Interested in travel nursing

[Katya944, BSN]

Hello! I'm a new grad currently working on a medical surgical/telemetry floor. I started at the end of September in a local in New York. I really want to do travel nursing in California (I have just recently submitted all of my paperwork for my license by endorsement) but was wondering how much experience do I need before I reach out to an agency? I've heard somewhere around a year or so but was wondering if there are agencies that take RN's with less experience? Thank you!

[Katya944, BSN]

In a local hospital***

[NedRN]

One year of experience is minimum to travel medsurg. I'd be suspicious of any hospital that takes you with less. Why did you get the job over nurses with 10 years of specialty experience with 5 years travel experience? Same cost per hour to the hospital, if you were the manager, which nurse would you pick?

Second, do you really think you are safe? If so, you don't even know what you don't know yet. Travelers do not get on the job training and very minimal orientation, like one day. Take (or stay) with your staff job.

Also, travelers, unlike employees, get paid a market rate based on their specialty and scarcity. Medsurg is entry level and about as low pay as it gets in acute care settings that employ most travelers. If you don't care about pay or how desirable you are as a traveler, medsurg is a fine specialty. More training means better pay for travelers (although not as much as staff if any difference between specialties).

[Katya944, BSN]

I understand what you're saying but I'm not planning to stay in New York. Therefore I wanted to do travel nursing. I plan to stay at my staff job for a year but I don't plan to stay there longer. Or at least in that speciality. I'm planning to move to California within the next year.