Arrived in assigned city, getting the runaround?!

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Hello, I am a first time traveler with HWS (travel/per diem agency for HCA). My contract start date was for 2/25 (13 weeks, 36 hours/week guaranteed) with the understanding that I would be in orientation on Mon 2/26. The previous week I kept asking my recruiter what time I was supposed to be at orientation on Mon, and she said she would make sure I had all of that info prior to starting. Well, on Sun 2/25 I drove to my assigned city. I texted my recruiter before I left letting her know I was headed out and she replied "did my assistant send you your first day info?" I told her no. She stated she hadn't received an email from the hospital's HR department yet but she would let me know on Monday morning. She told me to just be ready to report to work when I get a call on Monday.

So, Monday 2/26 arrives, I get up early, shower, put on my scrubs and patiently wait. My recruiter calls me in the late AM asking if I've received first day info yet. I told her no, unless she or her assistant just emailed it to me just now. She stated the hospital should have called me. She tells me to hang tight while she investigates what's going on. Later on that day I get a call from HWS's local staffing office stating they were trying to coordinate with the hospital to get shifts scheduled for me this week and that I should get a call back. I relay the info to my recruiter and she says this is great news.

Fast forward to today. STILL NO INFO. NO CALLS. NO INFO from my recruiter. I have spent money on a hotel room for three nights so far not knowing what the heck is going on. Is this common in travel? I am frustrated because the onboarding process was difficult enough as it is, and now I have no idea if I am going to be able to work. I assumed I would be to orientation on Monday, get my badge, learn the unit, and work out a schedule with the unit manager right away.

Any info on whether this is common practice would be greatly appreciated.

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Hello TakuRN,

From my experience as a recruiter it is very common that HCA has these issues and it is well known in the travel nursing community that they are difficult to work with. If you finished your credentialing they should provide you your first day instructions a few days later, but for HCA we've had nurses go through the same issue you are going through. Also a few months back HCA dropped/cancelled a ton of contracts in FL and stated they are not hiring travelers at this time. Your recruiter maybe a new individual and not be aware of this issue.

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Thank you for your reply! I am giving them a deadline for tomorrow to give me word. Time is money and right now they are wasting both for me. I am researching new agencies, also.

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Since you are a recruiter, is it common for travelers to have to pay out of pocket for their physicals and required items for medical clearance? I used the same clinic HWS sent me for my drug screen to get my physical, MMR titer, PPD, etc. The LPN asked why the agency did not send the information directly and why I was paying out of pocket. The physician asked me the same thing and said all of the travelers that have come through have never paid out of pocket for these requirements.

Appreciate your feedback!

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Specializes in oncology, MS/tele/stepdown.

Just wanted to share that I did a contract with HCA once and at my orientation there were three nurses who showed up to start but they were delayed for paperwork reasons. This happens frequently when you take a contract directly with HCA, but definitely happens when working through an agency too. My agency found out at the last minute that I needed an additional clearance and I almost got delayed two weeks. Fortunately it all worked out.

As a traveler, I've never paid for titers, PPD, UDS, etc. I did pay for a physical once though.

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Thanks, Swellz. That is helpful info. I am disappointed because this has cost me valuable time and money - money in hotel and gas costs that could have gone toward bills and my mortgage. I feel duped to have sat here in a hotel room since Sunday and given the runaround by my agency. Luckily I am only a few hours drive from home. I take this as a learning lesson going forward. My focus now is to get a plan formed so I can start making money. I am most certainly steering clear of HCA, also.

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TakuRN,

It depends on the agency some will pay for your testing to be done and some will not. However, keep in mind that the money comes from somewhere and it's going to come out of your contract. What I mean by this is they maybe working on a 25-35% margin so they are taking more money out of your contract which allows them more cash flow to take care of things such as certifications or testing.

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Since you are a recruiter, is it common for travelers to have to pay out of pocket for their physicals and required items for medical clearance? I used the same clinic HWS sent me for my drug screen to get my physical, MMR titer, PPD, etc. The LPN asked why the agency did not send the information directly and why I was paying out of pocket. The physician asked me the same thing and said all of the travelers that have come through have never paid out of pocket for these requirements.

Appreciate your feedback!

It is common for agencies to pay for those, especially drug screens that need chain of custody. But not all do, and there is certainly a benefit for you to get your own physical clearance and titers. Then you have the documents and can easily swing to another agency without delay - might be especially important here where the OP is being jerked around.

Typically, if agencies pay, they treat the documents as proprietary information and will not give you a copy - obviously if they do, you can now take them to another agency.

Take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Agencies are paid via a fixed bill rate. Costs such as these come out of that bill rate (at least if you do the contract). Thus it shouldn't matter who pays for it, still coming out of the same pie. If you pay for it, the agency can pay you more. If they pay for it, they have less to pay you (for a give desired profit margin).

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I would seriously consider moving to a different agency. My recruiter looks out for me and never advises me to go into potentially troublesome contracts. In 3 years of traveling I really have yet to have a BAD assignment. You should have housing and day one info in hand before leaving for a contract. Any recruiter who is unable to give you this is either not up to the task or feeding you a line of bull.

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When I did travel I never paid for UDS, PPD etc...

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Since you are a recruiter, is it common for travelers to have to pay out of pocket for their physicals and required items for medical clearance? I used the same clinic HWS sent me for my drug screen to get my physical, MMR titer, PPD, etc. The LPN asked why the agency did not send the information directly and why I was paying out of pocket. The physician asked me the same thing and said all of the travelers that have come through have never paid out of pocket for these requirements.

Appreciate your feedback!

My agency paid for everything, including temporary housing. Sounds like HCA is unorganized and rinky-dink.

Get home and get recommendations for a reputable agency.

Best wishes.

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Thank you everyone for your replies! It is much helpful info moving forward. I left my last hospital mid January to transition to travel with HWS, so I really need to get a plan formed to get back to work. Fortunately, I made sure I had a little nest egg saved up prior to leaving my last job.

You should have housing and day one info in hand before leaving for a contract. Any recruiter who is unable to give you this is either not up to the task or feeding you a line of bull.

I spoke to a past coworker who worked as a traveler for a few years and she absolutely reiterated this.

My (ex) recruiter at HWS stated in the beginning that I could not work with any other travel agency while being employed with them. Has anyone ever encountered this? It seems upon reading further into Allnurses that many travel nurses work with 2-3 agencies at a time.

Once again, thank you all for your helpful advice!

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