Jfaunsy

Great question. And I think we’ve all been taking it one “surge” at a time. So I started traveling almost right away with covid 2 years ago. And every 3-6 months someone would tell me “oh this travel nurse thing won’t last” and I honestly agreed with them. I didn’t want to get my hopes up , but weeks turned into months and now months into years and one variant has turned into 3 (that we know of LOL). So I have a few thoughts. 1. Demand is higher than it has ever been. My company had around 14-15,000 jobs posted 2 years ago. This is nation wide. I’ve watched that number slowly creep up to now 20,000 and hold steady. 2. while covid drove the demand for nurses up due to higher censuses. It also did a lot of other things that also drives demand up AND supply down, like burn out. I’ve seen with my own eyes nurses quitting the hospital and healthcare altogether. This is why part of me no longer thinks this is 100% covid. It’s a big part but now it is more like the effects rather than the original cause. 3. And maybe most important… Precedence. The door has been opened, the money has magically appeared, I mean why have RNs been paid (relatively) so low for decades?? Because hospitals said so. But now the game has changed , and I think for good. Hence the “nursing pay caps” that are supposedly taking place. This is untrue but whatever. So on this point here’s my predictions. I think contracts will slow down (now completely stop) however, I now think there will ALWAYS be 4,5,6,000/week contracts out there if you look hard enough and are willing to go to strange places LOL. So while they may not be $3,500/week in your backyard (what I’m doing now). They’ll be out there for sure. It doesn’t show signs of stopping. I mean the hospital I’m at alone (in NC) just posted a dozen more contracts all 3,200/36 or $4,500/48 hrs week!! That’s just the going rate. And what a lot of people don’t realize is that there are hundreds (thousands? ) of hospitals that always have and always will DEPEND on travelers. You just didn’t notice them as much before. But they were always there. So that demand never goes away and now we’re just seeing the pay go up. Will it come back down? I do t think so. Atleast not any time soon.

Yea I do have an offer from the family practice I’m in already, they are expanding and I know the director personally. But yea pay cut for sure! I mean I’m making as much as some MDs right now, so I’m fully prepared for that. But I gotta play the long game too. 10,20,30 years from now travel pay won’t always be there. Have to transition at some point.

I already have a job lined up, but thank you anyways!

Aya healthcare is huge and decent. I've been with them for 2 years, (im a "covid" traveler, aka, I only started traveling post pandemic). I have consistently made on average around $3,000/week for the last 2 years straight. my lowest contract was $2,500/week, my highest $4,200/week. Let me qualify these price ranges for you as well. I have NEVER paid for housing once so far. A hotel here or there, but never really paid for housing. I bounce between two different states where I have relatives and friends living in the area and just work at hospitals around their houses, and stay for free at their house (their idea, not mine! Im not a free loader LOL haha). So on average I would say NET take home pay for me has been $3,000/week for the last 2 years. Why am I commenting on this thread.....? IM ALSO IN NP SCHOOL! ahhhhhh. LOL I don't graduate until May 2023 however, I've already told myself that if contracts are still the same when I graduate I'll take my boards and get that out of the way but im going to keep right on travel nursing. This is a UNPRECEDENTED time in nursing as far as pay goes, and the only people who are mad about it are people who aren't doing it, and that's fine, they can be mad. But after working at over 10 different hospitals in multiple states I can confirm the healthcare system is broken ? LOL and the nursing shortage is REAL! For the last 2 years I keep waiting for these contracts to come back down to "normal" but they havent, and IDK if they will. Im sure they will normalize out , like much of the rest of the economy (the crazy housing bubble we are in right now as well). But im telling you. 3- 12s a week, 36 hours, for $3-4K consistent... cmon, DO IT! Btw yes I know there are 6,7,8k/week jobs, but I just value my time with family and my "not pay for housing rule" I have, so I don't do those. Those are obviously mostly 48 and even 56 hour/week contracts. The max I've ever seen in the last 2 1/2 years for 36 hours is probably $4k. Hope this helps!

I got paid to become an RN (ADN program) through government funding. And my entire FNP program (BSN and then to FNP) cost approx. $15,000. So i became a FNP for $15,000 at a highly esteemed state college. I paid in-state tuition rates which is what made it so cheap. And i have no debt because i was smart as a younger person and had already saved this amount in my youth so i could pursue my dreams as i was older. I first worked as a RN in both the hospital and outpatient/primary care settings for 5 years. During those five years, working every type of shift, it became abundantly clear that i never wanted to become a MD. I come from a family of MD's but from the start i knew i didn't want to put in that much time, effort, and money for that degree. It didn't align with my priorities in life. Then to see the way MD's lived (getting to know they're personal lives) i would never want that life nor level of responsibility. Also being a nurse already it was obviously much faster and logical to advance on to FNP. MDs have a superior level of training, are generally much more knowledgeable, and therefore deserve higher compensation, AND i know and have met dozens of great MD's throughout my years and i would never generalize and stereotype an entire group of elite men and women who gave their youth to pursue a calling of MD. I became a RN because i knew RN's, how they lived, what shifts they worked, how much they got paid, what they were allowed to do. I did the same for my decision of MD vs. FNP and i would encourage anyone to do the same. Do your research and make your own decision, listen to those you look up to, and then in the end you will know you made the right decision for you and dont let anyone tell you different. Live the life you were meant to live :)