New travel nurse looking for advice

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Hello! I am currently a Med-Surg RN with 2 years experience and am planning on becoming a travel nurse starting in July. I have already made a couple profiles with some agencies, however I would love peoples opinions on which is the best agencies that they have worked with as a travel nurse and what are some of the best places they went! i am currently hoping to go to Seattle for my first assignment!

Much appreciated!

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Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.

Welcome to allnurses.com, meaghanlizRN

We moved your thread to the Travel Nursing forum for the best response.

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Hey! A little bit about me, 27 y.o. guy, did a 2nd degree BSN, started working in a mixed CTICU/CCU in a level 1 trauma/teaching hospital in Philly(lucky to have been able to start here) in June 2016. Started traveling in October 2017 and did my 1st travel contract at Mount Sinai Brooklyn in general ICU and then just finished a contract at Mount Sinai Heart Institute CVICU, heading to La this week to work at USC Keck in their CVICU.

I was nervous to start with less than 2 years but it's actually been great. The 1st recruiter I worked with wasn't that great but I didn't know what to expect. He didn't really seem to care about me as a first time traveler and couldn't get me any positions. My 2nd recruiter was awesome! She really cared and went the extra mile for me in terms of getting me a job, higher pay, and just checking up on me. I did use a different recruiter for La since the first agency didn't have any exclusives in La. This recruiter is a good balance of caring but not overbearing, is very straightforward which I love and isn't too pushy. She's all about getting me as much money as she can and making sure that I'm at a hospital and in a unit that I'm comfortable with which I really appreciate as well.

I feel like the particular agency is important in what they have to offer in terms of contracts(where they have exclusives and stuff), what their compensation is usually, and the resources they have to offer you but the recruiter really does vary and you just gotta keep working and talking with one until you find one that you're comfortable with.

Sorry for the lengthy post! I just thought it'd be nice to put all that info out there because I wasn't looking for a lot of this information prior to starting and didn't really find much.

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You've described an almost perfect recruiter. Allnurses doesn't allow the posting of actual person's name (they once redacted my post of an agency owner's name which is publicly available. But you can post agency names, and when you get a few more posts, you can PM that recruiter's name. Fair warning, you will get a lot of requests!

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My goal was to work in Seattle on my first assignment too! I ended up working in Puyallup which is about 1 hr outside Seattle. I was with Medical Solutions at the time and it was a great experience.

It's great that you're working with multiple agencies. I think I was applying through 5 different ones to find a job in Seattle before I found the one in Puyallup. Agencies with exclusive contracts are your best bet to getting an assignment in the area you want.

I'd widen your search range and not get your heart set on one place. I've been told by my recruiters that the market isn't as hot as it has been in the past. I met a travel nurse on my assignment in Puyallup who was in the Seattle area for 2 months before she found an assignment nearby. I don't want to discourage you but give you realistic expectations of what it's like to apply out there.

Best of luck with everything!

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Specializes in CVICU, ER, Education.
Hello! I am currently a Med-Surg RN with 2 years experience and am planning on becoming a travel nurse starting in July. I have already made a couple profiles with some agencies, however I would love peoples opinions on which is the best agencies that they have worked with as a travel nurse and what are some of the best places they went! i am currently hoping to go to Seattle for my first assignment!

Much appreciated!

I think it's more important to find a great recruiter because a recruiter can make or break a company. I once worked with a company who had amazing reviews; however, the recruiter was absolutely horrible and never returned my phone calls. Currently, I work with a company who has some lack luster reviews, but my recruiter is amazing and I can always rely on them to fine me the best positions. I would start researching who people recommend and work from there. Best of luck in Seattle. *Fingers Crossed*

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