8-ball

I should tell you my wife and I are getting out of the whole travel thing because we are ready to settle down and make a home now but its not related to the Rv living. We are selling our truck and RV and having a house built in California. It should be done Nov 1st. Do you have kids? animals? We had a dog and that was a big reason we went with the RV no pet fees.

I travel via RV and we have done so for the last 3 years or so. I have a fifth wheel 40ft Rv and I pull it with an F350. It has been great. There has been a few times where I couldn't take an assignment because I couldn't find an Rv spot but to be honest that has been rare. Probably harder in big cities and very desirable locations during desirable times. For example I had a gig in L.A and found a spot in the middle of the city no big deal but I wanted a spot in seattle in the summer and I could never find the RV spot for that. So there are some times where it doesn't work but for the most part its not that bad and the cost savings is better than housing in my case.

well that really depends. certs yes as long as they apply to your position. but experience can be tricky 5-15 years sure but when you get in the 20-30 years range you might run into a bit of issue 1) being age biases, assuming at that point you are more likely for injury and sick days. 2) If your pay is based on experience (and it should be) more experience means higher pay which also means a bigger hit to the managers budget. Where as many believe a nurse in the 10-15 year range might be just as good.

It didn't use to be that way but I feel more and more I am seeing travelers on the FB groups in PACU say they are being cancelled repetitively and not getting paid. Not sure if this is a contract issue or some other problem but I haven't noticed it so much with ICU nurses. I may have misread her post I thought this was a first assignment, didn't notice her experience. I just love my ICU so I am biased.

If it were me I would go with the actual ICU assignment. Sometimes recruiters will look at your last assignment and try to fit a round peg in a square whole. In others words if they aren't great listeners they may attempt to just use your resume as a guide to what you like which may influence future assignments. Also if you want ICU down the road you would still be considered a new traveler since you haven't completed an ICU assignment yet. ICU can do PACU but not always the other way around. Once your resume is filled with mostly ICU then look at a PACU job then its just an easy little break for you. Also if PACU is slow you get sent home (no pay) if ICU is slow you get floated and still get paid as long as you have guaranteed hours in your contract (make sure that you do). Starting out its hard to have extra in the savings acount, later when that situation is better you can take more risk with regard to being cancelled. I am making a guess at your financial situation based on how mine was starting out but you may be different. Just letting you know how it works.

Yes it is common but even still competitive. We had 10 travelers when I started here as a traveler last year. Of that 3 took positions at the hospital here and 2 took positions at other Kaisers the others did not have desire to do that. FT positions are difficult as well but the Per diem is really hard. I would say that the larger hospitals like Kaiser Oakland and SF always have openings so if you start as a traveler there you will have better luck. Once you are with them for 6 months you can move to any of the other kaisers if they have openings and you will have first pick before a non kaiser applicant.

Can someone send me a link or explain to me the difference in practice states (full practice, reduced practice, and Restricted) for NPs. I am hoping to go to NP school next year and I am thinking of opening up my own practice in a rural setting one day. The thing is I don't know or yet care what state I settle in. I am currently a travel nurse and have enjoyed this but I do want to settle down soon. I found the map outling which states have different practice ability. It seems if i wanted my own practice I would need to work in a full practice state...is this correct? Also do these states ever change the laws regarding this. For example say I set up practice in Washington (currently full practice) is there a possibility it may change to a reduced practice or restricted in the future. How would that affect my practice? Could I do this in a reduced practice state? I am not planning on having a big staff at all or anything like that I was hoping to really just have a small rural clinic with myself as the only employee, possibly even make house calls with no real office. Thanks

You might try this question in one of the FB groups dedicated to UK travel nursing. Sorry I have no experience in this and I doubt you will find many in this forum that do.

True I am thinking more on the lines of boyfriend or GF situation not fiance or husband.

Also this time of year you can probably just buy a big tent and air bed and camp at a local state park or something like that. You will have bathroom, shower, electric and water. That should hold you over for 14 days until you have some money to put down on a place or on a vehicle. Not to be critical but never put all your eggs in one basket. It sounds like he was the one with a car and the place, so were you paying half his car and housing. If so it sounds like he was using you and never let that happen again. Get yourself a bank account and put your money away for times like these. Bad things happen but you can guard yourself from the severe outcomes with proper planning.

I have seen a few. A travel Job group on FB reveals these but I know there are more. Rapid temps Empower nursing Faststaff Eminent Medical Allcare medical Onestaff Maxim healthcare AYA healthcare I haven't worked with any of these personally but its what I found on the FB group I follow for jobs. You will get faster results there.

I think your saying what he said. I may not have made that clear but he was encouraging me to take a travel assignment as well as a per diem.

FYI I talked to my accountant and he said I will not have to change my tax home until I have been in the area for 1 year, even if I take a travel assignment in the area as well. After the 1 year mark I will be considered a CA resident. He suggested that when I get near my 1 year to take a sabbatical or something like that and travel back to TN or somewhere else and work for a while then I can go back to my per diem job. Not sure if I can work that with the hospital but I don't have to worry about that just yet. I guess overall since the requirement is only 4 shifts a month I could go take a job somewhere a few hours away and travel back work my 4 shifts a month (just to keep the job) and do that for 1 assignment then come back. Although I meant to ask him, I think the requirement is actually no more than 12 months in a 24 month period in 1 place without losing travel status. If that is the case I will have to really reconsider this.

some what yes. I will give the hospital my availability and they will either confirm my hours or not. Most of the other per diem people said they give them like 5-6 days of availability a week and they get confirmed 3-4 days (8 hour shifts) once confirmed they cannot cancel you (at this facility). You can get confirmation up to a month in advance.

Actually I had considered doing exactly that. In fact I have an Skype appointment with my accountant (he has experience with Travel) this week so I will let you know what he says. I plan on picking up a travel assignment nearby

Well yes I do OT so that was why originally. My recruiter basically knows I like a higher pay rate too because I worry about that workers comp/disability issue which is based off your taxable rate. I know not the best option but peace of mind. Here at this Kaiser they have quite a few per diem people and they said they never get canceled in fact the other day 4 of us (not all per diem) sat in ICU with no patients for 8 hours. The one thing they do is if you give them 5-6 days you can work they may only confirm you for 3-4 days only but once your confirmed they cannot cancel (union rules).

I agree with above. I would try to work with AMN directly since as stated they have majority of contracts in the area. 3rd party vendors also get put on back burner. You may have a better time in LA with so many hospitals in the area. Kaiser LAMC is about 40% travelers but I am ICU not ER so thats where I speak of. Be flexible on hours (day, night) and as stated without travel experience some hospitals may not take you. Another option might be Reno NV and she can work in CA since Reno is right on the border of Lake Tahoe and they are a travel friendly hospital.

Ok friends I am in the process of stepping away from travel. Well sort of. I have the opportunity to take a per diem job at Kaiser in NorCal. My pay rate will be $93/hr with differential of 7.20/hr for PM shift and 11.40/hr for night shift (they do 8 hr shifts here. I mostly plan to work PMs but figure I will probably do a few double once in a while so I gave that info too. Now at first I heard the pay and I was like wow im going to make big money...BUT. I wanted to compare what we make vs what per diem makes so bring in the Pantraveler calculator and I find that I will not be making that much more d/t taxes. Although it is still more. Current contract same hospital but as traveler. 13 week contract x 36 hours/week (12 hour shift with OT after 8. $35/hr x 36 $245/week m&I $935.41/week lodging stipend $300 travel allowance =78.35/hr $2820.49 gross week $2183.49 net/week (This is almost exactly what I make each week) Now for the new per diem job that I just accepted, they get paid bi weekly and I wasn't sure how to account for that in any way other than to divide by 2 for the weekly pay. Also only 8 hour shift so assuming I only get 32 hours a week. The staff said in busy times we can get more but hours aren't guaranteed for per diem but 32 hours is pretty doable even in low times. The calculator I found stated taxes for this area and my salary range to by 21% so that determined the Net. $93/hr + $7.20 diff =$100.2 x 32 hours $6413 gross (biweekly) divided by 2= $3206 $4626 Net (Biweekly) divided by 2= $2313 So as you see it seems like the rate was going to be much better but in reality tax free stipends are worth a lot. I figure if it gets really slow I can still take another travel job too as I am still going to keep my tax home for a while. I know eventually I will have to give it up but I haven't been in this area long yet. I have no plans to buy a house here so we will still be living in our RV for some time. Just wanted to show you comparisons for anyone that wonders. The big mystery here is this is a non benefit job so not sure what my insurance will cost but that will not be till next year.

I started my nursing career in FL and then moved to TN, I have been traveling for 2.5 years so my info is dated. TN does vary by region I lived in Nashville and I will tell you the job market is flooded there. I had experience and worked ICU, my rate when I started at Vanderbilt in 2012 was 22/hr and when I left in 2016 it had just bumped in a single move (my one in only raise ) to $24/hr and that was only because I was threatening to leave. I had asked for other raises and was told the hospital couldn't afford to give anyone raises. However the CEO of the hospital took a 14 mil bonus that same year. No union there so make of that what you will. Nashville has one of the higher cost of living for the state but in the area you are looking even if the pay is lower the cost of living should be better.

I was there 8 months ago and the staff are horrible. Yes you float but honestly I dont mind that. I am ICU and their ICU are so rude and even have potlucks where they put a sign that says no travelers. Travelers are also not allowed in staff garage you have to use sketchy parking lot 2 blocks away. I am at Kaiser Antioch now and its 100% better. I actually liked floating to their (LA's) step down unit much nicer there so it does depend on what unit you work and probably what shift. Side note you can have all the OT you want there.

That's pretty awesome.

So I just found out I cant take the job at my current hospital because I am a traveler here and apparently they have to pay my company a finders fee until I have worked at least 1000 hours at the hospital even though I already worked at Kaiser LA prior and my current place is a Kaiser in the east bay area. I guess since they are 2 different unions it doesn't count together. Oh well. I have been here since Nov so after a while I can apply b/c I will have 1000 hours here maybe in July.

I have been doing that since January...no calls back yet and there arn't that many per diem available I only see one once every month or so and it seems its usually a position created for an internal applicant. My current hospital I am on contract with has an opening and I have told them I am interested but that have to wait for internal applicants first.

Can anyone point me to an agency in the Sacramento area. I am a travel nurse but I don't want to extend anymore. So I am thinking of doing per diem work at area hospitals. I figure I can work Stockton, Sacramento, Modesto etc. I am currently signed up with nurse finders but they don't seem to have anything or my recruiter is lazy because every time I email her she takes 4-5 days to respond. Looking for other agencies.

Oops I didn't notice that. The other links I put up are from U.S.