Crisis travel assignments for Covid-19?

Nurses COVID

Updated:   Published

Hey all, hope you are all staying safe during this insanity. I was wondering if anybody has started to see crisis/high rate jobs posted yet? If so, post the specialty and company.

8 hours ago, LC0929 said:

..there's a difference between getting paid a reasonable salary... and getting paid a ridiculous amount of money

How much is a reasonable amount?

How much is too much?

What about some kind of pay scale that is dependent on experience, specialty, willingness to travel, or risk to one's life?

How much should nurses who work on helicopters, like LifeFlight, make?

Should they be entitled to hazard pay?

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...because I want the freedom of NOT being strapped into working to make a certain amount of money just to survive..

I'm sorry. As wonderful as it is you live within your means, unless someone (maybe your parents or a rich uncle) is paying your rent, your bills, buying your groceries, paying your medical bills, and putting gas in your Ford Focus, you are "strapped into working to make a certain amount of money just to survive..."

Especially because it doesn't seem like you are familiar with the concept of saving money...

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...my checking account has 10$ in it...

We're all stuck making money to survive. You just have to come to terms with the fact that some people are willing to do more than you to get more than you.

Don't get me wrong. I'm pretty sure you're coming from a good place. The system is broken. And when I say that, I'm talking about the whole thing--society in general. We are doing it wrong. However, the holier than thou method is not the way to go about changing it.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

My apologies. My opinion was never meant to be argumentative, or holier than thou, at all. The point I was trying to make, was simply that I could not, with a clear conscience, walk into hospital in NYC, where our colleagues have been busting their asses and feel comfortable getting paid twice as much to do the same job. Apparently I wasn't clear.

As far as my bank account, I just went back to work, after a year of ineffective rehab, for a second rotator cuff surgery, as a result of 15 plus years of nursing. Most recently, I was put in an MRI, with incompatible hardware which resulted in my newly installed anchors being ripped out of the bone. The next step is a complete shoulder. Unfortunately, this will have to wait though, to be done sometime in the future, when I'm not homeless as a result of all of this crap. So yes, I'm actually grateful to have $10 in my account. And no, even in my current situation, I wouldn't do it. I wouldn't cross a picket line either, but many people do. I am not saying I'm right, I just do what I think is right. I think nurses are exploited enough without us exploiting each other, but again, merely my opinion, not confrontation. Again, I apologize if it came across that way.

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Specializes in Critical Care and Community Health. Dabbled in Cor.

I've been seeing them in a lot of places. I get constant texts and calls. I'm suggesting that you be wary of any agency that doesn't give sick pay. It's a legal requirement in Washington, but the agency I currently work for, out of Florida, does all they can to get out of it despite the Washington labor law. So watch out for that. Covid 19 is a lot worse than the diseases we get from patients ususally.

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Specializes in Er/pacu.

Anybody can become a travel nurse or PRN nobody is stopping you. Just like day nurses complaining about night nurse diffs. I am a day nurse and say thank God for the night nurses because I sure don’t want to work nights/ rotating shifts. Give them big diffs. Give Agency nurses the pay required for them to - not have a secure job with vacation, paid acts, etc.

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Specializes in Critical Care.
10 hours ago, DannyBoy8 said:

Ah, that explains all of the bartenders who have country club memberships and drive exotic sports cars.

I have a lot to say to you, but you're not worth the time. Nurses who go to disaster zones and work ungodly hours in horrific conditions deserve to be paid accordingly. Case closed.

They deserve more than the nurses who are ALREADY working in the same hospital?? Why ?? Martyr syndrome pay ?? They deserve to get paid, absolutely.....they shouldn't get paid more than their colleagues with the same credentials, working in the same conditions.....please explain to me why they should....I'm interested....it's not Ortho vs Plastics.....it's the same specialty, just a different venue....why is their contribution worth more? Especially when the qualifications are the same.....ethically it's not okay....at least for me....it's border line extortion as far as I'm concerned.....yeah, okay, I'll come and practice nursing in your facility in the middle of a pandemic, but not unless you pay me double....that's probably what Flo said too.....doubtful....

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19 hours ago, Walti said:

Sounds like registry work rather than travel would be right for you. You set the hours you are available. I would be very cautious abuot working in multiple facilities as the spread in Washington was from nurses working more than one job.

I have never heard of registry work. Maybe that is not something common here in southeast Texas. Thank you, I will research further!

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Specializes in Critical Care and Community Health. Dabbled in Cor.

Maxim staffs the NW, but pays less than others. Favorites staff most of southern Oregon. Cross Country used to have the contract for Kaiser. Therapia has some contracts in WA. Look up agencies under Washington or Seattle. There are several that are local. HCA used to have the contract for the catholic hospitals, CHI and Providence.

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Specializes in Critical Care and Community Health. Dabbled in Cor.

I forgot, Supplemental sends quite a few inquiries for this area and have a local representative. Strategic used to staff as third party in the NW. Aerotek does some. There's another one in Florida, but can't remember the name.

Wait....check out NuWest. They're located in Seattle

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9 hours ago, LC0929 said:

My apologies. My opinion was never meant to be argumentative, or holier than thou, at all. The point I was trying to make, was simply that I could not, with a clear conscience, walk into hospital in NYC, where our colleagues have been busting their asses and feel comfortable getting paid twice as much to do the same job. Apparently I wasn't clear.

As far as my bank account, I just went back to work, after a year of ineffective rehab, for a second rotator cuff surgery, as a result of 15 plus years of nursing. Most recently, I was put in an MRI, with incompatible hardware which resulted in my newly installed anchors being ripped out of the bone. The next step is a complete shoulder. Unfortunately, this will have to wait though, to be done sometime in the future, when I'm not homeless as a result of all of this crap. So yes, I'm actually grateful to have $10 in my account. And no, even in my current situation, I wouldn't do it. I wouldn't cross a picket line either, but many people do. I am not saying I'm right, I just do what I think is right. I think nurses are exploited enough without us exploiting each other, but again, merely my opinion, not confrontation. Again, I apologize if it came across that way.

How in the world are nurses who respond to the greatest pandemic in the last century, maybe even in the last 500 years, exploiting other nurses?

You've not made one salient point.

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Specializes in Critical Care and Community Health. Dabbled in Cor.

What contract tips do you have for 1st time travelers who are considering COVID-19 response assignments? There are a lot of drawbacks to travel nursing. Sometimes you are in an hostile work environment because the regular staff nurses think you are being paid billions more. I took a $35 dollar an hour paycut to travel. It makes the environment hostile. Here's my tips:

1. Get everything in writing. Don't believe anything until it is in writing.

2. Have very thick skin. It's often a toxic work environment.

3. Have no opinions. Trust only your people back home. Just do your job.

4. Be prepared for comments about travelers being incompetent. Many hospitals insist you float to areas outside you expertise, and the agency is their client not you. This is true even when it's a procedure you specialize in. You didn't do it with them. Variations of this story will exist.

5. Don't travel too long if you want to settle down. Some HR's consider the typical travel contracts too many short term jobs. (Yes I've heard this from an hospital in Seattle)

6. Make sure they pay for the two weeks quarantine before you go home.

7. Make sure there's a plan for you if you get sick.

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On 3/19/2020 at 4:31 PM, MunoRN said:

In my area the offers are around $5000 per week for a 3 week commitment.

where is this?

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Specializes in ER.
5 hours ago, LC0929 said:

They deserve more than the nurses who are ALREADY working in the same hospital?? Why ?? Martyr syndrome pay ?? They deserve to get paid, absolutely.....they shouldn't get paid more than their colleagues with the same credentials, working in the same conditions.....please explain to me why they should....I'm interested....it's not Ortho vs Plastics.....it's the same specialty, just a different venue....why is their contribution worth more? Especially when the qualifications are the same.....ethically it's not okay....at least for me....it's border line extortion as far as I'm concerned.....yeah, okay, I'll come and practice nursing in your facility in the middle of a pandemic, but not unless you pay me double....that's probably what Flo said too.....doubtful....

Well then let me educate you. I just left work as a full time day charge nurse. I got PTO at 7 ish hours of accrued time per 2 weeks. They did away with sick time, so any time you are ill you have to use your vacation time. I'm an RN with 27 years of experience, have my BSN. I pay my own certifications and do them on my own time, with no extra money paid for the BSN or any of the many certs I hold. When I left there I was making 27.00 an hour...plus a grand .75 cents and hour to take on the charge position. I had to pay 300+ every 2 weeks for my health care, with a 5 THOUSAND dollar premium to pay before they started to cover things. I was supposed to have 11 nurses staggered through until 3pm. AT NO TIME in the last 2 years did I ever have full staff. I was often down up to 5 nurses. The nurses I had were often float pool or temp nurses who's primary skill set was NOT the ED. We are a certified stroke center, so fairly frequently we get TPA patients that require 1:1 nursing for at least 2-4 hours. We also had to auto accept any STEMIs from our sister hospitals. They start new grads at 18.00 an hour. They frequently bring in travelers....I was a traveler there on and off for a few years, and was TOLD by upper management that it was cheaper for the hospital to pay for travelers than to pay their own nurses adequate money to ensure retention. I'm betting that the CEO and the other numerous upper management who make the MILLIONS of dollars a year aren't losing any sleep over the issues I raised above. SO now I'm going back to traveling....raking in that money....BUT. Getting through the ton of crap needed to onboard with a travel company is time consuming and can be expensive. I had to drive a total of 6 hours unpaid to get paperwork and labs done. Then I have to worry about my contract being cancelled if the facility doesn't need me. Then I get to drive 17 hours away from my husband and home to work a 13 week assignment in a hospital where I don't know anybody. I usually get less than a shift to learn the charting system and get familiar with the policies and how things are done. Travel nursing is often lonely- you are never really "One of the family." You have to work with Docs you don't know. With the situation happening now, there will be no site seeing on a day off. I will spend 13 weeks working or sitting in a hotel or Air BNB. I won't get to see my family at all during that time because of Covid. THAT is why we get paid a premium thank you very much.

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