RN_travlr

I have worked with 4 different agencies through Florida. Some be very weary of. Others...well they are okay. They are almost all nice upfront, very friendly, helpful..and then you never hear from them again. I do my own housing. I never take company housing. Even an upscale hotel is usually cheaper than what they take for their housing.I find my housing by advertising on craigslist. I usually end up getting a very cheap efficiency somewhere. Almost all of the agencies will pay you about the same dollar amount. The other nurse above is right about "all about staffing", now under another name. If they are the middle man, go straight thru them, its another 200-300 a week easy. What these agencies need to change is not letting us take housing for the first month then go to our own. Its often hard when you have been down off assignment for awhile and then paying out of pocket for two weeks until your first pay. They know that and are hoping you take theirs so they can over charge you. I just had a felow traveler tell me there is a way a nurse can submit herself, the same way these agencies do, as an independent contractor....she was going to try and get more information on it. Does anyone else know anything about this?

HAHA. WELL SAID! And let me know if I can be of assitance....In helping you show them where they can put this sytem! I HATE this dinosaur! These hospitals are cheap....but heres the thing..stay with paper then!!!!!

I know this is an old thread but I had to write a short note on Medi tech. As a travel RN we have to learn to use all different kind of operating systems. Ive used just about all of them...or so I had thought. I am on assignment and have been introduced to Medi tech. This hospital is having trouble keeping staff, well I can see why. This is the WORST system I have ever used!!!!! It is not user friendly, it is not even friendly to look at. Its the old DOS systems. It is so slow. and takes forever to navigate thru with all the different keys you have to use for this and that. Sometimes you use the mouse but not other times, use the arrows here but not there. Use F9 to look up things...dont try to even explain anything on your own, hope its in their small variety of choices. The doctors orders are where???? Oh the status board..how do I get there? WTH!!! Why would anyone use this system?????? It is horrible. I dont usually say hate...but I HATE medi tech. I will know better next time before picking an assignment.

I have nothing nice to say either(recruiter wise)....sorry. Much better out there. Advantage RN I have a great recruiter. Sunbelt staffing I know of a great recruiter. And even Onward... but Trustaff...I have to pull my app..I cant deal with my recruiter, it takes forever to hear back and I have heard the same stories you have. Id look around. But St Thomas sounds great! Im on my way to Tallahassee for 13 weeks but would to know how it went if you go!

If you read my posts...thats the agency I speak of. I wouldnt recommend but then again..maybe its my recruiter..Im not sure. But I havent heard anything positive either. I love Advantage RN. Tina Harrington is a wonderful recruiter. All agencies can get any area. It doesnt have to be a certain one. But the work in NC and SC is hard to come by. Your competing against RNS that have been traveling forever. I mean there is some work but seems the jobs go fast. Dont get me wrong. I just got off a contract there ..it just seems like SC, expecially Charleston area is damn near impossible to get unless your an ER RN. Then your golden. Know what questions to ask up front, take everything with a grain of salt...no matter how bad it is,,,it will end in 13 weeks( which that 13 weeks is sometimes negotionable to 8 or 10) If you dont get it in writing, they can and will do it to you. Read around the forum, some of the stuff they slide by is crazy...but its not in the contract so..... But thats the bad.....the good is you get to see new areas, meet new people, make a good living, learn new skills. There are also many RNS out there like myself that are always looking for travel buddies. It makes travel life also more fun if you can find someone you share interests with.(PLUS it helps to vent to someone that knows what your going through) Best of luck to you!!!!!!!

I use multiple agencies. The recruiters that are good at their job dont care if you use multiple agencies. The ones that arent so good will get offended and tell you a bunch of crap about getitng double submitted...its bull. I have one recruiter I cant stand...I dont know why im even still considering them cuz I know I couldnt work with her thru a contract...(writing that has just made it even more obvious to me that I need to pull out of that company) What gets me with these agencies is no one wants to pay anything travel expenses up front. So your out of pocket for two weeks. One agency did daily pay which then helped but two weeks with no pay plus hotel etc...just doesnt seem right. If anyone knows anything different let me know please.

Ive been called off AFTER showing up and then told"we are allowed to do that twice in a pay period"...I forgot to ask that one apparently. I was told "You will never be floated to a unit you are not familiar with...I didnt know that Med surg made me knowledgable in ER, ICU and Tele. I was told by a supervisor" Suck it up, thats why you make the big bucks"...( really...dont hate, dont you have the same opportunities as I do???) By FAR the WORST experience I have had though was Greenville SC...Its was actually not where I usually work but it was close to where I wanted to be so I agreed. It was LTAC. God it was horrible!!!!! It was 8 hour days, so they would schedule us 10 days in a row and then give us our days off back to back. We moved around EVERY day. I was NEVER in the same sub acute house...which they called sub acute.. I called Med surg. These were brand new(2 days old) hips and knees, bowel resections etc. It was suppose to be one RN, one LPN and 2 aides per unit...Multiple times(and only did this happen to agency) I was the only RN on the unit, no LPN at all and then they would pull an aide. I could go on and on and on....worst though was management..had no clue what they were doing, staffing was horrible and they treated you like you were garbage. NEVER AGAIN!

Jealousy....its true...If you know who is saying what..I would confront them. Not yelling and screaming....but in a grown up manner....this person has probably been a bully and never had anyone confront them before.

Jealousy....its true... If you know who is saying what..I would confront them. Not yelling and screaming....but in a grown up manner....this person has probably been a bully and never had anyone confront them before.

Traveling I get this occassionally from nurses. These nurses are usually the ones that other nurses also have issues with. If taping report is an option, use it. If not, CYA(cover your a**) because they are the ones that LOOK for stuff to report to the supervisors. There are certain nurses I dread giving report to...I tape if I can, If I cant, I hit them with the answer before they ask next time....it usually stops their control issues...and thats what I believe it to be.

WEll the first paragraph states "In my facility, there is a culture of LPNs believing they are on the same level professionally as the RNs"...ouch! Maybe thats why she hates you. If she has been there longer and you are new to being a nurse...she probably does know more about the situational nursing than you do. I was an LPN... and I now work with LPNS that I would chose over certain RNs any day of the week. I had to do phlebotomy on my coworkers patients the other day because she didnt know how and the LPN that usually does it for her wasnt there that day..... Dont get me wrong, I take great pride in my being an RN...but that does not mean that my LPNs input doesnt count. And as a travel nurse I often rely heavily on my LPNs for guidence when I am new to the unit. They have been there, they know the ins and outs. Your LPNs and CNAs can and will make you or break you....heed that warning. This supervisor may be behind you but that is not everywhere. You are to be commended for your achievement in becoming an RN..but remember at any point that LPN can go back to school for her RN, BSN, MSN....and be your boss.

SC is slim picking, period. It is tough to get an assignment there. Usually if the location is a good one, you are running against nurses that have years of travel experience. My advice..first assignment, take whatever you can get....first time travelers are looked at like new grad nurses....

Again.lol. A recruiter from IHS just got in touch with me today. I havent even done the paperwork. It sounds like a decent deal but the pay is lower than regular travel work. Let me know what you think of them so far, we can compare notes. I will say the recruiter(hes a male) is one of the nicest I have ever talked to.lol

$1300 a week and I pay housing is about what I get on almost every contract. I have had offers higher but very remote places(ND, SD, Iowa) Housing can be cheap anywhere if you arent expecting the Hilton. If you pay $700-$800 a month housing your still coming out higher than a local job. My home state is Pa, I live in Charleston SC for the most part and I can tell you from experience..they arent paying near that in either of those places. Now Cali is suppose to be around $40 an hour from what I am told....have you checked with other agencies?

Just got a call from Travel Max about a 3 week position there. Not sure of anything yet...Did you take it?

I have been talking with them a lot lately also. Im not sure how I feel about them thus far. The recruiter was kind of...young sounding and alittle testy. I make it known up front I am working with multiple agencies...they say you shouldnt..of course they will say that...but I tell them "the one with the best offer is who I will take." WE pay their salaries and there is ALWAYS room tp play with figures. Dont let them tell you differently. There are a ton of agencies out there. For me...so far Advantage RN is the best Ive dealt with with Onward coming in a close second. If you want to know more, you can contact me via email and ill give you my recruiters names. They are both wonderful. I do not recommend some others that I will also tell you in private. (I have good reasons)

You can always state "unsafe".period. BUT if they already paid you housing fees...they will take out of your last check. Same happened to me. I dont think there is anyway around it..I could be wrong but its because they are paying you money you dint earn yet..make sense?? Its not actually a fee for leaving contract.

LOL. Not real sure why you ask but Im 40,SWF....does that count?

I agree with JSJones above. I come out ahead when I do my own housing. Its not that much work. You can find a value place in almost every town that is cheap and clean. Now if your looking for something really fancy, yeah best let the agency set it up. When I am on assignment, Im after the dollar. Last contract I didnt take the housing and I made $38 an hour. $19 taxed, $19 untaxed. My housing at a value place cost me $670 a month. I came out way ahead.

There is a LTC in Greenville SC....once again only my 2 cents...but everyone out there ....stay away from them!

As someone else posted above, what does your contract state for cancelation on both ends? Always get EVERYTHING in writing. Even the smallest things. If you want to make them pay for it if they cancel you, make sure that too is in writing. Being this is your first time, I understand not knowing that. I would look carefully at the contract, I would push the issue with the agency, I would let the agency know that you are in this forum and have access to many other travel nurses that will be unwilling to work with that recruiter/company again. If this company treated you this way, they will do it to each and every one of us. I also got screwed by a company on my first contract so I understand the frustration. I would never work with them again or recommend them to anyone else. WE as nurses pay these recruiters salary....it is up to them to take care of us...or they wont be doing what they do long. Thanks to your post we all now know not to work with this company or to do so with great caution.

I just finished a contract in Greenville SC. I am now looking for another contract. I love doing what I do. I started as local per dium work and then moved into travel. The above post is correct, you have to be able to hit the ground runnning. You have to be able to adapt quickly. You also have to have thick skin. You are not liked by many when you show up. I have heard all too often" you make all the money." My answer is always" you have the same opportunities as I do, dont hate, appreciate that I am here to cover the shifts that would have you working harder than you already do." I never take the housing offered by the company. I arrange my own. It will give you a lot more pay. When you do it that way, half your pay will show as taxed, the other half is untaxed. Look for an agency that gives you first day FREE benefits and a completion bonus. Ask EVERYTHING up front and get it in writing. If they say its 12 hour shifts 7a-7p..make sure your contract states that or half way thru you will find yourself working other shifts. If they tell you there will be no floating to other units, make sure it says that or you will be floated to other areas, a lot. Get your pay, your bonuses etc all in writing. Show up the day before your assignment and have a map of the area or a GPS. If half way thru the contract your agency isnt already trying to find you another contract, contact another agency on your own and do the looking yourself or you will find yourself with nowhere to go when its over. Do not take a LTC assignment unless you are a first time traveler. They are the easiest to get but the worst to work. The first time you travel you will have to pretty much take whatever you can get. After that, you can afford to be more picky. Travel with a buddy if at all possible. It makes life so much easier and you wont feel so alone. And a last and very important thing..make sure that the agency gives you money up front, travel expenses, housing expenses etc or you will have to pay everything out of pocket until you get paid. Best of luck to you, its a fun and often rewarding path to take. No matter how bad the situation is, remember its only 8,10,13 weeks etc..then you get to move on. The site hypodermic highway gives you a breakdown of what agencies pay for what.

Im sorry I will sound niave here but "diverting"..what is meant by that? I read this because a nurse I was on assignment with just got fired because they said she stole baclofen...yes baclofen...? She swore she didnt know what they were talking about and they didnt mention drug test( I dont even know that it would show),board or anything else. Just fired her. Scarey that they can just accuse you of stealing and thats it, your done!

I posted below. I am looking. Contact me and we can discuss it:>)

Hi! I just finished up a travel contract in Greenville SC..(Which by the way..just my 2 cents..dont use my agency and DONT go to where I was-ever!) I am currently working with three agencies: Sunbelt, Advantage RN and Onward. They have all hit me with opportunities that I dont want so im holding out as long as I can but I do need a contract within the next couple weeks. I prefer the south east region but am flexiable for pretty much anything. Expecially the higher pay areas. Im 40, kids are off in college, I do have a 12 pound yorkie that travels with me. I like to go out once in awhile but not a mjor partier(really, who has the energy doing what we do!) I mainly do med surg/Ortho. I would love a new partner to run with. My other partner decided to sit out the next couple runs to spend time with family and my BFF is an RN also but doesnt have the experience yet to travel. If anyone is interested and knows of a recruiter that will work hard to place 2 nurses together, let me know! Sami