MarcyRN

Hi, Travelers. Just got offered a 13 week contract on Guam today. In theory, it sounded super adventurous and exciting and amazing. Now that I have the offer, I'm freaking out a little. Has anyone out there ever done a contract on Guam? I wonder about things like living/working conditions (yes, I know Guam is a U.S. Territory and not a third world country) because the island is SO isolated from anything else. I wonder about things to do. I wonder about feeling claustrophobic because you are literally "stranded on a desert island" for the entire 13 weeks. No quick jaunts for sightseeing to neighboring states, etc. There are no neighbors. As near as I can tell, Guam is about a four-hour overwater flight from anywhere. Round trip airfare and housing are paid. Daily transportation is not. What's the likelihood of getting around Guam without a car? I'm trying to decide if it's worth looking into a long-term car rental or not. I'm fine with walking to and from work...but want to be able to explore every square inch of the island on my days off. I travel for the money, yes, but more so for the experience. I play hard on my days off, drinking up every experience my location has to offer. If you've done an assignment on Guam, or even know someone who's done military time there, would love to hear about your/their experiences. So...I guess I'm actually freaking out a lot....

So what happened? It's now a week after your original posts...are you gonna give us the update? Feel like I'm watching a soap opera. ;-)

Wow, Ned. Thanks. I get it, I really do....just still feels and seems kind of shady to me. I want a deal like Blunt Force Trauma has....a decent, competitive rate, AND a paid-for hotel to lay my head down between shifts. LOL. That's all. I'll pay the taxes on my $45 an hour. I WISH the IRS had rock-solid rules on this that applied across the board. How do you know so darn much about all this stuff, anyway?!? Really, thanks for sharing so much information!

You guys are awesome. BFT, I'm looking into Fastaff today! Ned, thanks for all the sage advice.

It's weird, because I've been told two different things by two recruiters within days of each other. Both claim their information comes from "IRS guidelines." Recruiter A states that if your permanent residence is at least 50 miles from your workplace, you are eligible for tax-free housing stipends. Recruiter B states that if your commute from permanent residence to your workplace is >/= 90 minutes of drive time, you are eligible for tax-free housing stipends. It's hard knowing who to believe. I have a high school friend who is an accountant. I'm going to ask her if she'll research this for me. Thanks for all the input, again, everyone. Definitely a lot to think about. BFT, have you been traveling a long time?

Thanks for the reply, BFT! Could you clarify -- you're making $45 an hour/48 hour guarantee (NICE!) and you're housed in the Candlewood Suites (I think I would love that, too!)...does Fastaff pay for that, or do you? I have no issues staying in a hotel -- lots of perks to that, but I'm curious to know if those rates INCLUDE the hotel bill, too, as in the agency pays for it and you never see a bill. I really don't think I have a huge problem with paying taxes on my entire salary. I am having a problem, still, wrapping my mind around the $12 hourly rate I'm being offered by some agencies. Thanks again for the info. Perhaps a call to Fastaff is in order..... Message me if I can help you out with a referral bonus or anything. Thanks again.

Hi, Ned. Great points, but the 74K figure above would actually INCLUDE housing, which I have to find myself, as a stipend. So deduct from that my hotel or apartment rental costs and, depending where I am, could eat a LOT of that, plus I'm still paying mortgage/utilities, etc. on my home base house. Does that make sense? And in some places, the housing stipend sounds great, unless I actually have to pay for housing myself out of that. LOL. I've been talking to one recruiter about doing a summer contract in Delaware. There's a lot of need there because of the beaches and the influx of tourists who come each summer. The housing stipend she quoted me was $1008 for the week. Well..as someone who frequents the northeast Atlantic shore in the summer, I can tell you that in most towns, the most minimal of accommodations (not even on the beach) go for a minimum of a grand a week. I'm looking into hotels for the nights that I work, but even in the best case scenario, I'm looking at $150 a night. See why I'm confused? LOL. I have wanderlust in my heart, so probably the solution for me is to not go to real touristy spots where lodgings are going to be higher, but when you compare the numbers in black and white...it's tough. I'm not in a staff position at my home-base hospital anymore. If I were, I'd be making about 63K a year with full bennies. I'm per diem now, though, and our rates are outstanding. Base rate (weekday day shift) is $42 an hour (which, of course, is all taxable). It's not all about the money, I know, but I do have to be realistic....it can't COST me money to live the life of a travel RN. If I'm actually having to use my housing stipend for lodgings, that $12 an hour rate quote sounds pretty darn terrifying! I'm also spoiled rotten because I don't need benefits thanks to my husband's excellent coverage at work. But you're right. In the end, it does come down to desired lifestyles, seeing new locations and things vs. pay rates. I just don't want to be "had" or AUDITED! Thanks so much for all the food for thought!

Oh, one more question. What about all the agencies that advertise $40 + an hour AND free, private housing? I always thought that in travel nursing, furnished housing was pretty much provided for you, in addition to, and exclusive of, your salary. Do such agencies even exist, or is this false advertising? Or is it a thing of the past?

Thanks so much for alll the insight, seasoned travelers. I hadn't thought at all about that low hourly rate affecting things like overtime, workman's comp, etc. Overall, it's a lot to think about. I certainly don't want to be a target for an IRS audit. Grrrrr. Maybe travel nursing isn't as lucrative as I'd thought. Sigh. "If it seems too good to be true...it probably is..." comes to mind. I did some math, and, even at the $1300-$1400 a week per the typical 13 week contract, that's only $17,550 per contract. At four contracts a year (and how realistic is that, which would allow for NO time off between contracts?), that only comes to about 70K a year. Even with, say, a $1000 completion bonus at the end of each contract -- that's like 74K a year. I make more than that just doing per diem hours at my hospital. LOL. It's definitely not all about the money, but man, it seems kind of like a letdown. Also, I'm hearing different things from different recruiters about IRS rules regarding what criteria must be met for someone to be eligible ofr the travel stipends. One agency said anything over 50 miles from your home is eligible, and another said there are "new IRS guidelines" that state you must be more than a 90 minute drive from your work site. It's frustrating and a bit scary. Not sure I even know who to believe/trust. Guess I have to find an accountant. Hmmm. Anyway, thanks to everyone who took the time to answer. I know the same questions often get asked a lot on these boards...it just takes forever to scroll through the years of back posts to find the questions you're looking for. Oh -- Travelwise...I'm looking to travel rather locally at least until the summer. I've got five classes left to finish my BSN and that's my priority right now. I live in southern NJ and would like to be within, say, four hours of home. I could do NJ, DE, MD, PA, NY...even CT and MA for the right spot. So east coast, Atlantic seaboard. Thanks again, everyone!

Hello, travelers! I am a new traveler. Actually, I spent last winter in Florida, but was hired directly by a hospital system at a flat hourly rate, which I thought was stellar, and had to find housing on my own. That was all fine and went off without a hitch. I am now talking with multiple travel companies about doing some localish (within 2-3 hours drive of my home in Southern NJ) travel contracts this winter and I'm finding the numbers-crunching kind of mind-numbing. Several agencies are telling me that they pay their nurses a super low hourly rate on paper because it is taxable, but bulk the majority of the payout under Meal and Lodging Stipend to avoid it being taxed. The first agency to tell me this said that the hourly rate they pay nurses is TWELVE DOLLARS! Their daily rate x 7 days a week for housing stipend is $144 per day. That part of it comes out to about $1K a week. I mean, I guess it sort of makes sense, but I can't honestly see myself actually signing my name to a contract where I'm agreeing to being paid 12 bucks an hour! In your experiences, is it true that Meals and Lodging allowance is NOT taxable? Is this the industry standard? Are the ads for "$45 an hour pay rate AND free, private, furnished housing!" a scam? I'm totally scratching my head over this and really, really want to avoid being scammed by an agency on my first assignment through an agency. Thanks so very much (in advance) for sharing your experiences! Peace!

Thanks for sharing your experiences, everyone. I have been at this job for about two months now. And I'm completely on the fence about it. I LOVE the patient and family contact. I mean, seriously, how many people have jobs where they're thanked profusely and basically called an angel every day? LOL. I seriously doubt I could love the patients and families more. Unfortunately, I'm finding patient contact time makes up about 20% of my time. The other 80% is spent charting, charting, charting, phone calling, ordering DME, ordering meds and reconciling them, arranging for respite stays, doing admissions, dishcharges, recerts, etc. (mostly with computer-based stuff)....UGH. I've come to the realization that I don't want to be a case manager. I just want to take care of dying patients and their families. Sigh. I can't stand all the fine details. I have to say, the company's been great to work for. They have delivered everything they said they would during the hiring process. I was afraid they'd lie to me about stuff to get me to take the job, but so far, they've been just great -- keeping my caseload on the lower side of the range until I get totally acclimated, etc. I'm just feeling like it's maybe not for me. I'm really at a crossroads, here. I need to decide what I'm going to do soon. I have stayed per diem at my hospital (cardiac ICU) in case I didn't like the hospice thing, but I'm barely working there now because I am SO freaking exhausted from this job and charting at home until 8 or 9 at night most nights and working five days a week instead of three 12s... The five day work week is killing me. My hospital won't hold my spot forever. I usually pick up two or three shifts a week as per diem. I've been doing like one a month. I don't know how you guys do this job. You are amazing people. Thanks again to everyone for sharing their experiences with me. I just wish I knew what to do.

Hi, Beatrice! I'm very much like you. I went to nursing school in my late 30s with the sole intent of becoming a hospice nurse because of the amazing experience I had with the hospice nurses caring for my dad, and, 18 months later, my mom. I guess my first question would be to ask you if you're an RN or an LPN? I know most hospices look to hire RNs. If you have your RN and a couple years' experience, you should have, like Tewdles said, no trouble getting an interview with a hospice company. Another great way to break into hospice nursing is to do some time in home health. The documentation, etc., is a lot to learn. That's what's been most overwhelming to me. Good luck, and please check in to let us know how you make out!

Tewdles, I LOVE all your posts. You're like a hospice guru! I have learned so much from you and just wanted to say thank you! Pnhopeful: I agree. Use what you've got! I agree with NC29mom -- look at the symptomology. Are they having rapid respirations? Are they grimacing, especially with care/repositioning? It's there! Give it! The ultimate goal of the hospice nurse is patient comfort. If the patient is breathing 47 breaths a minute, that's not comfortable...give the morphine! And to answer your original question, yes. Most of my actively dying patients have had roxanol administration as often as ordered (usually 5 mg q1h). Tewdles is right, though, it does depend on the individual patient's needs. In my experience, though, most people have required morphine at the end.

Ooops. Just saw that you were hired at a VA hospital. Sorry. Missed that. (I'm having wine with dinner!) LOL!

Honey, many (most?) residents are idiots! LOL. You'll get no argument from me! I think it sounds like you're doing an absolutely awesome job, especially as a new grad! Are you in a hospital setting? I guess you must be to be dealing with residents. I have been a nurse for just over three years now, and started in a hospital cardiac stepdown and a year later moved to the ICU. I am new to hospice, too -- I started with a hospice company in September. I travel all day, though; most of my patients are in SNFs or in their own homes. Would love to hear more specifics about your job....I've been doing this for two months, and even though I went to nursing school in my midlife specifically to do hospice nursing, I'm not sure this is the right fit for me. The paperwork and administrative duties are overwhelming -- my job is about 20% patient interaction and 80% marketing and documenting. Anyway, don't know how long you've been out of nursing school, but it sounds like you are a brilliant nurse and are definitely in the right specialty for you! Good luck, and continued success!