Say no to AMS

gij1 · Mar 9, 2004

That must be so frustrating! I have never traveled nurse so have no idea how all works. I worked with a travel nurse yesterday who has been doing it for many years and very pleased with her assignments. Can you sue??? This company should be made accountable.

Run27 · Mar 10, 2004

That must be so frustrating! I have never traveled nurse so have no idea how all works. I worked with a travel nurse yesterday who has been doing it for many years and very pleased with her assignments. Can you sue??? This company should be made accountable.

I just learned my lesson! I will never work for a completion bonus again. They will just have to increase my rate of pay to make up for it. I have been a travel nurse now for two years with no problem with other companies. Only AMS!

cannoli · Mar 10, 2004

What do the initials AMS stand for? Is there more than one agency with a similar name?

Run27 · Mar 11, 2004

AMS (Advantis Medical Service or AMS Healthcare Services) Watch out!!!

cannoli · Mar 11, 2004

Thanks for clarifying. There is at least one other agency with the same initials but they stand for an entirely different name.

suzanne4, RN · Mar 11, 2004

Call the labor board in the state where they hold their license. If they have a written contract stating that those things were included and do not live up to what they signed, they are 100% libel and the state will take action against them.

One thing a company should not do is not pay wages owed to an employee. The attorney general of that state can actually go after them.

Good luck!

phyllisf · Oct 6, 2005

I'm pretty new to travel nursing too. The thing I don't understand is how contracts can be so one sided benefiting that of the hospitals. In California, I'm told it's a 'no cause' state. In other words, they can tell the travel nurse not to return for no reason. We leave our homes, our families and travel across the country to help with the staffing and have to turn around and go home again. Isn't there some recourse for us?? Anyone run into this before??

eddy · Oct 10, 2005

Call the labor board in the state where they hold their license. If they have a written contract stating that those things were included and do not live up to what they signed, they are 100% libel and the state will take action against them.
One thing a company should not do is not pay wages owed to an employee. The attorney general of that state can actually go after them.
Good luck!

Suzanne is right on.

I hope you got a contract. If not, let that be a hard and unfortunate lesson learned. If you did, definately report them to the labor board of the state you performed the work in. If they are not able to get your money, I would probably not take it any further unfortunately. Retaining a lawyer for such a small amount would probably eat into your $1000 so much as to make it a waste of your time.

Whenever possible it is always best to negotiate a higher hourly rate over a completion bonus in my opinion. In the event your assignment is terminated early for any reason at least you got the "bonus" for the amount of time you worked rather than nothing. A better method for getting "more" is to negotiate the bonus in to your hourly and THEN pre-negotiate a renewal bonus. In the event you renew your contract, you can usually get this by your second or third week of the new contract. It's generally a win-win for both you and the agency.

Edited to add:

Most importantly ALWAYS get EVERYTHING in writing! :)

BabyRN2Be · Oct 18, 2005

This is a prime reason why you need to get everything in writing. I do hope that you at least report them to someone, labor board, or contact a lawyer. They don't follow through with things in hopes that you a) forget it or b) don't want to put the time and expense into contacting legal help.

I do hope that you are able to follow through with something.

If not, it sure is a hard lesson learned. I'm sorry about that.

Good luck to you.