Cross Country vs. American Mobile

lccougar02 · Jan 8, 2009

I work for nurses RX who is a sub company of american mobile. I have had a few problems but my recruiter is awesome and it always gets resolved. I have been with them over a year now. PM me if you are interested!

bagladyrn, RN · Jan 9, 2009

I've had trouble with both companies especially AmMobile the recruiters are very cocky and the hourly pay is always very low than compared to other offers and jobs I have had. I was told that they are publicly traded and that's why their better than the "mom and pop" travel companies. After having worked for a corporate hospital for over two years and the recent upheaval on Wall Street I don't find that to be a good selling point.
I would like to say I wish them luck but I actually hope people read this and think twice before blindly taking an assignment with one of these companies. We are all so susceptible to good marketing. I've found my folly is often believing a product or company is the best because it's all I've ever heard about only to later find, much to my dismay, that I have been duped.
I also would like to pass on something that most of us, for whatever reason, don't speak openly about and that's pay.
Now as a disclaimer this is the talk of myself and MANY other travelers I've spoken to in the time before this current economic downturn. That being said I still think we should be paid fairly and we're never going to get the upper hand on these companies if we keep behaving as if our pay is a shameful thing. So that's the end of the disclaimer.....
I was told a long time ago (ok only like 3yrs ago) that you should never take a travel job for less than $30 an hour.
That's the short answer now for the explanation. Some Veteran Travelers will tell you that they've kicked themselves after finding they were making far less than their traveling counterparts working for different companies. It's true that you can arrange creative pay structures to avoid taxes or pay for a car or bigger apartment but when it comes down to it how much you gross before taxes compared to how many hours you worked. How to get this info upfront from your recruiter I cannot answer.
Next part is: why would a RN, who can get a job just about anywhere and make between $20-30 in their hometown, near their family, where they are all nice and comfy and have lots of friends, drive halfway across the country with only the belongings they can fit into their car to work in a hospital they know little about only to make what they could at home?
If you have a good answer go for it! Work for AmericanMobile who's most certainly taking $20 off the top of every hour you work.
Every time a traveler takes this kind of pay we all lose.
Now how do we get a list of the evil empire?
PM me for references of good companies and recruiters.

Just a side issue in this discussion, but I wanted to contribute a couple of opinions to your comments. I don't discuss specifics of my pay with others because I was brought up that it wasn't "done". I really don't care what rate others are making - I negotiate each contract to obtain what I consider fair compensation for my work. If I am comfortable, then what someone else makes doesn't impact me. Likewise the percentage of the bill rate. I hope the company is making good money off my contract - gives them more incentive to keep me happy and employed! (As they have done for the last 12 years)

As for why someone would leave home if they couldn't make more money - what you define as "comfy" I would consider a cage! I just love seeing what's around the next bend in the road!

catlover314 · Feb 4, 2009

american mobile (amn healthcare services inc.)

american mobile has total revenue of 1.14 billion dollars annually as of 2007. about 70% of that is travel nursing and allied health. pantravelers estimates this represents the full time equivalent of 7,000 travelers. publicly traded under the stock ticker of ahs. american mobile's corporate site.

american mobile brands are:

american mobile healthcare

medical express

nursesrx

preferred healthcare staffing

platinum select

hrmc

o'grady-peyton international (international)

staff care (physician)

merritt hawkins & associates (physician)

nurse choice

rn demand

rn extend

med travelers (allied)

rx pro health (pharmacy)

thera tech staffing (allied)

in addition: nursezone this is a comprehensive nursing site, but does stealth marketing for amn. and travelnursing gives the impression of an independent job board."

cross country's brands are:

akos (research staffing)

assent (research staffing)

assignment america (international)

clinforce (research staffing)

cross country local (per diem)

cross country travcorps

cross country staffing (travel)

cru48 (rapid response assignments)

healthstaffers (government/military assignments)

medstaff (travel and per diem)

mra search (nurses and other healthcare professionals)

mra - metropolitan research (research staffing)

novapro (travel)

in addition, they operate cross country university and cross country education as separate subsidiaries and cejka search which is a mostly physician permanent placement agency. rntravelspace gives the appearance of an independent travel nurse resource page but is actually a recruiting page for cctv's brands only."

cut and pasted from www.pantravelers.org

eriksoln, BSN, RN · Feb 4, 2009

yeah, cc and american mobile are not the same companies. they are wicked towards each other, trying to out do each other at whatever cost.

i've been working for american mobile and dont have much good to say about them. we've been put in housing that was not acceptable (crime and other problems mostly), not told about things that i should be warned about (one hospital charged travel nurses $270 a month for parking) only to find out during orientation about things i wont accept, slow to fix problems unless the problem costs them money (problems with me being called off and the unit saying i took a voluntary low cencus day came up, it was fixed the next day, but when something that involves am paying me comes up, it takes weeks), nasty customer service people....especially housing, and they try to slip things past you in the contract (bargained for a sign on, they made it contract completion, they tried to make me responsible for 40hrs when the unit was offering 36, hidden small fees galore that dont come up on the phone).

i dont recommend am. the only thing i used to say made the rest of their bs worth while was the fact that they were so big. you could get jobs anywhere, and they were never short on options. now, they arent doing any better at finding work for people than anyone else, so..........they dont even have that much going for them.

cc on the other hand, i hear good things about. i do know the tax/pay system they are going to use/using is bad. dont do it. i wont even apply to them or anyone who offers that.

http://www.kobaly.com/

http://www.traveltax.com/

you can make your own decision about that part.

i almost went with core before this last assignment and plan on calling them again when this assignment ends. there are a few others that i'll consider too.

aakrn · Feb 12, 2009

I have worked with AMN and dont have too many good things to say about them. My paychecks were always incorrect, my recruitor was snitty in a regular basis, service from my recruitor (also a manager there) was poor, I was "presented" to hospitals without even knowing....and the list goes on! I am currently with CC and wow what a HUGE difference. There is no comparison.

wanderlust99 · Feb 16, 2009

I'm with American Mobile and haven't had any issues besides finding a job recently! I keep having to extend at a hospital I don't really like.

I think it depends on your recruiter.

As far as AM paying their nurses less money. I ask my coworkers what they make, and for those who tell me, it is always the same as me. So haven't had that problem either.

travelinjones · Feb 18, 2009

SO I am now talking to NursesRx for my next assgnment I know they are a sister company of AM and i really liked there benefits and had no problems with payroll or anything so I am hoping that a smaller company I will have better luck with recruiters. So far I really like mine she seems to be working very hard to find the right assignment for me. Good Luck.

Hey...I never worked with CC. I did however work with AMN and Nurses Rx. I totally loved my recruiter c NursesRx. I had all of the smaller agency attention to detail and personalized service with all of the advantages of the larger agency (AMN) for payroll/bennies etc.

Going temporary staff for a while now because that is what I could get. Soon as it's over, I plan to hook back up with my NursesRx recruiter. Good luck out there!

jenrudnick · May 18, 2009

I am considering CCTC. Can you please explain why the tax incentive plan should be avoided? I'm a little confused as to how it works. My recruiter (obviously) says it's a great benefit.

RNERHOUSESUPOR · May 19, 2009

I cannot say anything good about Cross Country. If you are confused by the money then the recruiter will be getting their bonus. Make sure you understand what money is coming to you and what you may have to pay taxes on at year end. Travel companies are using the confusing tax laws to confuse you into taking less money and they are able to keep more of your money.

adoula · Jun 9, 2009

Is Nursing Access related to one of these companies? It is out of San Diego.

Colleen

JJSRNA · May 2, 2011

What companies do you recommend?

RNERHOUSESUPOR · May 3, 2011

What companies do you recommend?

The one that you find that works with you, does not try to push you into something and will take the time to deal with what you need. I'm sure there are many good companies with good people working with them. I had one and the relationship lasted almost 10 years. Still looking for the "ONE" again.

Rod