SweetP'sAunt

the salary question! ugh. so awkward. i just simply answer something along the lines of its not as high as some would think but its more than i was making back home. so far, no one has had the nerve to keep asking! another question i get that I think is odd "Don't you get lonely?" (obviously its more for single travelers) You can make friends everywhere which is the beauty of this job!

My first assignment with Foundations is going great. My recruiter has been wonderful. And not just my recruiter, everyone on staff that I have had to talk to has been great. Any little hiccup that we've come across has been taken care of quickly and I have not felt overwhelmed at all (which is a huge relief.) I had a few dates that I needed off for and my recruiter was able to get in my contract without any problems. The pay has been fair. I was pleased with the pay and the benefits. The housing they found me was great. But I am thinking about finding my own for the next assignment just so that I feel like I am more in control of that. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me!

I haven't worked with Fortus. I like Foundations and I like that they are just for dialysis.

I recently started travel nursing. I'm three weeks in on my first assignment and I am traveling by myself. So far traveling by myself has been okay. I've meet some people here already but like the other poster said don't wait around for others to include you. Make the best of the situation. Open your mind. Be friendly and people will open up to you. There will be days that can be lonely but tomorrow is always a new day... Traveling with someone sounds great. If you can share housing, you could then split the stipend. On your days off you can explore the new city/area together. I would love to travel with someone but I wasn't going to wait to find someone. I just figured I'd start living my life and see who I met along the way. If you are serious about traveling, PM me with any questions or maybe we could even travel together at one point. I'm on an assignment until the end of June now. I want to start my next assignment pretty quick after this one... and I have the most open mind about places to travel to!

NurseRies, I got your PM but I am not able to reply to it on this website. If you want to PM your email address to me, I can email you that way. If not, that's okay. I feel so bad for you right now. Your recent experience sounds like a nightmare! I can't even imagine. I am on my first assignment. If that had been my experience, I would have been in tears and would never think about doing another assignment. I guess it's kind of good that you are traveling with your husband. You guys can turn to each other in all this mess. I'm traveling by myself. Luckily, everything has been fine. Are things starting to turn around for you guys?

wow. i have these exact questions. I am on my first travel assignment with Foundation. So far I love it but I just want to make sure I am keeping my options open and making the best decisions for myself. I would love to stay with Foundation since my recruiter has been wonderful but I get worried about the job opportunities being too small at times. I'm in my contract until the end of June so I won't need to find my next assignment for awhile but I worry that I won't have very many options if I stay with them. It seems like they have a lot of acute job postings and some chronic (which is only what I have worked in.)

Hi! I've been looking the in the st. louis area. I have my BSN. I've done some networking, met people through other nurses, but i keep hearing the same thing: they want a little more experience... but i'm just gonna keep applying, someone somewhere has to give me a chance, right?

i'm sorry to hear you're having a difficult time too! its hard, i feel like i need to defend myself for taking time off after college and for working as a waitress as a part-time college job where i was able to work less, make more money and study my butt off in school. its just sad and frustrating, we've worked so hard to become nurses. the other day i had a customer ask me why i wasnt working as a nurse. he asked me 'When are you going to get a real job? Aren't nurses always in demand?' I almost wanted to cry! I've always been such a hard worker. Not to toot my own horn but I have a great work ethic and i've always been very driven (regardless of what job it is -- nursing student, customer service rep, waitress, you name it) But I just cant get a hiring nurse manager to take the chance on someone who may require more training but would definitely be a hard working employee. what i lack in experience, i definitely make up for in determination to do a good job! wish i could write that on my resume in GIANT LETTERS! Good Luck you guys! We just need to keep applying to jobs and repeat to ourselves over and over: 'I will get a nursing job!'

I graduated in Dec 2009. Honestly, I felt lost after school. I questioned my decision to go to nursing school and so I took time to evaluate my choices and my life. I love being around people, I knew i wanted a job where I could help otherr. Now I'm trying to find a job and having the hardest time! Hospitals are telling me they want the newest grads and Im getting passed up! What kinds of places should I be applying to now? Nursing homes? Smaller hospitals? Help! Im losing hope that I will find a job that I love!!!