Travel Nursing in Washington State?

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Hi there,

Im currently in the process of moving to Western Washington from Montana. My significant other who I will be moving in with is currently working at Madigan in Tacoma and I was thinking about beginning travel nursing.

My big thing for me is pay, I just want to pay off my debt and just am hardly getting by here in Montana which is why I thought about travel nursing. I also thought travel nursing would be beneficial so I could dip my feet in different hospitals to see what hospitals I enjoy to potentially extend my assignment or become a staff RN.

I haven't signed anywhere yet, but I'm moving for sure from Montana to western washington on July 11th. Any suggestions on where I should live in western washington where my fiance can commute to Madigan easily and I could commute to a large number of hospitals I might travel to? We were thinking the federal way area might be doable for him to commute to Madigan and for me to commute to Tacoma or Seattle for the hospitals there.

Also any non-recruiter suggestions to great travel companies in Western Washington would be appreciated. :)

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Traffic is really, really bad in that area. So you will want to live close.

I'd strongly recommend you don't travel, but instead start looking for a staff job now. Staff pay is union (or affected by prevailing union wages), and is more than you would get as a traveler, especially when you factor in significant staff benefits (zero to poor as a traveler). On top of that, a good bit of any traveler advantage are tax free stipends. You won't be eligible for those, it requires working away from home. You are relocating to WA and will not be eligible commuting from home.

In addition, applying now may get you a generous sign on bonus and/or relocation expenses. Other than experiencing several hospitals before picking one, I don't see any benefit from travel in your case. You can duplicate that experience by taking any job for a year and doing agency per diem shifts at other hospitals to get the lay of the land.

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Ned,

Thanks for replying! I'm sorry I must have worded my post so there was some confusion there. I am maintaining my montana state residency, and have an address here. With that said, would you still say that the pay is not worth it to travel in western washington right now? I gross take home 1300 weekly here in Montana currently, and looking at Providence St Peters union contract in Olympia it appears I would make about 1400 weekly as a Staff RN there. I've been quoted at about 1500-1700 weekly as a traveler in western washington. Do you think that with the tax free stipends added on that makes it a better decision? Or would you still suggest I sign as a staff RN for security and job benefits?

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I'd suggest you look up more information on tax homes on PanTravelers or TravelTax. Having a mailing address in Montana is very different than a tax home. You have said you are moving/relocating with your fiancee so any such hint the IRS can find that you did say that or other evidence like a forward mail, driver's license, voting registration, motor vehicle registration and you are in deep. Remote chance, but if it can be proven you did this knowingly, there could be a criminal indictment on top of back taxes, interest, and penalties. Not worth it.

If in fact you can support a solid tax home, then a travel assignment could be worth your consideration. While your real total pay is less, there is usually more cash per week. This can help pay down debt faster. However, you can also do that as per diem or float staff. No benefits but higher hourly pay. If your fiancé can cover your health insurance if you get married now, either option is worth considering.

Fair warning, the orientation you receive as a traveler is far different than staff orientation. And if you fail to be able to hit the ground running with minimal orientation, you may now be terminated and have lost your chance to be staff at that hospital.

Of course, you can take travel assignments as a WA resident, you just will be taxed on all your compensation. I'd make sure your compensation quotes take that into account. Some agencies/recruiters quote the gross compensation you would get if all your compensation was taxed to get the net pay with the tax savings. Tricky!

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So my family owns a home here in Montana. That's where my address has been on my drivers license for years. My car is registered in Montana to the same address, my voter registration is also in Montana. My plan was to go to Washington for 1 year and travel and pay off my debts quickly and return to Montana to restart my staff RN position. I was also looking into maintaining PDR status at my local hospital and work a few shifts when I routinely come back to be with my family. This is still not kosher you think?

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Do you actually reside at that Montana address? Somehow I changed SO to fiancé so that is no longer a factor. If you do reside in Montana and incur documented housing costs there, then you are eligible for tax free status as a traveler. Still worth reading up on tax homes for any new traveler.

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