vzcookie

Hey! Can someone explain a little more in depth about how they hold down a tax home for collecting stipends when they are on the road? I don't own a place of my own and use my parents address as a tax home. I would like to know what I should do or have in place so I don't get hit with an audit! Also, on a more individual note, their tax home is north NJ and I might be accepting an offer to work about 35 miles away in NY. Is declaring their home risky? Thanks!!

Thank you so much for your input. It is nice to see what a momma feels, and it's wonderful that you support your son in his adventures!

Hey fellow travelers, I've been feeling a little confused lately and was hoping to use this as an open dialogue for those who can relate or possibly give me some words of encouragement. I grew up in northern NJ where my family and friends still are, and decided to start ICU travel nursing a little over since months ago (first in Chicago and now in Florida). I absolutely adore the flexibility that comes with travel nursing and I have been so fortunate to meet fun people along my way and stay at places where I didn't have to pay rent to pocket the housing stipend. I am 30 years old, single and, in essence, working my dream job. I am getting a ton of pushback from my family lately about how they think I am wasting my time and sacrificing further schooling/dating/family life for working at places that I don't intend to stay in for the long run. At first I brushed it off, but now it's starting to discourage me. I guess I am posting for those who might find themselves in a similar boat. It's for those that feel this path is definitely the right one for them, but still feel some un-fulfillment in other areas. How did or do you keep going for years? How do you cope with the loneliness of travel nursing or wanting a certain sense of stability with such an unstable line of work? I cannot see myself returning home and working a full-time job ever again. But I also want to end up close to family as they get older and need the help. I want to settle down with a family eventually, but also want to continue bouncing state to state! If anyone can share their experiences, I'd greatly appreciate it!! I hope everyone has a wonderful day!! :)

thanks so much for the responses. Can you name some locations/hospitals that were bad vs. good?

Hey fellow travelers! I hope some of you can help me out in my decision making. I am currently working in a suburban hospital outside Chicago, IL because my boyfriend lives in that city. I really like travel nursing enough to keep going. I am strongly interested in choosing Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area as my next destination starting December '17. I have read tons of threads (mostly negative) about how abusive of a state FLorida really is to its travel nurses, but these threads are also a few years old, so I was hoping someone can clear up some of the funk. My background: This is my first assignment, and I hail from northern NJ. I grew up in NJ, and worked four years in medsurg before switching over to STICU for two years. The STICU was in a bad area of NJ with gun shootings and all, so I learned a lot about trauma nursing from there. I guess my real question is whether it's worth to waste my time looking in Florida. I already have my FL license, and will have a family home to stay in in Hallendale Beach for the duration of the contract. I guess that's the plus since I won't have to spend on housing. Reccomendations on any agencies to use for highest pay? Can someone clear up whether I should look for a seasonal or travel position? Which hospitals should I absolutely avoid? Which hospitals are the good eggs? There are so many reviews, it's so discouraging, but I would like to work there. If anyone can offer some insight, it would be greatly appreciated! I'm trying to do about another year or two of travel nursing before I head back to NJ for good. Any personal experiences of awesome assignments and where were they in the US? THANK YOU ALL FOR READING!!

Thank you so much!! Very informative stuff

Hello fellow travelers! So I am currently talking to several recruiters regarding my first ICU assignment in Chicago that I plan to start in several weeks. Some have been direct with me about how there are no positions in Chicago at the moment but two have told me they see a few positions in the ICU at various hospitals. Who do I believe? I obviously want an assignment available in the upcoming weeks, but is this a ploy to get nurses to sign on? Or do some agencies seriously see more jobs available than others? Please help me decide how to proceed! Thanks!

It depends, I haven't picked an agency yet, but I'll be living like 10 min from the bean ☺️

Hey everyone! I was hoping to get some input on travel nursing in Chicago. I've read through a bunch of the posts and most have been written several years ago on this topic, and I'm sure things have changed since then. So... I'm addressing anyone who is currently travel nursing in Chicago or knows about it. First of all, this will be my first time travelling. I have 6 years of experience in total, 4 in med-surg/neuro/ortho/resp and 2 of which are in STICU (well, August will be my 2 years mark but as far as I've heard, it's enough for travelling). I'm super nervous, but I also feel this is something that will fit my personality. I switched into the critical care float pool a few months ago and float to MICU,CCU, tele, stepdown, and SICU (my home unit). I have discovered that I love this style of nursing! The logistics: I recently got my temporary IL license, and getting all the required documents won't be a problem. So, with that said, I plan to head out there in the beginning of August (it's end of May now). So where do I start? I have talked to several agencies and they say it shouldn't be a problem to find a job by then, but these forums are stating that Chicago is not very known to hire travelers unless they are with local agencies. I won't need housing, but I would like to be compensated well and work in a safe neighborhood. I'll need 401k/insurance, all that jazz.. I tried looking up the website for HPI Healthcare Personnel, like people posted about, but it seems fake- the font is in Japanese and I think it's a dummy site, so is that agency still around? Any information will help! I keep reading about travel nursing and all this information is overwhelming, especially for a newbie! Thanks!

Hi everyone! Just want to ask my fellow RNs out there about travel nursing like: 1. Name some good agencies to use and what qualifies as a good agency? 2. What are the best states to work in? Which pay the best? 3. How is the adjustment phase as a new travel nurse? What am I to expect from my first assignment? 4. Is there flexibility with hours and shifts? What are some pros and cons to travel nursing? 5. What happens if you hate your assignment? How easy is it to switch? 6. How are the amenities and accommodations? How do the stipends work and insurance plans? 7. Does a hospital or unit that asks for travel nurses mean that they are short staffed/disorganized? 8. Do you find yourself having enough time to travel around or sightsee in your spare time? 9. Absolutely any other info you can provide. I have 5 years of med/surg experience and in Sept '16 I will have a year of surgical-trauma ICU. If I were to travel, I don't think I want to work in STICU but rather something not as acute (aka in a trauma center like the one I work for now). I'm also not entirely positive I like ICU. I have been flirting with the idea of travel nursing for a while now and I think I want to take the plunge after September. I am single, unmarried and want to see the world (or at least more of the USA). Please PM me if needed. Thanks!!

I have 5 years of med-surg experience and currently work on SICU but don't like it that much. I think I would be interested into switched populations all together. I wanted to find out if there are nurses out there that switched from Med/surg or ICU to peds nursing? How was the transition? Any books/guides you'd recommend? What are the units like? I plan to shadow a peds nurse to see if I even like that sort of nursing in the first place, but until then, I just wanted to get an impression from you all. Thanks for the feedback!

which 3 agencies should I apply to?

Hello my nurse friends, Since most of the posts I have read on here about travel nursing to Hawaii are a few years old, I figure I would ask again. Is there anyone out there who has done it, is doing it, or has information about travel nursing in Hawaii? I think I'd like to try it out for three months, but where should my research begin? I have 4 years of med/surg experience and in September I will have one full year of surgical/trauma ICU experience, which is when I would like to make this move. I have never done any travel assignments before. Please be candid, however demoralizing it could be. I want the truth about many factors, such as pay, accommodations, getting reciprocity, the island people, the hospitals and its patients, the agencies, the lifestyle, or any other info you can provide. Would really like to make this work for me! I have no kids, am not married and have always dreamed of going to Hawaii. Why not? Thanks!!! PS. If you haven't noticed, my plan is to go where the gorgeous weather is. If you know information of travelling to Florida, California, Arizona, or Texas, as well, message me back! Thank you all.

Hey there fellow nurses! I have 5 years of med-surg experience and currently work on SICU but don't like it that much. I think I would be interested into switched populations all together. I wanted to find out if there are nurses out there that switched from Med/surg or ICU to OB nursing? How was the transition? Any books/guides you'd recommend? What are the units like like? I plan to shadow an L&D nurse to see if I even like that sort of nursing in the first place, but until then, I just wanted to get an impression from you all. Thanks for the feedback!

what are both units (NICU and peds) like? it did cross my mind to switch populations altogether. I considered becoming a nurse midwife.