LPN to RN - Interested in Traveling - Can it be done?

[ineedachange1, BSN, RN]

Hi Everyone,

I hope that someone, if not all of you, can help me. I am 42, live in NYC and became an LPN in April 2013. I have been working in a Medical Practice - specifically in OB/GYN - It is GREAT clinical experience!! - I do a lot more than my classmates who work in long term care facilities. I am in school for my RN (evening) and should be completed by May 2014 - I hope to take and pass my RN-NCLEX by summer 2014. I really want to travel (travel nursing). I think it would be great experience, exposure and enhancement of knowledge/skills.

Here are my questions:

1. Is it possible to start traveling as soon as I get my RN with the clinical experience I have as an LPN?
   
2. After I obtain my RN I wanted to work in an urgent care center - is that relevant experience to be considered for travel nursing?
   
3. Are there any agencies I can reach out to that offer travel assignments to LPN's and RN's?
   
4. How is the pay negotiated in travel nursing and how long are the assignments?
   

Any assistance is greatly appreciated and helpful.

Thank you

[NedRN]

Probably no to the LPN experience - it isn't really going to be relevant anywhere except as an office nurse - of which there are darn few travel jobs. It also pays less than specialty at any acute care hospital. The organizational and clinical skills needed are very different for every specialty. Your clinic experience is valuable professionally, I'm not discounting that, but you will need experience in a relevant specialty.

Nobody knows what might happen next year with some unknown increase in insured population, but it is possible that urgent care centers may need nurses. But they will probably favor nurses with ER experience, so even getting experience as an urgent care nurse will probably not be helpful either other than a selling point to get an entry level staff position in an ER. I would try for ER first, working an urgent care later will be a snap and you will have more choices of places to work. And traveling.

All agencies will have occasional needs for LPNs. But the larger the better for LPN. Most LPN's work in LTC of some flavor, with some that may work in dialysis, or as a scrub tech.

Agencies will offer a pay package per assignment (every client having a different bill rate). Some will negotiate, some won't. Often you can shuffle compensation, a lower hourly for example for a larger housing stipend. To negotiate successfully, you need to have something they want of proven worth. This includes but is not limited to a minimum (generally) of two years clinical experience in a specialty, travel experience, and having worked for them previously.

Standard assignments are 13 weeks (3 months).