Colorado Travel Nursing

dreamworx07 · Oct 12, 2012

I really have no idea, but have you checked if they do more agency work? Rather than travelers.

RNERHOUSESUPOR · Oct 13, 2012

I worked in Denver for a HCA hospital with the companies travel division, used to be All About Staffing and now is Parallon Staffing. There is also this thing called Medifis it seems. They are a "clearing house" for travel assignments. Hospitals put their needs out to Medifis, (for a price) and Travel companies get notified about said needs (also for a price). Nurses out there wanting to work get stuck paying both of the prices in decreased wages and abilities to secure an assignment.

Large companies seem to think they need more middle management to do the work they really should be doing (for there salary) and are preventing the end user of really making a living. Instead of speaking with my recruiter about a position I would like to have I have to speak to a recruiter, a compentency evaluator, a continuing education quality assurance specialist and multiple other people who I have no idea what they do or why they do it just to return to a job I have done for the past 6 winters, have been given excellent performance evaluations and am requested to return. But they can't just let me pick up where I left off, I have to go back through "orientation" wait for my computer access to be allowed, medication access and facility access to be processed. In additon, had to take two hours worth of online testing to make sure I could do the job before being submitted to a job I already had an agreement from the manager of a start date.

Maybe that was a rant. Sorry. Call the hospitals in the area you are wanting to work. Ask to speak with the manager of the speciality you want to work in and ask them if they use travel nurses, what company and if they currently have a position open. You may be given an immediate interview or the cold shoulder. Cold shoulder you probably don't want to work for that person and you can cross them off the list and keep looking. I have been a travel nurse since 1989 and will travel as long as I can find work.

Rod

circnurs · Oct 13, 2012

I am new to traveling and am getting ready to start my first assignment in CO in a few weeks. Send me a personal message and I will give you my recruiters info.

Heather

austin_0_4 · Oct 13, 2012

I'm jealous! Anyway, its says I don't have enough posts to send you a PM!? Regardless I would love to get more information from you. [email protected].

Thanks!

bcarpent · Oct 14, 2012

I too am looking to travel to Denver after the first of the year...I've been traveling for a year as well. My recruiter continues to discourage Denver in that there aren't any travel jobs and the pay is low. Is anyone on a travel assignment in Denver that would like to share who their agency is ?? Maybe I am just working with the wrong ones...

Thanks!

NedRN · Oct 15, 2012

I worked in Denver for a HCA hospital with the companies travel division, used to be All About Staffing and now is Parallon Staffing. There is also this thing called Medifis it seems. They are a "clearing house" for travel assignments. Hospitals put their needs out to Medifis, (for a price) and Travel companies get notified about said needs (also for a price). Nurses out there wanting to work get stuck paying both of the prices in decreased wages and abilities to secure an assignment.
Large companies seem to think they need more middle management to do the work they really should be doing (for there salary) and are preventing the end user of really making a living. Instead of speaking with my recruiter about a position I would like to have I have to speak to a recruiter, a compentency evaluator, a continuing education quality assurance specialist and multiple other people who I have no idea what they do or why they do it just to return to a job I have done for the past 6 winters, have been given excellent performance evaluations and am requested to return. But they can't just let me pick up where I left off, I have to go back through "orientation" wait for my computer access to be allowed, medication access and facility access to be processed. In additon, had to take two hours worth of online testing to make sure I could do the job before being submitted to a job I already had an agreement from the manager of a start date.
Maybe that was a rant.
Rod

That was a rant. And an unfair one in my opinion. I thought I had posted my own rant reply, perhaps in another thread.

Medefis is simply an online venue to efficiently put hospitals, agencies, and travelers together. There is a cost, about 2 to 3 percent of the contract. But the cost not to use them would be far higher. Hospitals cannot afford to maintain 10 to 50 agencies to place a couple of travelers a year (the average Medefis hospital). The daily phone calls alone would swamp HR. Nor can agencies afford to prospectively sign up and develop a contract with small hospitals. Both hospitals and agencies win big.

And guess what? So does the traveler who is placed at a fair wage he/she accepts. Medefis accepts bids based on travelers profile, and hospitals are free to pick the best profile, or even the best price. They get what they pay for. Agencies are free to adjust the bid for the quality or need of the individual traveler (something they cannot do in their ordinary contracts), and hospitals are equally free to accept or reject a bid.

No extra cost actually involved. You get the fair market price every time. The agency has a rate they must pay the traveler, and a profit margin they must get. All they have to do is adjust the bid to compensate for the small Medefis fee.

Yes, middle management can add value. That is what Medefis does. They are not a parasite, they make travel more efficient, especially for the small agencies and hospitals who can now compete equally with the big guys. In part, travelers win not only because of the efficiencies I mention above, but because they can work for smaller agencies that typically have lower overhead and pass through more of the bill rate to the nurse. It is much more agency neutral, with the job going to the traveler best suited for a particular assignment, not just the most pushy agency, or the agency with the lowest bill rate.

Some of your rant was really against vendor managers in general, not Medefis as you quote a few things that Medefis doesn't do (they are not really a VM at all currently). My same points apply to vendor managers as well, all they are really doing is outsourcing hospital HR. You shouldn't really complain about that as your agency is outsourcing hospital staffing. I can think of one VM I really dislike, but the rest are indeed generally making the whole process more efficient. That is good for travelers, agencies, hospitals, and healthcare (it should be about patients, right)? It is easy to gripe about fees that are visible, and pre-screening interviews. But they all have a real purpose and help provide good healthcare, not just waste money. No hospital willingly throws away money, and supply and demand suggest that market rates will ultimately set traveler pay, not middle management.

OK, rant off. (for now)

travel help · Oct 18, 2012

What type of travel nurse position are you looking for? What is your specialty?

cosmicmama, BSN, RN · Oct 18, 2012

I'm gearing up to start traveling after the holidays, will be looking for my first assignment and have been thinking a lot about Denver. I have teenage boys who want to learn to snowboard, LOL. I have 17 years of nursing experience, my specialty is L&D. I already have a recruiter and have just about finished all my paperwork. I was discouraged to read this thread about traveling in Colorado, as my agency seems to have several L&D openings in Denver and the surrounding area. (At least they do on their website).

SummitRN, BSN, RN · Oct 30, 2012

The glut in CO has reduced the need for travelers and depressed wages.