Michi66

think of your carbon footprint! And being "bi-coastal" sounds so pretentious, I think.

Thanks guys! Unfortunately it wasn't what I wanted to hear :). It's POSSIBLE to commute from Long Beach to Santa Monica, but not a life I want to live, even temporarily (although sure would've saved a lot of money). I have met people who are local but still are "travelers" and maintain that you just can't work at the same hospital for over 12 months... And another traveler who thinks taking 3 weeks off in the middle of an assignment longer than a year counts as adequate time off. So I guess people are doing it all kinds of ways. I just want to extend for 3 weeks cause it's looking like I need to take 2 months off in the summer, and would like to work as long as possible. I do own an house at home and have traveled there for a week or 2 a few times.

No, I was in long beach and now in LA

I'm considering extending my contract for a month, but that would make me work in SoCal for 1 year and 1 month. The first 5 months were at a hospital in Orange County, and the rest 7 months are at a hospital in LA County. Another traveler said you just can't work at the same HOSPITAL as a traveler, but the actual IRS language says you cannot work in the same "location" for more than a year. This blog below says Los Angeles and West Hills (30 miles apart) would be considered 1 location, so after 1 year, the stipend would be taxed: Travel Nursing Pay - Qualifying for Tax Free Money:2 | BluePipes Blog Does anyone have more real life advice on this? Thank you!

Is the staffing office at the hospital helpful? Are you able to make yourself "available" for another shift later on in the week? What does your contract say about stipend refunds after the hospital canceled you? I had the same issue at UCLA (they never guarantee hours for their travelers) because they hired a lot of travelers and the holidays had low census, and I thought about picking up a per diem job at another facility, but I've found that if I'm flexible, I can make up hours pretty easily. I started scheduling myself for early in the week, so that if I get canceled, I can pick up another shift later on. And the staffing office is very helpful (although I'm helping them as well) and tell me what days they are short and reschedule me for that day. There are also 4-5 hour break relief shifts I can pick up, and I switched to day shift, which has helped a ton cause it seems like most travelers prefer nights. Luckily my contract says I can make up for stipends withheld as long as I can make up the canceled shifts during the rest of my 6 months contract, which is plenty of time. I've already made up 2 canceled shifts in the last 2 weeks, with some extra ones. It does suck if you're trying to plan anything, but it's ok for me. Also, apparently AMN pays you the stipend even if you get canceled (heard from another traveler who was canceled for 2 weeks in a row with them), so you can always find an agency that does that!

I have United's Bronze HSA100 and it's about $228 (going up to 240 next year) a month. It's pretty much catastrophic insurance but I guess that's how much it costs nowadays! I'm 32 and healthy. My home is in MO and traveling in CA and this plan covers physicians in most states I think. I had to call a few insurance companies (after searching for plans in MO on einsurance) and an agent, and it seemed like most plans are only covered in your home state. It took a couple of days but finally figured it out in the end!

I was also submitted by 2 agencies for my first assignment and it wasn't a big deal at all. If it's a good offer, go with the new agency (yes definitely dump the old one). If you want something else, keep looking!

I also have a house at home but am renting it out (doesn't make up for all of the mortgage, but about 75% of it) (I have always had roommates). I just signed a 3rd assignment for 48hrs/wk, nights, floating in SoCal for a crazy amount of money ($3000/wk), which my recruiter said is very unusual for tele/med/surg, but somehow it's happening (and you have way more experience than me). I'd say rent your house out, even if it's not for the full amount, and start looking. It can all happen very quickly! Even if you can't find many people to rent it, if you find a good assignment, you should try it out. 13 weeks will be over before you know it. And if someone rents it halfway through your assignment, even better, don't even bother going home! It's definitely difficult as I've had to find contractors to do work, \stay with my parents while visiting home, and generally very chaotic to up and move every few months (but I extended to do 6 months total and I've found that helps) but it's been worth it!

I mean, I don't really know what to do if that's what they want. I don't really mind filling out the stuff. Gives me a chance to update my resume. And I can't recall but I think the company I'm with now asked it right away. What's the worst outcome with an agency that has these red flags?

Ned: just found out this agency does not accept written references. Luckily a nurse I barely worked with at my old job 9 months ago who is now charge nurse and just gave me a good review as my second ref. But yeah, it is a pain. Also, I specifically asked the recruiter "so you can't tell me which assignments are available without filling out the application and the skills check list?" and he said some blah blah stuff about not wanting to quote me stuff that I might not be qualified for, but then gave me some general ideas of pay ranges and hospitals with assignments available. They ended up having a position I am interested in and am being submitted for, so I guess worth the work of switching if I end up getting it! 86711lh: thanks for the tips! I am definitely interested in going to New York next year some time. I did submit my contact info to Cross Country for a posting and got an email confirmation, but never got a call (it's been a little over a day), which is surprising because my current and potential new agencies called me within 10 minutes of submitting. Guess they are too busy at the moment!

In St. Louis even the big hospitals start you off at about $20-22/hr, so like $35K/yr. As a traveler in med/surg/tele I feel like I can make $60-$70K/year and pay less taxes (in SoCal at the moment) with only 1.5 year experience, so yes, definitely more money compared to St. Louis. It helps to rent the house out and being somewhat frugal when you travel and looking for cheap subleases as you temporary apartment.

Hi all, looking for any wisdom more experienced travelers can offer... I'm finishing up my second assignment in SoCal and am looking to work closer to Los Angeles. My current agency says they're working on being contracted with UCLA and reactivating a contract with Cedars. So far the assignments they have sent me are not ideal. So, I am looking into other agencies, but am tired of switching agencies already! I have switched once, and both agencies have been good, but smaller so I guess doesn't have tons of assignments to choose from. In addition to Los Angeles, I would like to travel to NYC area and Hawaii in the future. Does anyone have agency recommendations based on these locations? I would like to settle with a good agency with assignments to choose from in those areas (wouldn't everyone!?). Thanks!!

I'm a Canadian citizen and have been on the TN work status before. Have you tried looking into that? It's pretty much a work visa but they don't officially call it that. I think if you have the proper documentation (perhaps your agency can provide it, I think you just need a letter stating job title, pay, etc.), you can just go to the US Immigration office at any US/Canada border and apply in person. RN falls under the approved job titles that qualify for a TN Visa.

I'm with FlexCare at UC Irvine. I did not see any jobs with those other big teaching hospitals (not Long Beach Memorial, or would've jumped on that) when I was receiving job referrals through them.

If you're really set on day shift then I would wait for more assignments to pop up. Agencies always push you to take the first assignment they offer because they're all pushy and want to get you started. I'm a tele travel nurse and most positions I saw in SoCal were nights, but got lucky and ended up with a day shift. For ICU, I would think you'd have more choice. As for money, I agree with Ned. De prioritize that vs a good first assignment. I feel like most agencies' rates are similar for the same position (sounds like you're having that experience). In CA, FlexCare boasts to have the most pay, but their insurance is crazy expensive and don't offer additional bonuses (travel, extra shift, etc. because they're very up front about it "coming out of one big pot of money"), so I feel like it sorta all evens out anyway. Some hospitals pay more than others too. So just focus on where you want to go and what kind of hospital you want to work on, and then look at pay. Sure it's not as much as what travel nurses allegedly made back in the day, but we missed out, and the pay is much better than local pay (at least for me, being from MO and having a tax home)