First time Agency RN

[jmuhammad10]

I am seriously looking for travel nursing work. All my children are grown and gone and hubby travels too. I would like to broaden my scope of practice. Most of my experience has been in Tele and Hospice and Ortho.

I don't know the first thing about travel nursing: contracts, orientations, housing, fair wages, etc. Pointing me in the best direction would be most appreciated - peaks and valleys that I should be aware of. Thanks.

[NedRN]

Read lots of threads here. Reading between the lines will tell you a lot more. I'll be repeating what other posts say, but popular sites to learn more about travel include PanTravelers, TravelTax, GypsyNurse, and Hiway Hypodermics. For beginning to end descriptions of travel assignment, search Amazon for travel nurse books.

[KenzieGirl]

I am a traveler doing agency right now. First, I would suggest going to the Travel Nursing specialty, not agency. If you dig a little you will find info about preferred companies, etc. You can also google travel nursing companies, I can't recall the exact site but there is a rating site for all the companies. I am with 3 different companies and even with that, it can be hard to find work. Depends on where you want to go.

What can I tell you for the basics, lets see. Things I wish I had known prior to getting started! Most travel assignments are 13 weeks long, but you can find some for shorter (8 weeks) or longer if you like. When you are getting close to the the end of an assignment you can check with the nurse manager or your recruiter and see if they want to extend you - if you are interested in staying another 13 weeks. Or you can choose to move on to your next place. I suggest looking for the next assignment before the current one ends - or else make sure you have enough $ saved up to survive for a good few weeks without work.

You can get the housing stipend if you qualify. Its a government based program - if you have a "tax home" which you pay market rate rent or a mortgage, utilities, etc. then you would qualify to receive the weekly housing stipend. If, like me, you are living with parents or friends, you technically don't qualify. I think people may get around this in various ways, but the more I read the more worried I became about being audited, so I don't chance it. If you own a house, you qualify and you don't have to worry about any of this.

You can drive your own car and most companies will provide for travel costs, or you can let them get you a rental car - but this will take a huge chunk of your paycheck, so remember that.

I usually choose to find my own housing for the same reason - they will take half your paycheck to put you up in an apartment/hotel. I haven't had any problems finding housing on craigslist.

Orientation is anywhere from 2 or 3 days up to a week, depending on the facility. A few classroom days, one day with a preceptor, and off you go. I always felt that this was enough preparation. Nursing is nursing, wherever you go.

Wages will vary a lot depending on the area of the country you want to go to. Again, if you look in the Travel Nursing section (under specialties) you can find more info.

I'm glad to answer more questions if you want to message me. I love travel nursing :) good luck!

[jmuhammad10]

Thanks a million; very informative.