Any Help Appreciated!!

Argo · Jul 11, 2015

It is crazy how many companies there are to dig through. I chose a large one to start. My thinking was that they would be well organized and fairly well streamlined with alot of good contracts available. I am happy with my decision so far. I will send you a msg with details.

JRiestra82 · Jul 11, 2015

Thanks Argo! I'll keep a lookout for the message.

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Argo · Jul 11, 2015

I sent it, you may not have enough posts to activate the private message section yet though.

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Jul 11, 2015

I do recommend starting out with one of the larger agencies like American Mobile, despite the prevalent bad reputation they have among many travelers. I personally have not had a problem with them, and they have helped me get assignments at so far 3 nationally-ranked hospitals. It is all about the RECRUITER you get, honestly. They make or break your experience. Unfortunately, the bad experience with a recruiter = bad company for many. I dont think this is the case. I lucked out and was referred a great recruiter that I have used for almost a year. I have in turn referred her to others. I am not looking to refer here, I only refer nurses I personally know. However, my advice is to get a trusted recruiter and you will have a good transition into travel. You can always go to other agencies later but IMHO starting out with a large agency gives you lots of options to start. Chances are wherever you want to go, there will be an assignment for you.

Sent from my iPad using allnurses

JRiestra82 · Jul 12, 2015

Thanks Paco. The Internet is ablaze with scathing reviews about American Mobile. I don't want a potentially great experience to be ruined because of naÃ¯vetÃ© or poor research on my part.

Ill keep gathering info to make an informed decision, thanks for your recommendation!

Argo · Jul 12, 2015

I am also with AMN and have had the same experience as Paco.

Dinsey · Jul 12, 2015

I agree that it's probably easier to start with a bigger company. I am also with AMN and I have a great recruiter (referred from a friend) and have had a mostly positive experience.

However, as I have traveled I have really picked the brains of more experienced travelers in my specialty for information on better companies, good facilities, etc. I will probably change companies at some point and it will be based on a referral from another experienced traveler.

HikingNinja, BSN, MSN, DNP, RN, APRN, NP · Jul 12, 2015

I'm currently signed up with 5 (or is it 6 now?) agencies. One is an AMN subsidiary that I use when want a specific location only they have. They do pay less usually than others but I haven't had any problems with them. I'd say pick one large cross country or AMN subsidiary, one moderate sized, and one small agency. Sign up with all three and see which recruiters you work best with. My current company list includes RTG medical, Nursesrx, MSN, Atlas, Trinity and Trustaff.

I would also join a couple of the Facebook groups like the gypsy nurse travel forum to see what others are saying about their companies.

JRiestra82 · Jul 12, 2015

Thanks Ninja! The list of agencies is endless, difficult to find reliable information. Appreciate the feedbacn

:)

NedRN · Jul 13, 2015

I do recommend starting out with one of the larger agencies like American Mobile, despite the prevalent bad reputation they have among many travelers. I personally have not had a problem with them, and they have helped me get assignments at so far 3 nationally-ranked hospitals. It is all about the RECRUITER you get, honestly. They make or break your experience. Unfortunately, the bad experience with a recruiter = bad company for many.

PacoUSA, Argo, and Dinsey: Larger companies have more travelers, thus more unhappy travelers. Complaints overwhelm the positives reports the bigger a company is (with rare exceptions). Issues with how a particular agency handles a problem are legion, and anecdotal. I tend to discount most such stories.

And yes, large agencies should be a good place for new travelers to start. They have a better assortment of assignments and a good recruiter can more easily find a good fit for a new traveler.

That said, I have a big problem recommending American Mobile for new travelers. I think experienced traveler won't have a problem as they are better at filtering. Once they have an interview and a quote, they can say yes or no. New travelers are not so good at that. AM has been documented dealing badly with new travelers recently, sending out made up amounts to collections on contracts not even signed or started. That is incredibly abusive of travelers and an abuse of the Fair Credit Act. It is done to intimidate.

I hope you can recognize that while this indeed is unlikely to happen to you, or most travelers that attempt to work for American Mobile, that the risk of it happening objectively means you should not recommend them at all even if you find it acceptable to continue working for them personally.

This brings to mind a practice of Aureus Nursing where they got a court to issue an injunction to stop work at a hospital through another agency. While this is very different issue, and the travelers involved did break a do not compete clause, it is related because it was also an abuse of the system done only to intimidate travelers. Needless to say, I cannot recommend Aureus either. The threat of criminal arrest is going way too far, and so is sending a traveler never employed by American Mobile out for collections, potentially making it impossible to purchase a home on good terms. Plus the hassle of phone calls from bill collectors for an expense never documented.

For travelers wanting a large agency experience, try Cross Country. Every large agency has issues, but I haven't heard of any issues as egregious as this from them. So there is much closer to zero risk from bad business intimidation practices from them than American Mobile.

Heartnurse24 · Jul 14, 2015

Have any of you travelers tried Advantage RN? I've been looking into them. Curious how they compare.