psychsurf

I'm planning on returning next season to the facility I'm currently at, and they have made it clear to me that they would be thrilled to have me under whatever circumstances can be arranged. Someone let slip just how much my agency is charging the facility per hour to have me there, and I was absolutely floored. It is basically twice what I'm making. Since it is a state facility, I wouldn't be able to simply come on as a staff nurse and negotiate a different contract, as they have a set scale. I would have to be working for an agency for the state to pay out that agency scale. So, the thought occurred to me, maybe I could start my own little business and arrange my own contract. I imagine it would be quite complicated to begin with, but the payoff would certainly be worth it. Has anyone here ever done something like this? What are some suggestions, pitfalls, any resources for walking through the process?

I'm in the same boat. I am trying to find an attractive contract starting mid-sept, and pickings are SLIM to say the least! I am working with worldwidetravelstaffing right now, and have an application in with supplemental. Wish there was more demand and options though. Biggest problem I have, I don't want to send in a hundred applications with different agencies just to hear what they have available. Why don't these people post actual job openings on their websites?!

Thought this might be the right place to get some pearls of wisdom.... Or at least some wild ideas. :) We are a young couple, 29 and 26, and I (the husband) have just begun travel nursing as an RN in psych. My wife has a BS in political science with a minor in social work. She worked at child protective services for a year, and was totally burnt out by the end of it. She is very hesitant to continue in the social work field, especially in the medical community. She really wants to persue her master's degree online while we travel, but really doesn't have a good direction. So, I'm looking for suggestions for her. Looking for some kind of work that will be portable while we travel, and as easy to find (or close) as nursing work. Something which she can continue her education towards while on the road as well. She is much more attuned to the soft sciences than the hard sciences. Alternatively, how about just some "jobs" that spouses do while the nursing spouse is working? Stuff that might pay better than average, but is still obtainable as a short-term position. Thanks!

How do you find a nice RV park before you head out to your assignment? The game plan is to get a 5th wheel and save on our housing costs and setup costs (pet deposit, new groceries, etc..) at each place that way. We've heard great things about traveling like that, but obviously I can't take assignments until I know I'll have a place to park there! What do you do?

I wouldn't stress it. I went straight into psych, and have never looked back. It is a speciality just like any other, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. If you're good at it, your care will speak for itself. You will run into situations where you will call upon your nursing school training, but I don't think you are doing yourself a disservice by skipping out on the "experience" of doing something you don't like (I hated med/surg) to go directly into what you love. You're probably better off as a new grad than other psych nurses who had that one year of medsurg experience more than a decade ago. Just be a great psych nurse.

I know this is an old thread to try to ressurect, but can anyone tell me what might be the website where scottib posted his info to get that much response? Sounds much more efficient than trying to contact all the travel companies individually.

I'm also considering taking a psych travel position to the USVI with WTS on my next assignment, so I'd love to hear others' input on the kind of working conditions and packages they've gotten there. FWIW, I'm currently on my very first travel assignment, and I'm with worldwidetravel. Interestingly enough, I initially made contact with supplemental because of glowing reviews from two different coworkers who had traveled with them. My experience was 180 degrees from what has been mentioned above. The individual recruitor is obviously more important than the company they work for, because the recruitor I dealt with at supplemental seemed to have little interest in finding a position that fit what I was looking for. I gave him three months notice to find the initial position I wanted, and recieved exactly one call with a job offer... Nothing like what I had request. On the other hand, my recruitor with WTS was amazing, and found me exactly the position I wanted (a summer psych assignment in Anchorage, AK) in less than a week!! Now, I understand that this is a matter of luck and circumstance more than anything else, but it is a good reminder that there are good and bad recruitors in every company.