Traveling Nursing in NYC or Boston

[wylie-coyote]

I am a telemetry nurse from CA and have a little over 2 years experience. Over the last few months I've been preparing for some travel assignments and have obtained licenses in Hawaii and Florida, in addition to obtaining licenses that are pending in New York, Massachusetts, Virgin Islands. I have read some different posts on here to get advice in the process which has been a lot of help. I have signed up with about 6 different travel nursing agencies (cross country travel, american mobile, american traveler, faststaff, onward, and supplemental). I would primarily like to do the shorter 8 week assignments like I've seen on American Mobile's website. I plan on doing one of my first assignments in NYC or Boston. I have a few questions for any experienced traveler out there.

1. What are the best travel agencies for short term contracts other than the ones listed above, that pay well, and have decent reputations in your experience?

2. Does anyone have any experience working as a traveler in NYC or Boston, what are the pros and cons to each. What ratios should I expect and what type of ancillary help?

Any other suggestions would be helpful! Thanks!

[NedRN]

For rapid response assignments (short, high paying, typically 48 hours plus, hard work), Fastaff is the leader. On Assignment was second but suffered through the recession and now have new owners. Not sure of their job mix anymore. American Mobile had a brand called RN Demand specifically for rapid response, but shuttered it in 2009. I assume such jobs are just available to any of their branded agencies now, just like any other travel assignments and as the largest agency they probably have a good assortment. Cross Country's brand for rapid response is CRU48 (probably stands for crisis response unit 48 hours - guessing).

As far as decent reputations and "best" go, well.... in the eye of the beholder. None of them are at the top of the list of potential agencies I'd work with, but if you are just in it for the money and know you are fundamentally just a warm body and can deal with it, great.

You will find that each hospital has different work loads, ratios (almost always higher than California), and a different balance of support staff. Often you can see similarities in a local area so that is a decent question. Sorry, I don't work floors so I can't help you there, just that you won't really know what a hospital is like until you actually get there, no matter how much you query the manager or people that have worked there. Short assignments means short duration of painful assignments. But most are very doable with good organizational skills and a can do attitude. You will become a stronger clinician as a traveler. Dive in!

How do you like that $60 fee for CA snail mail license verification to each state (apparently actually delivered by live snails)? My original state was CA too.

[wylie-coyote]

None of them are at the top of the list of potential agencies I'd work with, but if you are just in it for the money and know you are fundamentally just a warm body and can deal with it, great.

Yeah, California BRN is expensive and takes forever! Even when I have called them on occasion, the message will sometimes say we are busy, call back later, and just hang up on me with no option to hold. Although they did get my Hawaii endorsement out quick, got that in a 1.5 months.

Since you seem to be one of the most experienced travelers that post on here, what top 5 agencies are on your list for assignments? Or just PM them to me?

[NedRN]

I don't have a top five, and even if I did, it is unlikely they would be your top five. Having six agencies on tap should be enough, at least if you have good recruiters at each that you communicate well with. For doing short assignments, your picks are good. Personally, I find smaller agencies pay better for regular assignments, all your choices are larger agencies.

[wylie-coyote]

I don't have a top five, and even if I did, it is unlikely they would be your top five. Having six agencies on tap should be enough, at least if you have good recruiters at each that you communicate well with. For doing short assignments, your picks are good. Personally, I find smaller agencies pay better for regular assignments, all your choices are larger agencies.

Alright, what smaller agencies are you likely to use?

[NedRN]

Whew, there are hundreds and I seldom stick with any. There is one I use just for three Northern California counties, Surgistaff, but they don't staff anywhere else. In the past I've used First Assist, Hospital Support (now merged with someone else), Olsten Flying Nurses (merged several times), The Surgical Staff, and Medical Staffing Solutions Inc (Wisconsin). There are a couple more I would characterize as small, the rest I've worked for are midsized. Midsized agencies I've used include PPR, PHP, Abbeta Care, RN Network (when they were midsized). As I advise others to do, I've talked with many more, some of whom I have a good impression but it never worked out.

I'm not recommending any of these agencies mind you, but have worked with them successfully in the past. Just for historical interest, I started traveling with Cross Country, then the largest agency, now second to American Mobile.

Agencies change, recruiters change, and every traveler's personality and communication style is different, and so are their needs. Some travelers can live with just one agency, at least for a few years as I did with CC, but travelers are basically free agents looking for the best deal. So sticking with one agency is usually not in our best interests but it does save work for sure.

[sheckler452]

I'm currently in Boston. I work at south shore hospital which is 15 miles south of boston butI chose housing in the city and drive to the hospital. Parking is expensive but i think its worth it to experience the city. I work in a level 2 trauma, extremely busy. Usually about 110 patients. It's 5:1 typically. It's a good experience.