Information about traveling nurses

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I am currently a LPN and in school to get my RN. I am divorced and my son will graduate High School when I am finished with my degree. I really want to become a traveling nurse when he goes off to college. I am trying to do my research now and would love to talk to someone who has been a traveling nurse or is currently traveling. Any advise would be great.

Thanks,

Robyn

Specializes in M/S Tele.

Originally Posted by enchantmentdis viewpost.gif

Kaiser hospitals hog all the travelers, mainly for med-surg tele. Travelers there are treated like slaves, and most hospitals, especially Kaiser, won't take a traveler unless he/she has had 2 years of hospital experience. Travelers also get no sick, holiday, or personal time off. You will work the days the facility wants you to work. You will be floated up to 2 times in a 12 hour shift and travelers are the first to float. Charge nurses will give you the patients that the other nurses are tired of--drug seekers, dementias who are constantly getting out of bed, confused, loud, or otherwise any patient who constantly presses the call-light. Travelers can be cancelled from their contracts at any time for any reason; happened to me twice. Lots of facilities, including Kaiser, have no CNAs, except as sitters. Be prepared to do your own i & o's twice in 12 hours, all code brown duty, and all dressing changes. You will have minimal help as a traveler and will be required to be up and running with barely an orientation; and the assistant nurse managers will critique your computer documentation and make you correct it before you go home. If you are unfortunate enough to take a travel assignment be sure you are confident and know your stuff. Don't go to any Kaiser. They don't care at all about travelers and the nurses treat them like outsiders.

There are so many Kaiser out there, may I know which Kaiser you are referring to?

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I was a traveler for seven years. I went to St. Croix and they wanted me to keep renewing my contract and I ended up spending 7 years in the Virgin Islands. To say the least,I enjoyed it. One thing I would stress is to make sure you know what is in the contract! It doesn't matter what your recruiter tells you. What you will be required to do, what you will be paid, what is expected of you to hold up your end of the contract is on the paper you sign. It can be a rewarding experience. You can make a lot of money. (Be sure the agency is keeping up with your taxes). When you go to another place, esp. out of country, try to fit in with the locals as much as you can. You will get to see the side of the country that tourists "off the big boat" don't get to see. At work you must be able to hit the ground running and I agree that having at least a year exp is almost a necessity. Good Luck.

P.S. If you go to St Croix, be sure to see the beer drinking pigs at the Domino Club!

I am from St. Croix and often think about returning home when I finish my education in nursing. Do you know of any loan repayment plans in ST. Croix. I assume you worked at Juan F. Luis because they are the only hospital in St. Croix.

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Specializes in Trauma Surgery, Nursing Management.
I was a traveler for seven years. I went to St. Croix and they wanted me to keep renewing my contract and I ended up spending 7 years in the Virgin Islands. To say the least,I enjoyed it. One thing I would stress is to make sure you know what is in the contract! It doesn't matter what your recruiter tells you. What you will be required to do, what you will be paid, what is expected of you to hold up your end of the contract is on the paper you sign. It can be a rewarding experience. You can make a lot of money. (Be sure the agency is keeping up with your taxes). When you go to another place, esp. out of country, try to fit in with the locals as much as you can. You will get to see the side of the country that tourists "off the big boat" don't get to see. At work you must be able to hit the ground running and I agree that having at least a year exp is almost a necessity. Good Luck.

P.S. If you go to St Croix, be sure to see the beer drinking pigs at the Domino Club!

I agree about the tax part. My first agency messed up my paperwork and didn't take out the correct amount of taxes and I ended up owing a couple grand.

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Specializes in LTC, Psych, M/S.

What is the demand currently for traveler RN's? I remember hearing last year that the demand was way down......a traveler i was working with told me her agency was getting 20+ applicants for each assignment they had and she signed on as permanent staff b/c she didn't want to be out of a job. She also told me the pay isn't what it used to be.

It is also important to sign on with a reputable and established staffing company - anyone can start a 'staffing agency'. personally I think they need to be better regulated.

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Thanks everyone for your opinions and advise. I have 2 years exp. in urology, and 1 yr exp in psych as a LPN. Maybe some of that exp. will work for me as well. I am not scared of hard work, and there are very few people that I was unable to get along with. I think this is exactly what I need since I am divorced and will have an empty nest really soon. You know as wife's and mother's we spend our lives living for the loved ones in our life and I would do all over again with no regret. I see this as a chance to do something for me and make a good living and be able to send my son to college. I won't have a bill to my name, no mortage, nothing I will just have to pay for him and his school. I am so excited and hope this all works out. Does anyone have any recommendations on what agencies are good and which ones to stay away from?

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Specializes in LTC, Psych, M/S.

Bummpppp......

robyn have u tried posting your resume on the internet? recruiters will often contact you.

can anyone advise on what agencies to use and what the demand is for travelers currently?

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Kaiser hospitals hog all the travelers, mainly for med-surg tele. Travelers there are treated like slaves, and most hospitals, especially Kaiser, won't take a traveler unless he/she has had 2 years of hospital experience ...

Okay, time out. In most companies that are well-advised by attorneys, there are definite rules that require that contract workers not be treated exactly the same as permanent hires, specifically to clearly delineate the two. To not labor the point, if the employer starts treating contract workers exactly the same as permanent employees, there's a risk that the contract employee can somehow sue to become a full time regular employee with the same benefits, etc. I'm not an attorney, but I do know that at the engineering firm I worked for, back in 2003-2004 the management sat all of us "real" employees down and gave us a specific list of ways that we were NOT to treat the contract workers like co-workers and stop including them in all of the department's activities and meetings and social events and such. Basically, we were told to stop being so "co-worker" with them, and they were all re-grouped into rental trailer offices with other contractors, instead of being intermixed in the regular office building with us. So, instead of feeling all hurt, consider that some of the "bad treatment" is just standard business practice specifically to not make contractors identical to permanent employees.

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