dreaming of OR traveling

Specialties Operating Room

Published

Specializes in medical floor - 1 yr; OR - 5 yrs.

So I just reached my 2-year commitment at the hospital I'm now working at (meaning now I'm free from paying back the sign-on bonus) and now I'm having itchy feet...

Any OR travelers out there that can offer good advice on companies that specialize in OR travel assignments? I checked out the travel nurse forum but it seems pretty general, not OR-specific.

Also, my previous jobs have been in hospitals where RN's only circulate & OR techs scrub, thus I don't have scrub experience. Has anyone out there done circulating assignments only?

Any advice for a new traveler on certain things to ask a potential employer? Has anyone had a bad experience they can share that would shed light on things to be careful of?

For those of you with travel experience (or have travelers in your OR), do most OR travel assignments require call, or not. I've heard conflicting responses on this so far -- some say that hospitals don't want to pay the big bucks for travelers on call. Others say that travelers are put in the regular call rotation.

Particularly, I'm interested in the Western states, Hawaii or Alaska.

Thanks!

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Almost all travel nurse agencies have plenty of OR positions.

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I completed 3 different assignments. Out of these 9 months, I only scrubbed about 3 days. If you apply for a travel position, they will interview you on the phone. Tell them you only circulate. They will have no problem with that. If they need people to scrub, they will hire travel scrub techs.

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Get what you want in writing before you commit. If you want a specific shift, get it in writing. If you want a 1-week break in the middle of the assignment, get it in writing (you will have to pay rent during your week off if you want this.) Any other special requests that you want? Get it in writing.

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During a 13-week assignment, it is unlikely you will take call. If you stay at the same place longer than 13 weeks, you might take call.

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California has the highest pay in the nation.

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