travel nursing and housing

[mimcdc]

I will be new to travel nursing and I am wondering if all agencies take housing out of your gross or do they provide housing?

Also is Core Medical a good company to work for?

Thanks for your responses.

[NedRN]

With 400 agencies, there is no generalizing! Bear in mind that an agency bill rate with a hospital is a single rate, like $60 an hour and all inclusive. Thus there is a fixed pot of money to take all your compensation out of. So you are effectively paying for housing whether they agency provides housing, or you take a housing stipend. The same is true about your travel pay and health insurance. Many agencies will negotiate how you want your compensation sliced, less hourly versus a higher housing stipend for example.

How they quote you will vary all over the place, and you will have to ask for clarification. Sometimes they are deliberately misleading, and sometimes it is just ambiguous if the quote includes housing, or is taken out of the quote (if quoted in weekly "take-home" for example). There is a calculator on PanTravelers that can help you make sense of the quoted numbers, especially if you are comparing offers from more than one agency.

While I don't know anything specific about Core Medical, I can tell you confidently that they will have their big fans and big detractors, just like every other agency. Besides the numbers and contract details, I would go with how well you communicate with the recruiter and the trust factor. Do not limit yourself to one agency, talk to a number of them. That is the only way to find out your real market value and get access to a wider range of assignments and locations. Don't give them your contact information until you have determined which 5 or so agencies to put on your short list.

[mimcdc]

Thank you so much for your insight!!