Seriously considering travel

[baker1bv]

Hi all,

Travel nursing has always been on the agenda for my career, however I was planning on waiting till my kids got a little older, but now I’m seriously considering starting now. I’m currently a cath lab nurse and my hours are basically gone. I have lots of adult critical care experience so I could take an ICU position pretty easily. It’s hard to ignore some of these pay rates for crisis. It is crazy or is anyone else considering it?

[lseminara]

Yes! I had been contemplating taking some COVID assignments in NY and other places due to the huge cost, however after talking to some recruiters from different agencies, a lot of the nurses contracts are being canceled and a lot of those hospitals aren't filling positions anymore or taking applications due to the overwhelming applications they had received. I'm planning on finishing up the Spring where I am until around September, and then traveling with my wife! Which company are you thinking of traveling with? I want to travel with Fastaff to start due to the higher pay

[bekindalways, ASN]

I’m doing it! I started looking into it about 3 weeks ago. All the crisis pay contracts wanted someone the following week. No one wanted to hold a spot two weeks out. So, I put in my two weeks notice without having accepted a contract yet. I start on Monday at an ICU in NJ. I’m honestly terrified, but trying to stay positive. I’ve only been a nurse a few years and have spent my entire career in one hospital. Like you, my hours were evaporating and it seemed like a good time to jump. There’s some truth to what Iseminara said about contracts getting cancelled, but hotspots are popping up all over. So if you’re open to different geographic locations I think you’ll be fine. NurseFly is a good site that’s basically like Indeed just for travel nurses. It’s nice because you see listings from all different companies WITH the estimated pay packages.

[guest769224]

I’m also a Cath Lab nurse that just signed up for an ICU travel contract. I start in a few days. I say bite the bullet. It’s better than doing zero cases in the lab and no hours.