First time traveler

NedRN · Mar 6, 2017

Psych may pay better than the other two. Try Supplemental for psych.

Housing is traditionally supplied by the agency. It has become increasingly better for both agencies and travelers for travelers to find their own housing paid out of an agency supplied housing stipend. But it is your choice and on a first assignment, accepting agency supplied housing may be the way to go.

Lots of housing most places, including South Florida. Besides Craigslist, Airbnb, and VRBO, there are also temporary medical housing companies yours with a quick Google. In fact, if you take agency supplied housing, there is a good chance it comes from one of those companies.

Wolf at the Door, BSN · Mar 6, 2017

Supplemental Health recruiters from various offices were exposed by several travel nurse to have been creating fake jobs to get profiles. They were doing a Bait and Switch. Make fake high paying job then submit you. They were telling you nobody was submitted. Once you got submitted the job was closed an hour later. They then offer you a real low paying position.

NedRN · Mar 6, 2017

Can you link your sources for the exposure of Supplemental recruiters please? What you describe does fit a common circumstance. Most job board posts (and even many agency website posts) are effectively fake. It is not really possible to automate job posts on all job boards and even it can be difficult to update an agency's own site and most agencies do not keep assignments current on their site.

Thus the "assignments" you find on a job board are "representative" jobs that are supposed to represent real assignments an agency has had in the past. Obviously, they cherry pick the popular locations and the best pay (perhaps crisis pay) that has ever been offered. That's marketing, and the informed consumer knows this stuff (from me if they read this forum). In addition, any traveler with experience knows that any advertised "good" assignment, either pay or location, will be gone by the time they go through onboarding with a new agency (which is the primary reason why agencies don't keep job board posts current as there is no benefit).

While I cannot dispute allegations about Supplemental as I've seen no evidence one way or another, I will say that they are one of the 10 largest agencies in the country. I don't think you will find any other industry a top ten player whose business model is based on fraud (Volkswagen might be an exception, but their fraud was limited to a subset of their manufacturing). Fraud is simply not sustainable in a long term large business, as you can see with Volkswagen (man, did they make a stupid decision and now it is costing them big).

However, the exact thing you describe does happen to many travelers at many agencies. A traveler gets all fired up with an impossibly good job board post and the recruiter knowing that to give the truth may lose the traveler, lies about whether it is a current assignment to get them to sign up fully, knowing full well that after that investment, the traveler is motivated to take an assignment. That is thoroughly unethical in a way that posting a "representative" assignment is not. Honest communication between recruiters and travelers is the only way to build a good business, at least as far as the individual recruiter is concerned. But in any sales position, it is common to spout some BS to earn someone's business, but usually those individuals never become top sales people.

Now you are painting an entire agency as fraudulent based on what might or might not be some true anecdotes (certainly some are true industrywide as I have just said) is probably unfair, and unless you know it to be the policy of the agency, defamatory. If Supplemental does have such a policy, or is training their recruiters to do this, or has such a destructive internal culture, they should go out of business. If you can provide evidence (contact information of those affected would be great), I will ask PanTravelers to get to the bottom of this. They have intervened in a number of issues with agencies that definitely formed a pattern. For example, one agency that anytime a traveler cancelled, would bill them for damages and send it out to a collection agency routinely. Another example are travelers that were lowballed by an agency, found out that other travelers on the same job with other agencies, and attempted to switch agencies (usually not allowed by the contract terms) and were hit with an injunction such that if they went to work, they could be arrested. Those are two extreme examples of successful intervention by the Professional Association of Nurse Travelers.

Wolf at the Door, BSN · Mar 6, 2017

I can send you the facebook link via PM since I can't openly post facebook links. The nurse said one of the fake job links was removed by the agency.

NedRN · Mar 6, 2017

Thanks, I've already initiated action. The thread seems to indicate the problem comes from a specific Supplemental office. So it might not be company wide, but as I said, this can be a natural thing individual recruiters came up with on their own. Also, no mention of where the jobs were posted.

Wolf at the Door, BSN · Mar 7, 2017

Thanks, I've already initiated action. The thread seems to indicate the problem comes from a specific Supplemental office. So it might not be company wide, but as I said, this can be a natural thing individual recruiters came up with on their own. Also, no mention of where the jobs were posted.

I PM'd the nurses that came forward. Offices in CA (Fresno) and NC. 4 different recruiters in total. The job posted on facebook were removed, except two. I can PM those.

Others companies mentioned were readylink, liquid agents, and I think Atlas.

NedRN · Mar 7, 2017

Specific job postings are not important. As to naming affected agencies, especially the small ones you mentioned, not necessary. Recruiters at most agencies have done this. Almost all agencies have put "representative" assignments on job boards (it is the only practical method of marketing on job boards). I just want to find out if this is really a policy of one of the largest agencies and hopefully PanTravelers will get an agreement for them to stamp out this issue.

Thanks for your assistance!

Wolf at the Door, BSN · Mar 7, 2017

Specific job postings are not important. As to naming affected agencies, especially the small ones you mentioned, not necessary. Recruiters at most agencies have done this. Almost all agencies have put "representative" assignments on job boards (it is the only practical method of marketing on job boards). I just want to find out if this is really a policy of one of the largest agencies and hopefully PanTravelers will get an agreement for them to stamp out this issue.
Thanks for your assistance!

Oh good let me know the outcome. I too have seen these fake post. I have a profile with Supplemental. I did per diem work with them about two years ago. I won't bother anymore. It is pretty pathetic IMO.

Mavrick, BSN, RN · Mar 7, 2017

OK, I only slightly mis-read your title. I wanna be the Second Timetraveller.

I'd go back and not trade my Jeep in for a VW Rabbit!