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Discussion

Travel contract at CHLA

Hi all,

I am considering CHLA for a travel position in April. Any advice and tips for the hospital and LA in general would be great, i.e. good areas to live/specific apartments etc. Also, if anyone wants to give a general base rate range that I should be accepting for a critical care position, would be great. I often get the "this is the best we can offer" statement from recruiters and I have no idea if thats what others are being offered until I meet travelers on the job. I am looking for estimates on the BASE rate specifically not the blended rate. Thanks!

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    You should check with other agencies. You want a complete compensation quote anyway. The base rate is meaningless without knowing how the agency handles overtime, not all pay overtime after 8. The housing/meals stipend can be more than your hourly. Insurance can be worth several dollars an hour.

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    • Author

    Yes good point about OT over 8 hrs. I will be sure to ask about that. I guess I was considering the base rate a bit more in that I work a lot of OT. My current contract has a low base rate so all the extra OT shifts I am putting in doesn't quite seem worth it really. I will be taking company housing as well so thats why I was focusing on the base rate. My current contract's base rate didn't change whether I took housing or the stipend. Does that make sense?

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    Yes it does: housing is housing whether cash or provided. What doesn't make sense is taking a pay cut for overtime. If you use PanTravelers calculator, you will see that most contracts pay between $40 and $50 total pay for 36/40. Why get less than that for overtime? It defies common sense. The agency's costs go to almost nothing after housing and per diems are accounted for after 36/40 hours and your pay drops too? Beyond stupid - but highly profitable for the agency if you are dumb enough to work overtime to fill their pockets and not a more equitable distribution.

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    • Author

    Ok I think I'm learning. So when I get numbers for potential contracts I shouldn't focus on getting a higher base rate but to get them to give me a higher OT rate based on the blended? Sorry if I seem dumb but I guess in the past I have always relied on OT to give me extra cash. So in my head, if I push for a higher base then my OT would be better as it was standard for OT to be 1.5x at my staff job. I guess I have a lot to learn about numbers in a travel contract. Am I getting this right at all?

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    • Author

    Take home advice, don't accept an OT rate that's only 1.5xthe base rate.

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    Even double time is usually not enough to be fair. Shoot for at least $50 an hour total after your base hours have been worked. Some agencies apply a bonus for extra shifts that will get at least those hours into the right range.

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