LPN travel jobs

ChrisMMS · Jul 31, 2018

Hello Njkel82,

I'm sorry to hear about your current circumstances, I've provided answers to your questions below as well as some general advice I provide all my travelers.

1) Pay is established based on two major factors, the bill rate (BR) and the margin that your agency works on. The BR is going to vary based on the contract, specialty, location, etc. This is the amount that your agency is allowed to bill the hospital hourly for each hour that you work. The margin your agency works on is the second part that determines your pay based on what percentage they are taking which can range from 20-35%. If the contract is direct through the facility and doesn't go through a vendor than you just have to worry about your agency and with certain agencies you will have to negotiate your pay because their recruiters are incentivized to have nurses take higher margins to get a better commission. If your contract is going through a vendor (IE Medefis5, parallon, peoplefluent, etc.) these are third party groups that take a percentage of your BR, these individuals get the contracts from the facility directly and post them on their website for a variety of agencies to look at and apply for. The benefit of traveling comes from the amount of tax free stipends that you can be eligible for, I would do extensive research on that particular subject as it is generally your bread and butter.

2) Experience does carry a lot of weight in the travel industry in terms of placing you in front of other candidates, but it generally doesn't escalate your pay rate very often. Having travel experience is a huge factor when comparing candidates, IE a nurse with 10+ years of experience compared to a nurse with 5 years of experience, but 2 of it is travel will generally have the second nurse more desirable for the facility. Region is one of the biggest factors when it comes to "chasing" the money. Going to areas that are less desirable and harder to fill will often yield higher BRs because they are in desperate need of a traveler and they use these rates to incentivize nurses to go there. Travel destinations can generally post lower BRs because the facility is aware that lots of travelers would want to go to San Diego, FL, HI, Denver, etc.

3) A lot of travelers end up traveling with their pets and from my experience has not caused a problem. It doesn't impact the BR or your placement whatsoever, the only hurdle comes when you are looking at the housing aspect of traveling. Having a pet limits the amount of places you can find available housing based on the location you go too and sometimes there will be a non-refundable pet fee. If you do your research ahead of time before a contract there should be 0 issues here unless you are going to HI or AK which might have quarantine rules with pets, but i'm not 100% sure on that.

General Notes

1) Average LPN contracts that I've seen range from 1000-1500/wk on 36-40 hours so depending on what you're making now it might not be as profitable.

2) If you are in one of the compact states and do not have a multi state license yet I would apply for that ASAP if you plan to travel.

3) Make sure all your certifications/licenses/shots/etc are up to date and easily shared when needed.

4) Make sure that your resume is up to date and accurate.

5) If possible have resumes write you a letter of recommendation or fill out a performance evaluation. This is going to save you and your references hundreds of mindless phone calls from recruiters.

6) Work with multiple agencies/recruiters to ensure you always have the best contract possible and to always have the right contract lined up for you.

Njkel82 · Aug 1, 2018

Wow, thank yoou so much!! That was so informative. My current license is out of nj which isn't a compact state yet. It's pending legislation. It was vote Yes 9-0. I have family in NC and they've said I can use their address if I need to. Can I have a compact state license and a nj license at the same time? Thank you again.

NedRN · Aug 1, 2018

No, in fact all you can have is single state licenses until you move or NJ becomes compact. "Using" an address in a state you don't live in could cost you your ability to practice anywhere.

Njkel82 · Aug 1, 2018

Thank you! Your right.