Help! Would travel nursing be a good fit for my situation?

Ruby Vee, BSN · Jul 13, 2008

my husband and i are both nurses and took a travel position when we moved cross country for pretty much the same reason you're contemplating it: immediate housing, and a chance to look around the area before committing to a permanent job and place to live. we've both had over 20 years of icu experience, though.

you may have a problem in that many travel companies require at least two years of exprience in your specialty. i know a couple of nurses that started traveling with less than that -- neither of them lasted. one didn't even make it through her first assignment and the other couldn't get hired in a good hospital. it sounds as if you wouldn't be leaving until january, though, and you'd have two years in by then.

go ahead and look into it -- it sounds like a great way to get your feet wet in your new area! good luck, and good luck to your husband on landing a job!

ukstudent · Jul 13, 2008

I am not a traveler, but the travelers that work in my hospital get hired to work the shifts not covered by regular staff. Which seems to mean a lot of weekends, Friday and Saturday nights.

As Ruby Vee said most hospitals and reputable agency's require that you have worked an minimum of 2 years in your specialty. So leaving your current housing and job to be a traveler at the current time would probably not work out.

If you husband gets this job in VA you could think of it like a military deployment. He comes to VA and rents a room. You live in FL and finish your 2 years of nurses and get out of your lease. By this time with his additional income you should be able move comfortably. Not optimal but do-able. Will this new job give your husband any moving expenses to relocate?

litlstar555 · Jul 13, 2008

I would have t dsagree lighly with the other two posters. I had the same level of experience when I started traveling and was successful in it. I think it has a lot to do with your personality/confidence level though. To be a traveler, you have to be confident in your nursing skills. In most cases, you will only get 1 night of orientation if that. I have heard of some nurses only getting 4 hours of orientation. Just make sure you ask a lot of questions during your interview process. If the hospital has a lot of travelers, making your requests known about schedule might be honored.

simplysusan · Jul 14, 2008

Just wanted to say that, I worked today and called my husband part way through my always more than 12 hour shift to look this site up to see if I had any replies. He read them to me over the phone. So that's how interested I am in your feedback/opinions. Thank you to Ruby, UK & litlstar for your excellent, thought provoking responses.

Ruby - how cool is it that both you & your husband are nurses? I must admit, I am a little jealous! :) You gave me pause to consider my lack of experience in anything outside of my current unit. I must think about what would be safe for me and my patients, not necessarily what is most "convenient" for me.

UKstudent - your suggestion of having my husband "deploy" to va, rent a room, while I tie up loose ends down here seems sound to me, and kind of takes some "pressure" off of me. Emotionally... I think it would be almost unbearable. My husband and I endured being apart for over a year during our engagement since he is Canadian (immigration red tape, gotta love it). It was hard, and has made us appreciate how special being together in the same location is. I can't help but admit though, that your idea seems like the wisest financially. It may be the best thing we can do. If he gets the job, we'll talk to our landlord and see how much he is willing to work with us and go from there, keeping your suggestion in mind.

Litlestar - You rock! I think, however, I would want more than 4 hours of orientation. You make a good point, while also being positive about the possibility. What brilliance!

The 3 of you have given my husband and I something to chew on during our long drive to VA tomorrow! (He interviews Tuesday and then we drive home Wednesday so I can work Thurs & Fri). To each of you a big thank you for taking the time to post!

Brownms46 · Jul 14, 2008

first of all, i am so grateful i found this board! i am fairly new here, and wish i had found this place at least a couple of years ago!
anywho, here's my situation.
- i am 32 years young , and have been a floor nurse on a telemetry/cardiovascular med/surg unit for 18 months. that is the extent of my experience since i graduated in december 2006. i have grown tremendously and do feel very confident and well liked on my unit. i have worked the day shift the entire 18 months.
- i got married last year and my husband has been out of work since late february. this has been very hard for both of us! since his job ended, we have barely been making it, paying both our student loans and living expenses on my salary alone. its gotten to the point where we are living paycheck to paycheck despite working overtime about every other week. (i have finally put in for a night shift position to get the differential, and am scheduled to start it the very end of july.) i am so blessed to be in nursing where i can do this!
- we live in florida, and have a lease on a townhouse through january, 2009 (i have lived in this townhouse for 18 months, renewed the lease for an additional year after the first year). we rent from an individual, not a company and have a very good rapport with our landlord. if we leave now/in the near future, besides losing our large security deposit/+ last months rent, he may require us, however, to pay rent through december (january is already paid for) even if we leave. (i do think he would still give us a good recommendation though.)
- my husband has extensive education in a certain field, and is eligible for work at this stage in his career only at certain facilities in the country. as of this week, a facility in va has shown a strong interest in him and he has an interview on tuesday this coming week. we have a very strong possibility of him finally getting a good job in his field!
- the place in va where we would be moving, should he get the job, is totally new to us. the hassle of lining up a place to live when we don't know the area, being able to afford first & last months rent when we're depleted as it is, etc is overwhelming to me. plus we have a lease down here we may have to keep paying on.
would travel nursing be a good match for me?
from what i'm reading it might be a good solution, but i want to make sure if seasoned travelers also think so:
1. i know nothing about the hospitals in the area where we might be moving. (it is in the va beach area should anyone have any tips for me!) would this be a good way to learn about a local hospital and see if i would want to sign on permanently once my assignment is up? does this work against or for me in the eyes of a travel agency?
no this would not work against you, and you could discuss this up front with the agency. many travelers end up taking a perm position after a travel assignment.
2. it seems like it might solve the problem of housing, at least until we get to know the area. one travel company i am looking at offers free one bedroom housing (as many do). although we live in a much larger home now, we are more than willing to put stuff in storage and live in temporary (generally 13 week) one bedroom housing. i would think that, at the end of the 13 weeks we should be in a good position to find other housing on our own should i continue with the agency for that same area or take on a permanent position in the area.
be careful in getting rid of your current housing, and taking the "free" housing on assignment. your "free" housing is part of your compensation on the contract, and would be consider income by the irs. please talk with an experienced tax professional first!
3. i am a seventh-day adventist and look for jobs that, instead of requiring me to work every other weekend, allow me to work one weekend day (every sunday, or if night shift, every sat night), every weekend. this has worked well for me in my current position. would this be a problem as a travel nurse? of course, if there is an emergency (hurricane/natural disaster, etc.) i feel it would be my duty to help out whenever i can. but, short of that, i would want to see if i could have friday nights/saturdays off according to my convictions. would this make things difficult for me in the travel nursing world?
this could be a problem, but it may not be. just depends on the facility you contract with. i have a friend who did a contract in scottsdale, but was going to school on the weekends in san diego, and her nurse manager made sure she got every weekend off. so it does not hurt to see what you can nego!
i welcome any and all comments/thoughts from those of you who know the ropes. i really appreciate it. thanks in advance!

as a traveler for over 12 years and a former recruiter, i would have no problems with hiring you as long as your references and background check were good. i believe if you feel comfortable in your present position you will probably do well on assignment. good luck!

jmb410s · Aug 12, 2008

I think travel nursing would be perfect for your situation. Me and my wife are both travel nurses and have been traveling for over a year now.

Recently she took a permanent position, but I took a travel assignment just for the housing benifit alone. Having someone else provide your housing for you TAX FREE and not having to lock in a 12 mo lease is benefit enough!

simplysusan · Aug 12, 2008

Brownms46 - Thanks for your encouraging words!

JMb410s - I'm so glad its working out for you and your wife! What a good position you two are in. Thanks too for the encouragement.

UPDATE: My husband did, indeed, get the job! We are really excited about it. Unfortunately, he leaves Thursday. The first month of his job he will be traveling. I am going to remain down here for the time being. I have contacted a travel agency that was recommended to me by a friend and am in the process of "getting everything ready to go" with them, basically just filing all my paperwork with them in case I decide to take an assignment with them. This, of course, will depend on whether they find me something I'm comfortable taking. If they do, I'll probably go up and just leave our townhouse "as is" and be able to ride our lease out since I will take the travel agency up on free housing. My other option I will consider is waiting and then signing on permanently with a hospital a few months down the road.

Most of all, I'm gonna pray about it. :) Thanks everyone for your input. I value the constructive criticism as well as the encouragement!

nursinadream · Aug 12, 2008

JMB, Explain what you mean by having housing "tax free"? Do you have a permanent home elsewhere?

Deb

jmb410s · Aug 13, 2008

JMB, Explain what you mean by having housing "tax free"? Do you have a permanent home elsewhere?
Deb

I do have a permanent home or "tax home" as the IRS likes to call it.

What I mean by tax free is you get a stipend by the travel co. that is tax free money by the goverment. Take my example in the bay area. The Housing stipend is $1800-2400. So you can make $30+ that is taxed like your job now but you also get $1800-$2400 that taxes are not taken out of.

Or they provide your housing but still that money is tax free because you don't have to use your taxed take home pay for rent.

Hope all that made sense.