duggram

Thanks for the replies. I understand about blocking an email address. But that's not what I was looking for. Don't you think an agency should have the integrity to deal fairly? I would much rather be able to follow the procedure they prescribe to stop the contacts and have it done.

A few years ago I contacted Onward Healthcare about a travel position. I did let them have my phone number and email address. They couldn't help me but they have since continued to harass me with phone calls and emails. I got the phone calls to stop last year. But the emails continue. I've "unsubsribe" many times. I've sent personal pleas to their email addresses. I get these replies that say they are so sorry for the trouble and of course we will stop bothering you. The email harassment continues. Any suggestions on how to get this agency to stop bothering me? BTW I haven't been a traveler for 2 years now. I have a perm job that I plan to stay in to retirement (I'm almost that old). Thank you, Doug

Thanks for the comments. I only have a week left on this assignment and I have the next one pretty much in place. A little tough to change now. During the next 13 weeks I am going to work on a new agency.

I'm not an authority on the subject, but you do seem to understand things the way I do. That rule about traveling at least an hour from the hospital is a local hospital rule. Do they also tell you at what rate of speed you are supposed to travel during that hour? The only real government requirement that I know of is the IRS requirement that your travel assignment be at least 50 miles from your tax home. I got this from my CPA and I would encourage you to visit one too.

I get an extra $5.00 an hour when I work OT. What do you get? Am I getting hosed? I'm waiting for my next assignment contract to come through and I did my best to get an increase on my OT rate because I know that I will be working a lot more OT. But the recruiter gets really upset when I ask for an increase (even though they are keeping $63.00 an hour above what I get). Maybe it's time to look for a new agency? Any info appreciated, Doug

Would agency work be the same as local travel? When I was at my first assignment there was a local agency nurse living in the RV space next to me and her take home pay was a lot more than mine.

Angel, you make OHC sound pretty good. Is there a recruiter there that you would recommend? Do they offer a referral bonus? If yes would you like me to give them your name? Thank you, Doug

a21chdchic, The agencies set the hourly rate. The hospitals only deal with the agencies in money matters. If a traveler is getting extra money from the hospital the agency is going to want their cut.

Baglady, thank you for the reply. I have done my research and they do get 60% (or it might be 59.6%). I get $40.00 per hour. Of that only $10 is taxed. $30 is paid as per diem, not taxed. The company collects $98.00+ for every hour I work (reg or OT). They bank $58.00 for every hour that I work up to 40 hours. For overtime I get $36.00 (which is less than I used to make regular time in my perm job) and the agency makes $62.00 for every hour of overtime that I work. Do you really think it's difficult to run a company if you're only making $2620 per week per traveler? If one recruiter has 10 travelers that's more than $25,000 per week. $1.3+ million per year. The profits are obscene. This is why there are so many small companies and the hospitals complain about the high cost of travelers. I always have trouble dealing with this but then I am new. Yes they are using the heck out of me, but my net earnings are almost double from my perm pay. There is a tech where I work now that is starting her own company. She plans to give the traveler a bigger cut and contract for less to the hospital. She believes that the agencies are just too greedy. I told her I would like to be one of her travelers here in Alaska. Maybe I can learn what I need to do to become an independent and stop supporting the greedy agencies.

Suzzane thanks for the reply. Maybe you can help us understand this all a little better. BTW one of the first things I did when considering traveling was to visit a CPA. I wanted to be sure I was making the right decision. Actually all travelers should visit a CPA so that they do have a clear understanding from a professional. It's my understanding that the only difference is the requirement for a "tax home". Is there anything else that we should know about here? Have you seen the IRS table on per diem rates where they tell what your housing and M&I rates are. http://www.irs.gov/publications/p1542/index.html The standard housing and M&I per diem rates per day are $96 and $45 respectively. The rates are higher for certain communities. You're right, the IRS calls it lodging. But this is just semantics. You're right again. Travel is not a per diem but housing (aka lodging) and M&I are. This is important and I've heard burns a lot of people. The only other gotcha about this that I know of is that you only have to live 50 miles from your work place to take this deduction.Please let us know if there is more about this that we can learn from.

I don't think you have to be married to get the benefits. It's any two people traveling together. You don't even have to be nurses.

It was a married couple that finally sold me on traveling. They came to Alaska every summer to work in the OR at my then hospital. She is an RN and he is a tech. They are from Oregon and do very well. They told me that one advantage they had being married is that they get double per diems. I make a little over $4700 in per diems each month. A married couple would make almost $10K in tax free per diems. You should know that I travel in my fifthwheel RV so I can pocket most of the housing per diem. My housing per diem each month is about $1700, here in Alaska and in New Mexico. The puppy would be no problem with an RV. The agency I am with actually suggested I get the RV. My payments on the trailer are about $300 and space rents are $300/NM and $600/AK. BTW there's such a shortage of RN's now, I can't believe that you would have a problem finding travel work. HTH, Doug

Great topic!! In the 80's I was an OR nurse and in the early 90's I was an informatics nurse where I taught myself basic programming. In '96 I started a 6 career as a software engineer in the Seattle area. After the dot COM bust of 2001 I went back to OR nursing to keep my life going. In '03 I went to work in an HCA hospital and saw Meditech for the first time. Eventually I worked in IT as a systems analyst for a year. I quit in frustration. The way I see it the software is totally wrong. But this is not the worst problem which is that programs are setup in hospitals with little to no experienced supervision. Then you get the people who have used the system for 8 years as it is and would give up their life before changing it. As long as the profiteers and local uneducated experts control how hospital software is installed, setup, and used there will be no truly good OR software.

Barrow? Think expensive to travel to. Think expensive for any thing. I've met people that took jobs in Barrow and couldn't afford the housing, so they slept on the floor of the office they worked in. They were public defenders. You also want to consider that things are a little different when you start working for the natives. They have the right to fire you for being non-native. I worked for 4 years at the native hospital in Anchorge and finally left because I couldn't take the constant reminder that I could be replaced at any moment because I was white. I don't like to sound so negative, but I've been here most of my life and learned a few things. However, don't forget there are those that thrive in an isolated and hostile environment of extremes. Good luck, Doug

Here's a GSA Web site that specifies the current per diem rates for lodging and M&I (meals): http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?contentId=17943&contentType=GSA_BASIC#downloads Rosie, where in Alaska is per diem 90? I'm in Anchorage and it's lodging 181 and M&I 78 per day. Or, were you just using 90 as an example?

Tricia, Sorry for the late reply. I can't comment on housing negotiations with the hospital in Fairbanks because I don't know. I got the information from a traveler that had worked there last winter and that I worked with on my last assignment. Maybe your recruiter will know. Let me know if there's anything else I can help with. Doug

Diary, there's a Thai place down on Lake Union that's built in a railroad car. This the first place I had Thai and few since have compared. Then there's this dingy looking Vietnamese place on the north side of the Aurora Bridge that has great food. But then theres the International district that is full of great asian places. They're all good, but then there are the steak houses like the downtown Metropolitan or Union Square grills. I could go on but I'm sure you get the point, Seattle is loaded with great restaurants, as are Redmond, Bellevue and Kirkland. If this isn't enough for you, don't forget to explore Vancouver, BC which is only 90 miles away. There are twice as many people there as Seattle and they too have great entertainment. Just don't forget your passport. I'm getting envious thinking about being in that area. More later, Doug

Diary, I'll be going through Seattle the third week of October. I've got a few friends there if you're interested in meeting them or if you'd like to meet at one of my (or your) favorite resturants, let me know. In the 90's I got out of nursing and became a software engineer for 6 years. Worked in the Seattle area for 7 years (1 1/2 as an RN). Had a great time, which started with a divorce.... BTW I've only got 3 weeks and for nights left in this crummy job!! I will never work nights again!! But I'd bet you work plenty of em? Doug

New traveler too. In my second assignment. I'm an OR RN and travel with my fifthwheel toyhauler, Harley, and 4wheeler. I'm long time Alaskan and just started being a snowbird. I've worked in WA, CA, and ND but not as traveler. New Mexico is the only place I've had a travel assignment outside of Alaska. My Alaskan Home: Nice to meet everyone but I notice that this group is predominantly east coast. Anyone coming out west? Doug

snowshooz, the irony here is amazing! i'm a long time alaskan or nurse that has just started traveling to be a snowbird. i've been here most of my life, graduated from the u of alaska and worked in most of the or's in southcentral alaska. in february i quit my perm job at alaska regional hospital (hca) and started an assignment in new mexico. in june i returned to alaska for a travel assignment at providence hospital, also in anchorage. i can travel to here because my home is more than 50 miles from the hospital. i'll be leaving the end of october to pull my fifthwheel back down to nm for the winter and return to alaska next summer. i can tell you that there are a lot of positions here. you want to be careful though. if it's a bush hospital that you will be going to, like bethel, you will be trapped there with little support. it costs so much money to fly out to anchorage you never get a break from the bush communities. and it's a screwy place. they actually hire or techs in bethel and they don't have an or!! i know that at regional in anchorage you can get 3x12 if you negotiate with oj the dir there. here at prov you will probably get 4x10. the problem with part time has to do with the agencies. with my current agency you have to work at least 32 a week to get your per diems. well the hourly pay is so low that if you don't put in your 32 you won't have enough to live on. just a little gotcha. but the per diems are pretty good. i get >4700 a month tax-free. there are actually quite a few hospitals on the road system here and they do use travelers, especially in the summer time. you need to know that if you go to fairbanks they will make you stay in hospital owned housing and you won't get any housing per diem. btw i actually met a tech in new mexico that spent part of last winter in fairbanks. she was a nice person but a little crazy. i used to live in fairbanks. that's a miserable place in the wintertime. if you would like to know more just let me know. hth, doug

I'm still in my first few assignments but I have learned one thing I think is important. Get an agency that has recruiters that represent either you or the hospital, but not both. Some agencies have their recruiters represent both and the nurse looses. Quite simply the hospitals are the ones with the money. The agency I'm with seperates them and I think I do have someone arguing for me in any dispute. Naskippy, I find what you say about insurance interesting. My company wanted to supply the insurance. But I've been thinking of getting my own so that I can change agencies easier. BTW the reason I would consider changing is that on my first assignment someone made a mistake and sent to me the contract between the agency and hospital. I know for a fact that the agency is only giving me 40% of what they collect for me (but I still make a lot more than I did perm). Doug

Dianne, If you look at my previous post on this subject I outline some of the $ benefits I get from traveling. https://allnurses.com/forums/f54/rvs-anyone-158969-8.html#post2365606 It's definitely worth it with an RV. Doug

dianne, over at www.rv.net they have a forum titled campgrounds, resorts and attractions where you can ask a much larger audience about facilities any where. i've just started traveling this year and they've helped me a few times. hope this helps, doug

Rod, Since this picture was taken (Feb '07) I have upgraded my pickup to a dually long bed quadcab. For me these trailers are too big for an SRW (single rear wheel) pickup. I had too many close calls on the Alcan to not upgrade. I also upgraded my wheels and tires on the trailer to 16", which are much safer than the 15's that came with it. I had two blow outs just bringing it home from Elkhart, IN (I saved >8k buying it at Tiara). You should know that Raptor's are about as cheap as you want to go. There are much cheaper, but if you're going to spend any time in one of these you need a little quality. I could not live with patio furniture!! Better yet when I upgrade I'm going with a KZ Escalade Sporter. Twice the price but worth it. BTW the Raptor is my first RV. If you have the time you might want to got to rv.net and check out the community. They have two forums of interest, Tow Vehicles and Toyhaulers. Good luck, Doug

I use my pickup or the Harley out of the back of my fifthwheel toyhauler that I live in. They're relatively cheap to buy and you make a lot more $ as well as always having your home with you.