Sylvia321

Bryan Healthcare has some short contracts in northern CA.....Bryan is the name of the agency NOT a recruiter...some of my other posts that I posted the name of the agency was XXXX out...

> What works for one person, doesn't always work for another. My first assignment was with cross country and they charged me for a private apt and lowballed me on pay, also nursefinders tends to pay low also.

>> What agency gives a class?

Jamie, I understand that Sarasota requires you to take the PBDS test and I have heard two different stories reguarding the test for the traveler. Some say if you "fail" this test your contract is cancelled, others say they give you another chance. I have not worked there so don't now which is true. Be sure to ask if you interview. Also they have in-house seasonal there too, but I don't think they provide housing.

are you saying $40/hr for 40 hours on your paycheck. period. just taxes withheld? i am lost. right now i get xx amount per hour, then they hold out my rent and utilities per week, along with my taxes. i drive to my assignment, and have my own insurance. what kind of pay could you expect in tx, nm, az, nc? am i being taken advantage of? please tell me. i am in my contract until mid jan.>>>>> Are you in Sacramento?? Geesh sounds like the agency you are with is shafting you royally. Who are you with? I would avoid them for sure. Yes, I got $40/hr with a guarenteed 48hrs each week (4 week contract) PLUS car allowance, I took the housing stipend,,, but I know other travelers who took her apt,, Irongate apts (north side of Sacto) and they got cable too, I believe. The only thing taken out of my paycheck was taxes,,nothing more. Free private housing , means just that, I sign nothing for the apt, other than the initial move in inspection and to moving out inspection, utilities are always included with apt and no money comes out of my pocket, I always get roundtrip costs covered. The south is natorious for low pay. You can find $30-35 and up if you look. There is an agency, I can't think of thier name, they are based out of I think Wisconsin, World solutions or something like that, they were offering AZ contracts for $35 and up to include free private housing, Hospital Support has contracts in various locations. I dont think I am allowed to post other web sights here that would tell you the lists of over 300 agencies.. PM me and I'll send them to you.

Most hospitals won't even look at your profile unless you have 1-2 years experience in your speciality. Tele RNs are needed in most places, be prepared to float to M/S. As a traveler you need to be able to hit the floor running, I've been on assignments where my orientation consisted of; here is the nurses station, the supplies are over there, and the rooms are from point A to point Z, have a good shift...... I've heard horror stories from other travelers, I've had a few bod contracts, but for the most part, the places I've been and those I've worked with have been really great. I wouldn't trade traveling for anything. Congrats on graduating! Advice that was given to me was, in addition to practicing nursing standards, know your Nurse Practice Act and your Policies & Procedures, they will protect you. Good luck.

NurseGuyFL, I have been shafted a few times by agencies. If you were offered low 30s for Sacramento, then they were trying to take you for a ride. Byran Healthcare pays $40 w/ time and a half over 40 hrs and Hospital Support pays $35/hr w/time and a half after 8 hr (which comes to $40/hr) Both give free private housing with utilities paid by them and round trip travel to and from the assignment, Bryan gives a car allowance. Both will give a housing allowance in lue of an apt. Rightnow the two Sutter's in Sacramento are "doing" without travelers (census has been low) The kaisers in Sacto have needs, they tend to be pits to work in. All of Ca Kaisers are under investigation by the State Dept of Managed Care for numerous consistant infractions. So be forewarned of the potential poor working conditions. (My mom was a pt this summer and my complaint was 34 pages of typed infractions, sent out to every entity I could think of, it took me calling Arnie's office to get my mom a lousy pain pill, she had GBM, needless to say, I will make waves) pay in S. Ca is lower than Sacto or San Fran. In S. CA pay should be at the very minium $30 (I won't get out of bed for less than $35/hr. not worth it. And that includes getting all the perks. In the Bay area you should be getting at least $40/hr an all the perks, most agencies do not pay car allowance.....but you should get all the rest. I don't know what agency you are using, let me know as I would avoid them. Allways call around to many agencies to see what they offer. GlobalRN usually posts jobs that start at $35/hr and you get all the perks too. There are too many agencies out there to settle for scraps.

>>> Questions for bennie packet depends on what you need. For example, some agencies use BlueCrossBlueShield, some Kaiser,etc. Some offer free (no deductable) or low co-pays, etc.Of course family on your policy always costs extra. I will give an example of how I go about seeking an assignment; I choose where I want to go. I'll pick Sacramento,CA. I call an agency and ask if they have contracts there. (I may seek openings posted on various nurse boards online) If they have a contract at the hospital I want to go in the town I want to be in, I ask what thier base hourly rate is. And since it is CA, I ask if they pay time and a half after 8 hrs or after 40 hrs. (In CA if you go over 12 hrs in one shift the law says you get double time). The going rate in Sacramento is $40/hr, if the agency tells me less, then I tell them thank you, and if they want to come up to $40 then I will listen. I don't need health insurance, I have my own. Then I ask what type of housing they use, some use apts and some extended stays. I'll ask if thier free private housing includes all utilities (electric and gas)(some agencies even include local phone and cable) Then I ask what thier housing stipend is and if they give a car allowance. Then I ask how many weeks in the contract, 4,8,13 weeks? Then I ask if the hours per week are guarenteed(sp) So this is what I get; $40/hr with time and a half after 40 hrs 48 hrs guarenteed each week 4 week contract free private apt to include cable,phone and all utilities weekly car allowance roundtrip airline ticket to and from where ever I am. This will be in the contract. If the agency won't give me this, then I call another. I have gotten this in Sacramento

i've been with valley healthcare for 2 assignments and it's been awful. if the first experience with a recruiter or agency is awful, you are under no obligation to continue on to another contract with them. there are over 300 agencies for you to choose from. but i honestly think it depends on the recruiter. yes, recruiter can be a deal breaker. during my time with valley everything thing went wrong from not getting my paychecks on time or even accurate, arriving to my destination only to find my "fully furnished apt" completely empty! i had to stay in a hotel for 2 days and during the first week of my arrival, my recruiter was unavailable! every week was something bad. that agency would have lost my business. if my paycheck is not on time, then i cannot work. i have called the nurse manager at the hospital i was contracted at and told her that i could not work because i had not been paid as per my contract. she in turned called someone and i recieved my check over-nighted, and it was correct and on time after that. and i did not use that agency again. at the last minute, i get a phone call from another recruiter telling me that she's gonna be my new recruiter from now on and i haven't heard from my old recruiter since then and surprisingly things have been a little better. but i'm very skeptical of staying with them cause i've been burned so bad by them already. if your gut tells you tomove on, then move on. why continue with an agency that has a history of repeated burning? this is my personal experience, but it really depends on the recruiter you have no matter which agency you choose. hope this helps. some agencies are much better than others. some have better bennies, better pay, better housing,etc. shop around.

There is a forum here on allnurses for travelers, you may want to post there for information. Also there are some sites on the web that offer tons of info. Where to go? Where do you want to go? Where do you NOT want to go? Do you have a license in the state you want to go? If not, check on the time to obtain one, if it isn't a walk through state then be prepared for the BON to take a while (some are fast and some are very slow) Are you compacted? If so do you wish to go to a compact state? Next is important; What is the lowest per hour you can/will accept? Do you need health bennies? Again how much are you willing to pay for it, or you can always find an agency that give free or minimal fee health insurance. Housing, never accept anything less than free PRIVATE housing or a stipend. You can check with the IRS on what is allowable. Do you need a rental car? Some agencies give a stipend to assist with rental cars. If you drive you can paocket the stipend. Remember you must have a tax home (where you duplicate expenses) to be able to qualify for tax free housing...traveltax has good tax advise. The following is an example; When in Sacramento I use XXXX agency (I don't know if I am allowed to name an agency here), I don't need health insurance (I have my own) (some agencies give a few $$ extra when you do not take thier insurance) She pays me a housing stipend and car allowance. I work 4-13 week contracts at the Sutters. She flies me here and then back to AR (home). The last contract was $40/hr. In CA some hospitals you get time and a half after 8 hrs or after 40 hrs, at all facilities if you work more than 12 hrs for one shift you get double time. Show Lo AZ pays $35/hr (another agency did earlier this year) The agencies that try to staff FL tend to low ball the nurses, pay in the 20s. There are over 300 travel nurse agencies, you have to call many to see who offers you what you want. You can, and I would encourage you , to be signed up with a few-several. ALWAYS ALWAYS read your contract, never sign it if there is one thing on it that you are not comfortable with. IF you didn't talk/agree to it all with the recruiter and NM in the interview then I would not sign, and move on to another agency if they won't change it. Some recruiters are like used car salesmen. You have to look out for you.

You're welcome. As a traveler, many times regular staff assumed that I made huge amounts of money...I have no idea where they get that from! Anyway, I try to inform people of what is correct. Just like those agency nurses who cross the picket lines. I had thought they made big $$$ to do that, the average rate is $35-45/hr, not worth it to me. The last one in NJ paid the agency nurses $50/hr, that is unsual. I have applied with the CA dept of Corrections, I see on thier list there are over 2000..-(( so I don't know when they would call for an interview? It would be a new experience.

this link says contract nurses are making $67 an hour on average without benefits. so yeah ... those contract rns are probably already making a lot http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/communication...s20061017.html >>> that is the staffing agencies that are being paid the $67/hr, not the contract nurses. i think the agencies are offering the contract nurses between $30-35/hr to work in the prisons. i did post on some travleing nurse boards, to education the travelers how much profit the agencies are making, but that's another thread....

Some agencies offer short contracts, 4-8 weeks. What agency works well for one person may not work well for another. If it is your first time, I would suggest trying a short one. As one poster stated, it is business, and you must look at this as your business. The "seeing" the country is a nice perk. I had a recruiter tell me once that the pay is low in FL (low $20s) because the sunshine makes up for it. I told her the bank that holds the note on my car would not be understanding if I put "sunshine" in the envelope. And moved on to another agency. If you tell the recruiter you want to go to Norfolk,Va and they try to "talk" you into Pheonix, they are not listening and you should just move on to another agency, as if they aren't listening to you now, imagine how they won't be listening if you should have problems during the contract. Also, do not be hesitant about asking what the base pay is, be careful of those who talk like used car-salesmen. It took me 6 months of hounding american mobile for my little $500 completion bonus,no, I did not use them again. If an agency does not immediately correct wrong pay then tell then you will be contacting the labor board where you are working, and be prepared to follow up on it. I worked last fall in Miss after Katrina and Richards helathcare paid me $12/hr for working on Thanksgiving...that is NOT what the contract stated. I filed with the TEX employment commission. It took about 5 months to get my pay. Save your contracts, as someone said, write done what the recruiters tell you, try to get them to send it to you in an email. They do lie, often.

Some agencies give an allowance for rental cars. GlobalRN and Bryan Healthcare do.. I know there are others but I can't think of them right now. Also, if you use a rental car any monies out of your pocket are tax decuctable. Global pays at least $35/hr (so I've been told) In the Bay area and Sacramento,CA pay is $40/hr and up with Bryan healthcare and a car allowance. All "free" apts should include all utilities. Paying even a portion of utilities is BS. Move on to another agency. For those who find thier own places to live, call around to various extended stays. They usually are nice and free local phone and internet connections come with the rooms. Plus weekly maid service and fresh lenens. Everything is always negotible (sp). If one doesn't give you what you want then move on to another. We are a commodity. The agencies need us to make the money for them....