Good Contract?

sweetgurly25 · Apr 30, 2012

yes that does seem low.are they providing housing or giving you a stipend sometimes that takes into account. a lot expert traveler will tell you not to take it because of the low rate. it inreases your chance of being audited.

MikeRodriRN · Apr 30, 2012

Hey everyone-
I was just offered a contract in Idaho for a med-surg, peds/float position. It is a day shift and the manager said that I would only have 4 patients if I were working with tele and 5 if I wasn't. Sounds pretty good I think, but they are only offering me 16 an hour but my "blended rate" would be 27.43, that seems REALLY low to me? Any input?

Yeah that sounds like a very poor rate. For traveling you should be making around $35/hour or more with a blended rate. With private housing, utilities, and travel expenses included.

I would HIGHLY recommend working with at least 4 different agencies and have them bid against each other.

Google Highway Hypodermics - they have a ranking of all the agencies with a listing of their benefits. Pick the best ones and fill out applications with them all, its a mildly lengthy process but it will pay off with about a 30% increase in pay when compared to someone that just works with one bad company.

Remember these agencies make a TON of money on your hard work. Don't be afraid to negotiate.

cgwrn · Apr 30, 2012

Housing, 1 furnished bedroom is provided in addition. It just seems very low, especially considering I make 24 an hour at my hospital. Seems like a waste to drive 22 hours to make only 3 dollars more an hour. My recruiter is saying that because I am a first time traveler I am getting paid less and once I get my first contract under my belt I will get paid more. Ugh, such a pain.

MikeRodriRN · Apr 30, 2012

Don't fall for that "first timer" trap, the agency still charges the hospital full price to hire you. My agency tried to tell me the same thing. Talk to another agency and go back and forth until you get around $35/hour.

Don't settle, and don't be afraid to play a little hard ball with them. A lot of companies abuse the first timers because they know you don't know better yet.

sweetgurly25 · Apr 30, 2012

cgwrn, i was told the same thing by my agency about being a first timer. right now, we are on a waiting game because the facility wants me to charge and float. meanwhile they are offering 20/hr with stipend and no holiday pay. i told her to call me back when she has a better offer. there are other agencies.

Strawberrykool · May 1, 2012

I assume you all are RN's. I am a LPN and my "blended" rate is 33. This is only my 2nd assignment. My first was 18 an hour i cant remembet my tax free but i brought home 864. So I would say ummm its time to play hardball

cgwrn · May 1, 2012

Yea, I am an RN, have been a nurse for four years with a variety of experiences including charging. And this assignment the nurse manager did tell me on the phone that I may charge at times. I did tell the recruiter I was in no hurry to leave my current job for $3 more an hour. I work at an awesome hospital, seriously, the best hospital in the area (our turn over rate for nurses is less than 3%)... I am hoping she will get back to me soon. Idaho isn't even my ideal area, if it was say, the D.C. area then I might consider taking a low offer just to get there for the summer. I really just wanted to travel to see other parts of the country and to get a little more money to put toward my loans (ugh!). I was recently offered a job teaching part time for a college in the area too, so to turn that down I need a good contract. I explained that all to my recruiter, so we will see what happens.

sweetgurly25 · May 1, 2012

good luck

rs02011988 · May 1, 2012

it sounds like you dont want to do it for that price, so I would say no! stick to your guns!

jodyangel, RN · May 3, 2012

wow..I would faint if offered a price like that. Im looking into traveling and have been offered way more that this..without housing ect..

ERRNinMI · May 3, 2012

Seems low, but I'm not sure of the rates in Idaho. I would def. inquire from some other agencies before taking it. I'm out in California (obviously much different) and my blended rate is in the mid 40's...