What's the salary for Travel Nurses?

renerian, BSN, RN · Sep 7, 2002

Hey there! I did travel home health. The most I was offered was for Kaiser in California at $33 per hour. Mostly 25 to 29 for home health. I am going back to a skilled unit monday to update my skills so I can travel as a rehab RN. You only need one to two years experience. Cross Country has a new grad and internship program. you have a longer committment though. If you want the name of my recruiter email me at [email protected].

renerian

renerian, BSN, RN · Sep 7, 2002

Oops on the previous post my addy is [email protected] LOL

renerian:roll

futurecdrn · Sep 8, 2002

Hey Renerian,

Sounds like a god pay. Can you take someone with you say a pet (my black lab dog) or fiance (not that I have one already...hehehehheh just anticipating)? Do they pay for your place? Thanks! I'm also interested in travel nursing.

Have a nice weekend.

:roll

renerian, BSN, RN · Sep 8, 2002

You can take someone with you. You can most of the time take a pet too. Some people take theirs kids or a parent. I love it. I just want to do inpatient nursing rather than traveling home health....

How long have you been a nurse?

renerian

DIPLOMATICRN4HIRE, MSN, RN · Sep 8, 2002

You need to have atleast 1 yr of Nursing under your belt and in the area that you wish to go into. Also the pay depends on the area you choose and the state, west coast seems to be the highest payers right now. Yes you can take pets, or signifigant others but you must put a deposit down for the pets in the apartments that the company furnishes for you. Some travel companys pay for all housing , some do not, then you have your travel pay that gets you from where you are to where your going , then there are bonuses for the places you travel as well, and sometimes the company tosses in a bonus too. All insurance is covered with most companys but check and make sure some dont pay for it outright. I have traveled for a few years now and if you would like some other info just pm me and I will send back the information you need.

Zoe

ladygal · Sep 19, 2002

Does anyone know what the salary would be for an RN to travel around and work in ER? Can you choose the cities you would be interested in going?

Brownms46 · Sep 19, 2002

The salaries for RNs and LP/VNs range greatly, depending on many diffferent factors.

1. The agency you work for. All agencies aren't created equal. Each offers different pay, housing, and benefits. You would need to do a search on which one meets your needs. Do not go with the first one you hear about! It's a difficult task to pick the right agency, and without doing your homework, you could end up being in a big mess...and on the losing end! There are those agencies out there...to whom you're nothing but a number, and a warm body! The most important thing you can do is interview a prospective agency and the recruiter you're assigned to. That recruiter is your best advocate, and can make or break your assignment with any agency!

I have been doing this since 6/92, and I have worked with at least 5 or more different agencies. The first one I was with for 5yrs. But when the company changed hands...and my recruiter was changed...so did my experience with them!

Everything in travel nursing is negotiable, and if the agency or recruiter won't negotiate with you, then more on to the next!

The pay on any contract is determined by the contract that the agency and the hospital signs. There are many factors that go into the contract between the hospital and the agency. Your pay is also determined by the fact of whether or not you're a "green traveler" or an experienced one. How desperate the hospital is, what area the hospital is in. The cost of living in a certain area many times determines who much the pay is.

Some agencies have a tier system...as in they determine pay by how long you have been with that agency. They also determine bennies the same way. Some agencies only provided shared housing, and some have pathethic benefits!

You must do the research before you decide with agency to take an assignment with. But never just sign up with one...find at least 3! Also check out this forum...as they're are thousands of posters about agencies and hospitals, that could keep you from making some big mistakes!

http://forums.delphiforums.com/travelnurses/start

This forum is invaluable...because you can talk to recruiters, and to experienced travelers, and find out a wealth of information, that if would take hours for me to communicate to you!

Just remember.... DON"T jump into signing a contract with any agency until you have done your homework! There are waaaaaay too many horror stories out there!

TravelNurseCPA · Oct 1, 2002

Commercial advertising post removed and user Banned.

saskrn · Jan 1, 2003

I make $42/hour right now. I have seen companies requiring up to 4 years of experience, but one year is the norm.

JNJ · Jan 7, 2003

Have you thought about being an independent rather than working for an agency?

Pay rates for independent nurses vary, as do regular pay rates, throughout the country, according to demand and the RNs available to meet that demand. If you are offering ICU, NICU, OR or something of this expertise/experience or are willing to work in underserved inner city areas, you are looking at pay rates starting around $65 per hour and climbing above $100 for certain areas, expertise, shifts etc. Working in the sun/fun in med/surg may not go higher than that.

Find out where the agencies are staffing (state/city/and specialty areas) and what they are paying their own nurses. Plan on negotiating 1.5 to twice that amount. Independents are not trying to undercut the agency/traveling nurse - just willing to do a little more on their own to earn more in order to be able to disperse income as they wish.

You will note that many agency nurses do not mind 'paying' the agency to do the ground work for their accommodation etc. But do not overlook that you can be an independent while remaining where you are. Business licenses and taxes take very little of my time and I like the idea/feeling of doing these things for myself. Because I earned more, I worked a little less and so taking a half day a month to sort out this sort of thing was fine with me.

The National Assoc. of Ind. Nurses (NAIN) has a wealth of info available at independentrn.com, but membership is needed to access the intelligent, fact based, supportive forum. (No, I am not an officer of this org. - I just believe that one of the ways RNs will move into appropriate professional standing and pay is by being independent - as are many PTs, OTs, music therapists, dietitians, CPAs, etc etc.)

There are many appropriate ways to be an RN and earn a respectable living commensurate with training, education, experience and expertise. My experience with independence seems to be rather different from others. I'd like to encourage others to look at independent nursing and find out for themselves. Power to us all!

NancyChristina · Jan 8, 2003

From experience I know it depends on your experience and the scores from your skills checklist, some agency pay large rates but then take away from your benefits.... but they don't tell you that the best one's out there tell you what you hourly is and then the benefits