I am new to travel nursing and my first assignment is not going well. My recruiter acted as though he was my best friend in the beginning and told me not to hesitate to call him if I had any concerns. Well after driving 1,000 miles away from home and being stuck in my apartment for 10 days with no work, because I keep getting cancelled due to low census( been here over two weeks and have only worked 3 shifts). I spoke with my recruiter about this and he tells me that it is my responsibility to speak with the nurse manager about the cancellations because I will end up owing the agency money for housing expenses. I could not believe what I was hearing. I would be penalized because the facility keeps cancelling my shifts. According to my contract I should not owe anything unless I was the one who called in sick etc. Also isn't it my recruiter's responsibility to speak with the facility regarding what may be in the contract between the agency and facility? Also to find out if the facility still requires my services? So I asked him what does the contract say between the agency and the facility and he just said that the contract does not state "guaranteed hours" and once again that this situation is basically between me and the nurse manager. I am so frustrated that I want to just walk away from this contract. I am not sure if the whole agency is shady or just my recruiter. So my questions are
1.Do I have an obligation to stay in this contract since I have not had any work?
2. Is it really my responsibility to work this out with my nurse manager?
3. Is it too early for me to be concerned about these cancellations?
As the wise Albert Einstein once wrote, "I'll straight up cut a ***** over unpaid cancelled shifts."
I never, ever take a contract that doesn't expressly state how many guaranteed hours I'm contracted for in a week. Many companies have a small loophole in the contract towards the bottom in smaller print that will tell you how many times you can be cancelled for low census or whatever reason and you don't get paid during your contract. I will not take a contract that states I can be randomly cancelled more than twice with no pay during a 13 week contract. Also remember if you are cancelled on a Monday and scheduled off on a Thursday call the manager and offer to work that Thursday if they need it, that makes up your hours for that week.
I've only ever had one assignment exercise the right to cancel me twice during the 13 weeks due to census and it was because they hired probably 80 travelers all at once and had too many. After the two times I was cancelled I communicated a hard stop to that due to the contract which then resulted in me getting floated out of the ICU on low census days. I wanted to shoot myself getting floated to a telemetry/med surg floor with patients using call lights all day and 50 PO pills that needed passing but I at least got my hours. I also stood my ground and only allowed them to give me 3 patients on these floors they floated me to since that's my max ratio I've been trained to manage.
My point being, know your limits and be flexible, but not so flexible they take advantage of you. When I got floated out of the units they assigned me this phone thing that my patients call lights went directly to... One day my ICU manager stopped by to see how I was doing off the unit and I wanted to chuck it at her head but I just smiled. Always keep smiling.
This gets on my nerves. My agency doesn't dock my pay for shifts missed when it is the facility canceling me. When I get called off I am still technically making money. My agency contacts the facility when Im getting called off too frequently because it doesn't benefit them to have a traveler who isn't working and making them money. Your recruiter is absolute garbage. If your agency isn't helping you then your agency is garbage as well. Call RNNetwork. Don't worry everyone, Im not trying to get a referral bonus. I actually "retire" from floor nursing in 1 month so I wouldnt be around long enough to see a referral bonus from anyone. I would give my recruiter's info but im not sure if im allowed to.
I will add that as a traveler, your recruiter makes all the difference in the world.
Ive been a travel nurse for a minute ;>) I will tell you how I deal with my contracts..it doesnt mean you have to do it this way..its just how I have been successful in this area. The single best advice I can give you is never speak on the phone. All and I mean ALL communication with recruiters must be through email. They try to get me to talk on the phone but they end up emailing and I respond. They learn real quick if they need me thats the only way to get me. Why do I do this? Because many years ago I learned that recruiters lie. Not all lie but I would say most. I refer to them as used car salesman, they will tell you anything to make a sale. As for the contract, if it is important it must be in the contract. Dont let them tell you thats a given. No its not. I make them break down what is allotted for food, what is allotted for housing, my tax percentage etc. My contract must state my travel pay will be in my first paycheck and my bonus in my last paycheck. It must also say that my bonus will not be affected for any days I miss not of my own doing. I have guaranteed hours stated with the exception of 3 days per contract. On those 3 days they can subtract my hourly(taxed) amount for the day but can not touch my untaxed housing amount. After all its not my problem the facility is canceling me. I had recruiters do all kinds of things in the beginning. I learned real fast when I went two weeks without a pay and was stuck 1000 miles from home. Also at the beginning of negotiations email them and ask if there is any testing to be done by the hospital. If there is, request they give you any material needed to study for the tests. If its pass/fail find out if they will still pay your transportation to the hospital. Have it in writing. Dont let them tell you 3 days before the contract starts " Oh there is a pass/fail exam the first day..if you dont pass you go home without any travel money". If they arent paying travel whether you pass or fail you might want to rethink the contract. A lot of hospitals will throw in tests at the last minute when they over book travelers and they need to weed them out. PBDS tests are good for that being those tests can be graded a couple alternate ways. Oh and when you decide to take a travel contract have your minimum take home in your head...the number they throw you is not the bottom line. There is always room for negotiation, especially if its in your area of expertise. I never ever take housing from an agency. I always find my own. Craigslist is good for that. I use extended stay hotels, I rent rooms off craigslist and I will call around to the local hotels and tell them I am a hospital traveler and someone told me they might have lower rates for the hospital, most times they do and can give you a weekly or monthly rate that will be much lower than the agency will give you. Also if you have a travel buddy that can cut costs in half. These agency's make a ton of money off our sore backs and aching feet....I may sound cynical but I make a decent living now that I learned the ins and outs. The first couple years I ended up owing a ton in taxes and the floor nurses were making more than I was and I was working horrible places. Remember even though you work for the agency, they need you. We have the ability to make or break them. A recruiter is only your best friend until you start the contract, then they are off to the next. They will threaten you, get snide and ignore you. My recruiter now is a great young man. He goes above and beyond. He answers my text no matter what time of the day it is. That is a great recruiter. Ok, sorry for babbling. Hope some of that babbling helps :>)
You have learned a lot in a minute! Nice summary and most excellent first post.
While all recruiters may lie, some don't know they are doing so, they are only repeating what they are told. I'm not so cynical as you because I know there are some great recruiters that really put their travelers first. They earn a lot of money by doing so, but it is incidental to putting travelers first. It is helpful to have a great recruiter, but when you have learned the hard way to attend to business first, it is not as necessary.
Turnabout is fair play, they treat us as commodities so we can treat them as commodities too. If they want our business, they will perform. It may also be helpful to know that 98% of the recruiters don't make what we make. Don't let them push you around. Do we push physicians around? Well... sometimes.
I can't agree more with what Ned and Sally say. Travel for the fun of different venues. But realize what your folks taught you which is be wary and protect yourself and read your flipping contract. Travel pay. Bonuses. Stipends. Pay. Guaranteed hours. All of it should be spelled out explicitly and specifically. Anything less is uncivilized and makes you the traveler the dumb one in the end. Fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me. As the great Norm said "it's a dog eat dog world and I'm wearing milk bone underwear". Don't wear milk bone underwear people. There are atleast three companies that won't screw you. I say three because I work for three and know them well. There are more. You just have to shop wisely.
Generally recruiter pay is pegged to hours worked. Thus he has an incentive to get the contracted hours actually worked. That is not the reason for what is going on here.
Sometimes. When I did a contract the recruiters got their full fee as long as the travelers completed their 13 weeks, regardless of whether or not the facility was screwing them on hours/pay.
That is not a way to incentivize recruiters to treat travelers well or put them in their best assignment. An agency is free to run their business anyway they like, but there is no way flat pay for an assignment start is a good business practice. And that is why there is a problem here, and why some agencies consistently have bad reviews from travelers. Some agencies survive for years on a churn and burn system, Aureus being the most notorious. Good for them if it works for them, but it doesn't work for travelers.
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!
gypsyd8
1 Article; 276 Posts
I know a pretty decent agency in California if you want to pm me