jmb410s

I have worked for Valley Healthcare Systems for over two years and totally love them! Highly recommended. Talk to at least two other companies and compare and you will see the difference right away.

I agree with you totally. As long as nurses put up with staffing and poor conditions like this, the hospitals will keep on getting away with it. Don't make excuses like it will leave my co-workers "short staffed" or just new nurses on the floor. Leave and tell HR exactly why. If those nurses you leave behind put up with it then it is on them to also stand up to the poor conditions. Crap like what was mentioned is why I left Missouri and moved to California where the working conditions are a LOT better.

I agree, never let your liscense lapse. Just place it to inactive.

I do this sort of. I find my apartment that I want to live in, usually on rent.com, and then I tell my travel recruiter and they set it all up in their name. I would never go with a company that I had to only pick from one place to live - "Theirs" Jeremy

That is an excellent post, I think you touched everthing. I can not think of anythng you left out. All travel nurse companies are not the same though. Some are ALOT better than others. That is why you go with 2-3 and ask other travelers who are they with. Jeremy p.s. I have been a traveler for 18 months on 4 soon to be 5 different assignments:D

What companies are everyone going with to get the travel assignments. I have been with valley healthcare who have been excellent, but unfortunatly they do not have many contracts in San Diego

I interviewed with them 6 months ago, not recently. I declined to work for them because my wife got a position at another hospital and we like to work at the same place. Also because I have not heard good things about them.

You heard correct, the Kaiser interview is from 45 min to and hour fifteen and they are detailed. It has been a while since I interview but there are four parts and they drill you on 1. Medications specific to where you will be working. 2. Protocols such as CHF, Tele, procedures ect 3. Case scenario's (what would you do in situations) 4. General questions about you. It's pretty intense! Good luck.

In order to get the tax free money, you need to show the IRS that you have a "Tax Home". The stipends you get from the IRS assume you are being burdoned with having to travel and will have some double expenses. Unless you can show that you have a permanent address in the state you are from and that you intend to go back, be wary of the IRS. For me my burdon is that I own my home and have to pay a morgage and utilities. I still have a checking account and all my CC's Bills ect show my address. My cars plates are still registered and my drivers liscence is from my home state. Long story short, you could possibly get around all of this by claiming your parents address as your own by having your mail forwarded there and making that address your official address. I believe you would also need to write your parents a check for some money as well to show you are paying rent/utilities. Always talk to a tax proffesional that has experience with travelers. I go to HR Block Premium and request a person with experience. It costs about $150 extra to do it, but the peice of mind is worth it.(Not to mention all the money I save tax free:smokin:

Pretty much all hospitals require you to float first as a traveler. One day a week is not bad at all, depends on the facility. Good thing you are local, would you rather be called off your shifts? I will take the float anyday. I don't know why people don't like to float, I mean as a traveler you are already "floating" to a different hospital each contract:D When you do have to float, always remember you can refuse if it is something you are not comfortable with. I had to refuse assignments before too when a hospital tried to float me to ER with no experience:banghead:

You can get what is called a meals and Incidentals tax break which is what that $500 is. The goverment allows various amounts depending on the city/state. $500 is very high as it is only around $300/week out here in California. And this is a set amount. You do not have to show receipts. You should also look to see what the average wage is for a nurse in Chicago and your hourly should reflect that. Anything you get above that can be tax free to not alert the IRS. Hope that helps, Jeremy

It knows how many are in the drawer. If the count is off then it knows the name of the nurse before you that accessed that medication. So only two people are involved instead of everyone.

The one time a narc was missing at the last hospital I worked at, everbody had to stay over and was questioned. The MAR's were gone over and the med was never found. Everyone then had to submit for a urine test. A nurse happened to test positive for benzo's and did not have a prescription. She was let go. Jeremy

Hopefully you live in a large area with at least a couple different hospitals. I would look at different intership programs that accept new grads. They give classroom training and peer mentorship. Hopefully something should be available to you like this. Jeremy

As far as I know, all travel companies put this in the contracts to prevent you from jumping ship.(Even the good ones). This only applies if you are doing a travel position. If you switch over and become a regular staff member then that is ok. I don't know of any travel companies that do taxes. I have mine done by HR Block premium services. It costs about a $125 extra but with all the deductions and things I claim i need someone who knows what they are doing. Ask specifically for someone who is familiar with travel nursing laws. Jeremy

I have never been to Hawaii but I havn't heard of people having problems. California can be tough to get jobs in certain fields. shouldn't have a problem with ms/tele though. You can pm others after 15 posts on the boards:wink2:

I hope you did not take my post the wrong way when I said what do you care. I was saying you should care always if a pt has the potential to be harmed, even more so since you will not be going back. Hope everything works out.

I would be interested to know this as well. As far as I know all the companies will only give you the travel stipend on your first check. And usualy it is split 1/2 on first check and 1/2 on the last check.

You should have it taxed. Contrary to popular belief there is no set # of miles from your home for a travel position. What matters to the irs is if you are having a "hardship" meaning are you having to stay in a hotel or apartment. If no and you are going home to your own bed each night then the tax free money does not count.

On one hand the benefit to being a traveler is that you do not get involved in the hospital politics. Do your job to the best of your ability and then get out. On the other hand, what do you care if you are not going back ever and expecially if something unsafe and harmful to a patient is occuring. Just be sure it won't come back and bite you if you have to have a reference from someone at the hospital for future jobs.

Dude if that is what you are getting that is a sweet deal:eek: $23 and hour Weekly stipend of $784 = $21.77 and hour $3000 completion bonus = $2.13 an hour Total = $46.91 an hour to be exact That is great for texas:cool:

Now that is true:scrying: They are not lying about post partem/mother baby jobs being non-existant. My wife is a pp/mb nurse of 7 years and it was next to impossible to land a travel job. We would submit to multiple positions all over and would not get a return call. Luckily our recruiter is awesome and we asked why she wasn't getting anything. The hospitals were hiring nurses with 10+ year of experience who had been applying multiple times:crying2: About the only time to get one of these positions is the summertime when people go on vacation.

Can I ask what hospital you are currently working for? My wife does pp/mother baby and we have had a tough time finding that position in the entire state of California. She finally had to accept a permanent position at Hoag in Newport Beach:cry:. But if you are willing to go anywhere then you should have no problem finding a position:D California is tough since everybody wants to come here (Nursing ratio's:yeah:) Shoot me an email if you have specific questions. I have a few companies to stay away from! Jeremy

Yes depending on the company some add it in and some don't. If they don't then you can claim the meals and incidentals at the end of the year and get a nice sum of money back from the IRS. For example $65 a day x 3 days a week x13 weeks in contract = $2535 tax free at end of year. So based on your tax situation you could be getting up to $900 back on taxes at end of year.(I am in highest tax bracket with me and my wife) Hope that helps, jeremy

That is exactly how it all works, expecially when you are a new traveler. Congratulations by the way!! If you are the type of person that likes new experiences and currently doesn't mind floating to other areas, you will love it!! Yes you should be contacting more than one travel company and they should know it. That way you know what the industry is offering and they can give you better rates and what you want. You will be the one working your assignment and not enjoying it if you go with something you don't want. They get paid regardless. If they know you are new they will try and stick you in jobs no one else wants and there are reasons for that. Stick to your guns. How long should you wait is up to your situation. Do you have a job now? Money saved up to take a few weeks off? If you are coming to the western states shoot me an email and I can direct you to a company that pays well and will get you what you want if it is available. Hope that helps. Jeremy