ChrisMMS

Hi! Recruiter here and my answers to your questions have been posted below, I hope they are of some help to you. 1) My tips to you when choosing a company is decide what you are needing from a travel agency and go based off that. For instance bigger companies like Aya, AMN, etc. will tend to have better benefits, more contracts, and faster placement. However, you will tend to make less money because these companies are taking a much larger margin of your contract compared to small/mid sized companies. Also factor that often times recruiters at agencies like this have anywhere between 40-100 nurses at any given time which means you may not always have the same relationship you would with a smaller company. On the flip side a smaller company will tend to pay more, but have less benefits and possibly less jobs. Decide what's most important to you and start your research from there. If you go to Gypsy Nurse you can get a pretty good idea of the general temperature of certain companies and i believe there is a nurse only group that rates each company on different criteria. 2) We generally recommend that you start working 6 weeks before your desired start date so you are given adequate time to find a contract and complete the credentialing process. You can have your paperwork done far in advance, but jobs are only posted so far in the future. 3) It is in your best interest to work with multiple companies because some of the reasons previously stated in the last question. You never know what you need at what time, being able to have multiple offers from different companies helps make sure that you are always well taken care of. It is also important to note that working with multiple companies adds a sense of stability which allows you t work year round. To your second part of this question refer to the answer above. 4) Not a nurse, but I've listed challenges that my nurses experienced or have been discussed in travel groups. -Housing (finding adequate and safe housing can be difficult at times). -Pay Packages (Understanding pay packages and the breakdown can be confusing when companies do them so differently, it's very important to understand this part to make sure you are being paid properly and legally). -Being away from home (Traveling away from your family and friends can be difficult at times and many nurses go through that burnout. There are dedicated travel nursing groups for meeting other travelers at your current travel assignment). -Adjusting to the facility (Not all facilities are going to treat travelers the same some will love having you there and integrate you into the fold very quickly. Others will see you as an outsider and give you the unwanted/difficult assignments. It is something that travelers will have to get use too as it is part of the industry). 5) I would 100% recommend that you do because once you start signing up or working with certain websites or agencies you will get bombarded with emails. Not to mention that your information can/will be sold to travel agencies based on which websites you use and you can receive dozens of calls/text/emails in a single day. Best of luck to you on your travel journey! If you have any further questions please let me know.

Recruiter here. Since you are wanting a mid December start I would explore your options to ensure that you are finding an assignment that you will be successful in. However, one note of caution is during the holiday season it can be very difficult to secure a contract unless you are open. Make a list of Pros/Cons of each agency to help you decide which one is offering more to you or go based off your relationship with the individual recruiter. I would talk to Liquid and ask them to clarify the pay package and see if they could elaborate it more for you.

That might work with Faststaff since they specialize in crisis or emergency rates. For other vendors like Medefis, Parallon, PPR, etc. they are going to want more recent experience and are going to be concerned with the 9 months off in between assignments.

Hello Nja06, Recruiter here so my information is based from a recruiter/agency instead of a nurses. The contract that you sign might not have anything to do with the facility actually because they often will have travelers sign a separate contract when they arrive with their personal HR department. The contract your agency sent you could just strictly be between you and the agency to hold you to certain parameters. I can't say for sure, but with my agency and the other agencies I have spoken too this is how they conduct their contracts. If this is case then there is no breach of contract because the hospital/facility has not formally agreed to anything. I would talk to your agency/recruiter and see if there is a cancellation agreement for them, sometimes agencies/recruiters are able to bill facilities for 2 weeks and pay you if the contract cancelled. As others have mentioned the orientation is most likely the variable that is causing the issue with the start date here. Many facilities have very specific start dates that are not flexible and will push back travelers weeks if not months if you miss orientation. I know of a few hospitals that only do orientation on the second Tuesday of every month and if it is missed they'd have to wait until next month to start. I believe that your agency dropped the ball a little bit on this part and should've reached out to the facility ahead of time to discuss orientation. We don't have control of when facilities do orientation and often are not told that far in advance about when orientation begins, but I believe with your unique situation they may have been able to swing something. Your agency should've never let you drive out and pay for housing without your assignment being 100%. I'm sorry to hear about what has happened to you, but sadly it is not uncommon that facilities do this to their travelers. I would take a look around at some PRN agencies and see if you can pick up a few shifts here or there while you wait for your agency to find you an appropriate assignment. Best of luck to you. Was your contract cancelled on Tuesday night after you showed up or was it cancelled before then because you were unable to attend orientation?

Hell Jamiemoney88, NedRn is correct that you should try to find an assignment that would be easy for your first one to get your feet wet and get a total feel for traveling. For MN if it is at the BigFork facility or thorough that health system they treat travelers very well and I've heard nothing, but wonderful things from travelers that I have sent up there. As for OR I've never had anyone work there so I'm not too sure about that one. However, there are a few facebook groups dedicated to travelers where nurses rate hospitals/facilities so you can take a look and see the pros/cons of each. Best of luck to you!

Hello sharma005, Recruiter here. I've listed my advice and thoughts on starting traveling below. 1) Company - This is going to vary based on what you are wanting out of your travel assignment since there are over 150+ travel companies out there. Certain companies are going to provide certain benefits such as a 401k, license reimbursement, certification reimbursement, high-end insurance plans, car rentals, etc. The most important thing to note is that everything that is provided to you as a traveler comes directly from your bill rate and the reality is that nothing is free. Companies can work from 20-45% margins based on the ones you end up working with so it would be in your best interest to work with multiple agencies to have different options to choose from based on your needs at the time. The other thing to note about companies is that certain ones are going to hold specific contracts that other companies may not have access too so if you are wanting to travel to certain areas the more companies you work with the better chance you have of going to a specific location of your choosing. 2) Housing - Companies are going to offer two different options when it comes to housing a stipend or agency provided housing. The stipend is going to be a tax free amount that the traveler receives weekly and you are responsible for securing your own housing. Stipends are going to be your bread and butter as a traveler as this is where a majority of your money comes from. I would check the GSA website to take a glance at what the max amount of stipends you can receive is based on location/time. In general a traveler is going to want their stipends maxed to maximize their tax-free money. The other option is if the agency or facility provides you housing they will not provide you a housing stipend and instead pay for your housing for the entirety of your assignment. The important thing to note here is to make sure how much the company is taking out of your pay package to pay for your housing and what type of housing they are placing you in. I've heard horror stories of travelers being placed in cheap motels and the company taking 2000/month from their pay package. 3) Food Stipends - This term can be referred as food stipends, per diems, meals/incidentals, tax advantage, etc. However a recruiter or company presents you this term it's going to be the same thing. It is a tax free amount of money you receive to pay for meals and other incidentals while traveling. Once again I would glance at the GSA website to see what you are allowed to receive based on the area you are working. This is the second big portion of where your money comes from as a traveler and you want to ensure you are getting a fair amount in your stipends here to make an assignment lucrative. 4) Pay Packages - Pay packages are going to be presented to you as a receive you are going to get taxed on per hour that you work and the amount of stipends that you either receive per hour or per week. There will also be an OT rate that you will be quoted and with certain companies it is only going to be 1.5x of your taxable rate. The rule of thumb most travelers abide by is to not take any contract that offers lower then 20/hr taxable to avoid issues from the IRS which would make your OT rate around 30/hr in most situations. You should have a decent amount of OT rate and not accept a low OT rate such as 30/hr. This is where negotiating comes into play because a lot of the bigger agencies are going to have their recruiters try to have you take the lowest pay package possible because they will receive a higher amount of commission. The bill rate of your contract will generally NEVER change so be weary of companies who quote you low and then make something up and saying they are able to provide you a higher pay package now. Also never allow yourself to be submitted to assignment before agreeing on a pay package of a contract so you have something concrete. Best of luck to you!

Hello dchicurn, I'm not a nurse, but actually a recruiter. Your extensive experience as a nurse and a traveler is going to make it easier for facilities to take a chance on you with your recent 1 year of experience in the OR. It's not going to make a big difference between 1 year and 18 months the next threshold would be jumping from 1 to 2 years of experience. If the currently facility you're working at has you Circulating and Scrubing that's going to help your case the more time you're able to be in there. If you do plan to stay perm for another 6-12 months I would see if they would train you in the CVOR if that is something you'd be interested in for more marketability.

Hello Jerrylundergard, It's going to be dependent on the area you are working on, but the example you give is going to be well above average for most states. As long as the housing that is provided is not a motel and a hotel or extended stay that would be a great contract. In California you should be looking at 2000-3000/wk net on 36 hours, unless they are providing housing I would be weary of taking a contract lower then this due to the cost of living out there. Important thing to note about pay is to not only focus on just the gross or net amount overall, but to look at the smaller details. Make sure that your housing stipend(if you are taking it) and meals/incidentals are maxed out or high for the area you are working. A lot of the benefit of being a travel nurse is being able to take home more tax free money. Double check to make sure that your overtime, on call, call back rate is something acceptable. Finally ensure that your taxable rate is acceptable by IRS standards.

Not a nurse so my answers are going to be from the perspective of a recruiter. 1) Depending on how much experience you have it can take a variable amount of time to secure your first contract because hospitals do harp on the travel experience being a big factor of who they decide to hire. If you are a fairly "new" nurse with less then 5 years of experience it may impact the time. 2) Depends on how many submissions the facility has. If the job is very popular and has a plethora of candidates it may take a long time for the hiring manager to look at all the submissions before they get back to anyone. 3) Some facilities are just going to be slow and take forever to reach out to a nurse even if they are interested. 4) Bill Rate. If your recruiter is bidding too high or too low it may be a red flag to a facility and that could cause some hesitation in reaching out to you. 5) Profile. The way the profile is set up and how the information is presented goes a long way with many facilities/vendors. If your recruiter/agency is newer and doesn't present your information in the best light possible it may hinder the amount of calls/interviews you are receiving. 6) Agency/Recruiter. If the company you are working for is a smaller company which does not have a lot of experience with vendors/facilities it will be harder for them to get their foot in the door because there are going to be facilities/vendors who play favorites, but there is also a tier system that is involved. 7) Bait/Switch. Very common in the travel industry to have recruiters lie and make up a job to get all the information from a nurse to try and sell them on other positions that they were not originally interested in. 8) Account Manager/Followup. It's important for your agency/recruiter to have their account manager reach out to each facility periodically to follow up and keep your name fresh on their minds. 9) Calling Facility Directly. This is a 50/50 sometimes it can work out well and sometimes it can work out terribly. You can call the facility directly and mention that you are interested in traveling and have a submission through company ABC. I've seen it go both ways of getting a nurse a placement quickly, but also getting a nurse kicked out of the submission pool. It's hard to say what is exactly taking so long since there are so many variables in play and without your profile and the jobs in front of us it's hard to analyze everything. I will say that if you are open to assignments and fairly flexible waiting a month for a travel assignment is pretty long to not hear back from anyone. I would reach out to your recruiter and express your concern to see what they say.

It's going to vary based on the company, but I started out of the gate with no recruiting experience. I did have a medical background as a Lab Tech, but it didn't really apply to travel nursing. I think having a SO who is a travel nurse gives you a competitive edge of truly understanding the business. I know a few companies who are hiring remote recruiters with 0 experience.

Transcriber - Generally work from home and you are paid per project you complete so if you are able to type quickly and accurately it can be lucrative. Take media documents from court, medical records, or other scenarios and transcribe them into a text document for your client. Courier - As others have mentioned there is always a high demand for these positions. However, medical specific couriers could be an option you explore such as LabCorp, Quest, Mayo, etc. This could allow your SO to transfer to other locations with a job already secured since these major companies are located throughout the U.S and generally are always hiring. Tutor - If your SO has a subject they are passionate about they could sign up to be a tutor through various sites/applications where the clients are set up for you. No professional degree is required and the pay can be great depending on the area of study. Recruiter - If your SO is up for sales he could become a remote recruiter for travel nursing or other fields. Dog Walker/Sitter - WAG/ROVER are 2 applications that set up clients for you very similar to UBER/LYFT except they are for dog walks or dog sitting. Based on your SO's area of expertise they could sign up for a job placement agency to find them appropriate work in each area you travel too.

Hello ICUnicole, Recruiter here and you'll be able to find a lot of the answers to your questions in the forum here. I've provided some general answers to your questions below. 1) If you can get a multi-state license, have your paperwork updated and in one easy place to access, work with multiple agencies, understand how tax advantage works, understand about duplicating expenses, be open! 2) It's going to depend on what you're looking for best travel locations, highest pay, best benefits, etc? In general though you should find a recruiter that fits your personality well and that you not only get along with, but also trust. Your point of contact during an assignment is going to be the recruiter and you'll need someone you can reach out to and depend on when times are good or bad. There are dozens if not hundreds of recruiters within an agency so if you like a company, but not a recruiter request a new one. 3) This is going to depend on why you want to travel. Are you chasing the money, a challenge, traveling the world, just want a change of pace? There is no quote on quote "Best" city because it is subjective on what travelers are wanting from their career. 4) Pros - possibility of higher pay, get to see the world, get to meet a lot of new people and see new places, possibly find a hospital that will be your future staff location, join a new community. Cons - can be stressful finding another contract, taxes can be complicated, jumping into travel nursing can be overwhelming, credentialing can be a nightmare. This is all I could think of now, I hope this helps you a little! Best of luck to you on your journey.

From a recruiting standpoint I see a lot of contracts for your specialty in Yakima, Seattle, Kennewick, and Topmemberh with a variety of different hospitals in these areas, but the same health system. In terms of your questions about agencies it's in your best interest to choose a couple of different agencies that sound good to you and work with each of them. Since you are wanting to go to a very specific area it'll help to have multiple recruiters/agencies that are constantly looking for contracts in those areas for you. Also agencies all work on different margins and provide different benefits so multiple companies may have the exact same contract, but the pay package can vary between all the companies based on what percentage of margins they are taking. Generally bigger agencies are going to work on higher margins, but are going to have more contracts and better benefits. The opposite can be said about small/mid sized companies of having lower margins, but less contracts and less benefits. You're starting travel during a great time! Fall has a ton of contracts and the bill rate is generally higher around this time compared to summer. Best of luck to you on your journey!

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.

GA and FL are both compact states. Current Compact States: ID, MT, WY, UT, AZ, CO, NM, TX, OK, NE, SD, ND, IA, MO, AR, WI, MS, TN, KY, WV, VA, NC, SC, GA, FL, MD, DE, NH, ME. States joining in 2019: KS States pending Legislation: LA, IL, MN, MI, NY, NH, MA, CT, RI