Travel nursing vs. Strike nursing

[Traveler_RN_BSN]

Hi,

I am new to travel nursing and would love some feedback from anyone who has done either travel assignments or strike assignments. I came across a company Health Source Global who works with both types of assignments and is recruiting for a large job coming up in Spring. I have 5 years experience 2 in medsurg and 3 in ICU in Washington. They are helping with licensing. Any information in addition to their website would be wonderful.

[Crazynut]

Dont hate the player hate the game. Now I have thought about it. But I could never cross the picket line. But sometimes I feel that traveling isn't that much different. We often go to short staffed hospitals that are poorly run and keep a revolving door of perm staff. We do our time make our money and bounce. Not really that different from strike nursing. Pot meet kettle. Just saying!

[NedRN]

There is a huge difference. As travelers, we are there to support and help the staff. At strikes, we are there to undermine the staff's efforts to improve staffing and patient care.

[Crazynut]

But I have worked at hospitals with nurses actively trying to organize. Of course management doesnt like that so they force perm staff out. That's when they hire a ton of travelers to fill the need. Traveling is all about money too. If they didn't have travelers to fall back on. Maybe management would listen and compromise with perm staff to improve conditions. Don't get me wrong. I love traveling. But I have seen units with more travelers than perm staff. Kinda hard to organize with all traveler staff. I see it as just another way for hospitals to union bust. And travelers are the player in their little game. But then again. It's all about perspective!

[NedRN]

Certainly travelers can be used as pawns. But we don't have to be willing pawns as strike breakers.

I will say that most of the time units, or even entire hospitals, have large travelers percentages that it is not because of union activity and management games. It is because either the hospital is in a remote area where it is difficult to attract staff, or because it is a bad place to work. It is much more expensive to run a hospital with all travelers and would be cheaper to pay staff more or develop better management practices. That doesn't always happen and often bad hospitals go out of business. Nothing wrong with that, other area hospitals pick up the census and the staff.

Perhaps it is not the best example but do you remember MLK "King Drew" in Los Angeles? Tons of rapid response nurses for years. I believe it was a county hospital so closing was political with a patient videotaped dying in the ER lobby begging for help. A private hospital would have had to close many years earlier without the deep pockets of taxes and resident support.

[chaston2015]

You guys are striking in order to increase your pay and make your work place better. Those who work strikes get paid very well to do so. If the situation were reversed, the "anti-scab" people's moral objections would fade away rather quickly. I haven't worked a strike yet, but I probably will if the money is right. :l-

[chaston2015]

What happens to the patients that you abandoned to work the strike?

No one "abandons patients" to work a strike. Anyway, you obviously have no moral dilemma with abandoning patients.