Republic Health Resources

NedRN · Jun 27, 2016

It is my contention that you are approaching your first assignment from the wrong direction. The single most important factor for success as a traveler, and especially newer travelers, is your relationship with your recruiter(s). The agency brand, their marketing of great benefits, money, or service have almost zero relationship to your success. There are no shortcuts available for finding the best recruiter for you as you form unique relationships with other people. Even if you manage to find comments about this very small agency, whether they are negative or positive should not affect whether you use this agency or not. So the way to go is to call lots of agencies, see what recruiters you click with and communicate well with, and which ones you trust and don't spout BS (you'll learn to separate the BS from the truth when you talk to lots of agencies). Pick the best five recruiters to sign up with regardless of the agency brand.

So about the agency, they have been around for at least a year. Their "twenty years of experience" is marketing speak: that could be 10 employees with two years of experience each. Personally, their religious focus creeps me out, but if that doesn't deter you, don't let my opinion color your judgement. Trinity has one of the very best reputations around for treating travelers well, and they too started similarly. I will say Republic is so small, yours is the first mention online that I can remember, and although they are in my agency database, I don't know how I found out about them. I'd be interested to know how you came across them.

There is one more thing I might recommend about finding an agency/recruiter. Try the larger ones first, such as Cross Country, American Mobile, and RN Network. It is crucial that your first assignment is a smashing success and have that documented on your work history and in the references you get from that assignment. To have the best shot at that, not only do you want a recruiter who is on the same page as you who you trust to do that, but you want them to have a wide variety of potential assignments to choose from to ensure the best fit for your skills, specialty experience, and no previous travel experience (a so-called traveler friendly facility is best). Chase the money, benefits, and location bucket list later.

One final tip to improve your chances of a good first assignment: Try to focus on assignments in prevalent unionized areas. This includes the West Coast, Alaska, Hawaii, and the Northeast. Much better working conditions on average. Avoid the South, Texas, and HCA or Tenet hospitals. It is of course possible to have a good assignment anywhere, I'm just talking about increasing your odds.