How to get started in travel nursing?

NedRN · Mar 13, 2016

There is a ton of overlap of assignments between agencies. Think about it from the facility perspective: would you want to depend on a single agency to provide your needs? Nope, choice is good. The facility can look at a number of profiles from a number of agencies and pick the best fits to interview.

Choice is also good for travelers. Agencies pay differently for a wide variety of underlying reasons. You don't need to know the reasons as much as you need to know which agencies. If you are lucky enough to find the same assignment at two or more agencies, you now know which one really pays better! Besides pay, agencies are different in other ways: some provide better service, some may supply better housing (ask about the housing stipend to get an idea here). Bigger agencies have more assignments but typically pay less, smaller agencies may have less choice but pay more (lower overhead). There are also rapid response agencies, and vendor managers. It can be a bit overwhelming!

But you don't need to learn all that either right now. The most important factor in successful travel is not the agency brand, but your recruiter. I'd recommend calling a dozen (or more) agencies and picking the best five to work further with based on the quality of your communication with the recruiter, and your assessment of how trustworthy and open they are (do they share information, or not tell you about real jobs and compensation until you have signed up with them)?

At least three to five agencies is a good number so you can find out which ones are best for you, have decent choices of assignments, and to have backup plans in case your first choice falls through.