Home Base Job

[calidreamin]

Hey All,

So I have a question for you Travel Nurses. I am an ER nurse and I plan to start traveling in April of 2019. I know that between assignments you may go back home or take a vacation. However, have you or anyone you know ever stayed employed with the facility they worked at prior to Travel Nursing and just went on Some sort of LOA? Then came back and worked for about two weeks or do people usually just quit all together and continue traveling to a new assignment? I only ask because I would plan to return home for a week or two before I began my new assignments. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Thank you!

[NedRN]

On staff per diem at home (you might know it as pool) is not an uncommon thing for travelers, and in fact is aspirational. Great benefit for the traveler and the home hospital. You will likely have to negotiate with your hospital to achieve something workable. Many hospitals have monthly (or shorter) shift requirements that don't gel well with travel. Ideally, with any shift requirements it is best to have annual targets or requirements.

I'd suggest rolling in health insurance into the negotiations. Agency insurance usually sucks. They should agree to indefinite COBRA coverage versus the 18 months COBRA coverage you would normally be entitled to by law. It doesn't actually cost them anything as you pay the premium in full. You will experience some sticker shock as it will probably be on the close order of $600 a month (what the hospital pays for your premium plus your paycheck deduction), but that is what good insurance costs.

As a side benefit to working at home, your tax home status (required to get tax free housing and per diems from agencies) is super solid. Working at home is one of the three pillars defined by the IRS. You only need two of them (which is what most travelers have), but having all three is fantastic. I could expand on this, but it is boring. Just know that even though you are not getting this concept yet, it is a very good thing!