Thank you again.

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Have you ever been to Arizona? It is a place you either love or hate.

We went 3 years ago, I didn't care for it, but my son loved it ( so it isn't genetic). I was there again this month to help him get settled, and I haven't changed my mind. At least you won't worry about the heat.

I found the people awesome though.

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Specializes in ER.

You know what, the first time I went, I wasn't too crazy about it either, but then it grew on me. The sunsets are the most amazing I have ever seen, and the sunshine can't be beat. It will be a fun change....new experiences, new people. Still, my heart is up here in Canada though. I'm sure that this will always be home for me.

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You know what, the first time I went, I wasn't too crazy about it either, but then it grew on me. The sunsets are the most amazing I have ever seen, and the sunshine can't be beat. It will be a fun change....new experiences, new people. Still, my heart is up here in Canada though. I'm sure that this will always be home for me.

I work at St Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix. I am also Canadian but from Vancouver, BC. The winters in Phoenix are awesome. It is great here until about May when it gets hot. But we have acclimatized and now find it a bit cool when we visit Canada (even in the summer). But after the summer months we actually now look forward to fall which is a beautiful season. We live in Scottsdale and love it and are actually planning on setting down roots here. The housing market in Phoenix is great for buyers right now. Unfortunately we sold our house in Vancouver in 2000 when the housing market was low and now can't afford to move back. I think our house has at least tripled in value since we sold.

We have used Travelers at our hospital. It is an amazing hospital. I work in Neuro and St Joe's is noted for that specialty as one of the top in the nation. We get patients from all around the world actually. But I know in the winter all of the major hospitals use Travelers since that is when we get the snow birds as they are called. It is the time of year that nurses can make a a lot of money. So you may find you like the break from your winter for sure.

Check out:

http://www.stjosephs-phx.org/index.htm

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Specializes in OR, and more recently PACU and SDC.

Ensure that you have your Visa Screen in place. Can't to to US without it. I spent two travel contracts in Tuscon. TMC does seasonal work for nurses in the winter as well as traveller contracts. As a traveller, all you do is show up at your apartment. All is in place for you when you arrive. Cross Country Travcorps is a big travel agency. I found them most helpful with the VSC, they have alot of Canadian nurses on their payroll. They also have a great number of asssignments to choose from. PM me if you need any more information. By the way, I LOVED Arizona.

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