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)

My first assignment was in San Anton with TNAA and had a good experience. They paid on time and had good extra shift bonuses (although I only worked 1 extra shift). I feel like the pay was about the same as the other quotes I received. Switched agencies for my second assignment because TNAA didn't have jobs in the location I wanted, and I miss their awesome health insurance!

No need to be scared!! Recruiters are good at intimidating you into taking their packages and going with their company, but the bottom line is that they need you more than you need them. Just tell them you're trying to get advice. They cannot penalize you in any way. If you don't feel comfortable with your recruiter but want to stay with the company, ask to switch recruiters. Chances are lots of other agencies can offer the same positions at the same hospital, no need to stick with one.

my first agency offered great and affordable insurance for my husband and I. My second agency's plan is outrageously expensive so I bought still pretty expensive private insurance that's crappy. If good insurance is important to you just ask the recruiter about the benefit plans, cost, pay WITH company insurance. They should have all this info at their fingertips. Then you can compare and pick the agency that offers the best!

My first contract had a clause saying I have to be able to work within any Parallon facility within 25 miles of the hospital I contracted with! I was worried but it was a required clause apparently. My own unit was so short staffed that I only got floated once in 13 weeks, and definitely never had to go to a different hospital. I agree with Ned, as your recruiter, other RN's (although I feel like my first recruiter was protective of her other RN that works at the same hospital as she never put me in touch with her), and manager what the staffing is like.

Hi all, I'm on assignment in SoCal and my contract states something like "california law mandates two 30 minute breaks, you agree to waive the second break." Which was not a big deal for me. Used to it! It's a couple weeks into my assignment now and my floor has a break nurse who breaks us for 30 mins in the morning, and then 45 mins in the afternoon. It's never come up that they shouldn't break me, just part of everyone's routine. My question is, should I tell my recruiter about this second break? Or tell my manager that I shouldn't get it? Has anyone come across this issue? Will my recruiter never find out? Or should I say something so I don't have to pay a million dollars back if they do find out? Thanks in advance!!

I'm a fairly new nurse on my second assignment with a med-surg/tele background. The first hospital I worked at was a smaller community hospital and for the most part, had lower acuity patients (damn Observation Unit). First travel assignment was on a very cardiac heavy floor, so did lots of things for the first time, or only did once or twice before (cardiac drips, post caths, post CABG, bedside cardioversion, etc.). Now my second assignment is in a teaching hospital (albeit only like 400 beds, so not huge) on a tele/onc floor. I told the charge nurse at the interview that I had no oncology experience and she said that was ok. That being said, second day involved a patient getting intrathecal chemo... While I still get a couple of chest pain/afib RVR patients, many now are heavy med-surg. Lots of colostomy, drains, neph tubes, NG tubes (not placement as much, as they tend to stay in, just need to make sure it's not clogged!), ports, post-ops, etc. I guess my point is, you will likely see more diverse diagnosis (especially as a float RN!) and get to practice more skills that are completely new or ones you're not confident in, and it will be SCARY. Like the previous commentator, just keep calm (NEVER let others see that you're stressed! It can be hard though), think about what's going on, and ask lots of questions. The cardiac floor I was on had tons of travel nurses and even though the morale of the perm staff was kind of low and some are intimidating, they were all helpful. At this teaching hospital, there are less travelers (I'm here because all the perm staff are pregnant), but the staff are equally helpful (not to mention it's in CA so there are more resources like Break RN and pregnant RN's on "modified duty."). And everyone once in a while you will hear a perm staff ask a question only you know the answer to because you have a different background or because you JUST went to computer training :). After a month or two it'll get easier, and just after you aren't scared to go to work anymore, it's time to leave!

I am switching agencies between assignments and am currently uninsured (I know, illegal!). The cost of insurance with United was about $360 per month with my first agency (in TX). The second agency is quoting almost $1000 for me and my spouse (assignment is in CA), and suggested I look for my own, which is fine. I am currently home in MO. I'm looking for private plans. I have read previous posts that recommended BCBS. When I search a quote though, I have to put my zip code (and was previously insured through BCBS IL with my employer in MO), so I was wondering if I should use my home zip code, or CA zip code? Am I covered if whatever state I travel to outside of MO if I use my home zip code? What if I buy the insurance through the health exchange? I know those programs are state-specific. Is anyone currently paying for themselves and their spouse? If so, any recommendations and what kind of quotes? A quick search in MO showed ~$450/mth for the 2 of us with a $6000 deductible. I remember private insurance costing around $200/mth for my husband and I when I was in nursing school 2 years ago! We are healthy and probably will have to just go with a cheap plan instead of a low deductible. Thank you!

Are there a lot of these Epic conversions going on? My staff position was Epic but first and second assignment are not. I really miss Epic!

I'm a med/tele nurse so not as specialized as OR, but here's my experience and opinion. I started traveling after a year and 3 months experience, not sure if I would get a travel position. Nursing is a second (and lower paying) job for me too, and I wanted to get as much traveling done as I could before having to settle down. I got greedy and just went for it. I did end up getting a job in Texas and just completed my first assignment. It was a busier unit with more acute patient's than I'm used to, but I made it through and think I did a decent job (coworkers encouraged me to renew). I did make a lot more money (I was in St. Louis), and now am going to start a second assignment in CA. I think it's a matter of risk. The less risky and safer thing is to complete your 2 years, and yes, you will gain invaluable experience in those extra months. But it's POSSIBLE to travel now too, it's just up to you. Somebody posted in a different forum to try PRN shifts at different local hospitals to see how you would adapt to a new environment, so you could try doing that. As as side note, I also talked to Aya (and almost went with them until the last minute) and the recruiter was very pushy. All recruiters are kind of pushy and will tell you that you should travel now instead of waiting, but they were by far the worst. They texted me pretending to be HR of the hospital and the manager even called me after I rejected the contract with them to ask why. Their ads pop up everywhere and it's probably because they spend more on marketing than paying their nurses. That's just my personal experience. I think the above commentor's note about stress of being away from family is worth noting (although this probably would be a problem even after you've had 2 years experience). My husband traveled with me and we saw a lot of TX and it was about the experience just as much as the money. It may be very stressful to start at a new place and be away from family for a few days at a time.

Those sound like they should qualify (to me as a logical person!). If you're not in a rush, I would just sit tight (and try to forget about it, if that's possible) and check on the Breeze website 2-3 weeks after you send those transcripts in. If your license does not come up, then try calling again. FYI, I found this number on the blog in the link below in the comments and was able to get a hold of someone more quickly: 18008386828. How to get Your California RN License by Endorsement | BluePipes Blog