Would traveling be a reasonable option for me?

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Hi everyone,

I've been a RN for 11 years. my background is ED, med/surg, ICU (small hospital),, but I've been a Radiology Nurse for the last 5 years (procedural nurse caring for ICU patients or anyone else except NICU and L&D). I'm considering looking for a travel position in a town 1.5hrs away from where I currently live because my husband is working there frequently, they have great schools, and we are thinking about permanently moving there eventually. I am trying to sell my house now in my hometown. I thought it would be a good opportunity to make sure I like the hospitals in the area and hopefully pocket extra $ that could help with purchasing a new house. The only complication is that I have a family and I carry the benefits. My spouse has no benefits at all. I have 2 children, ages 1 and 4. Would I still be making good $ if I have to pay for a family package? What happens if I don't have another contract to take in the area? What input do you all have for me? Would you advise taking a travel assignment (or several assignments) in this situation?

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Probably not based on your real need for good benefits. If you want to check out those hospitals, why not sign up for per diem with a registry?

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what exactly is per diem?

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
what exactly is per diem?

As needed

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what exactly is per diem?

By the day. There is often a hospital pool, but I'm suggesting doing it for a local agency to avoid the hiring headaches of a hospital - presumably what you wanted to avoid by trying them out first as a traveler.

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If you have an ICU background, ICU pays the best in Travel nursing. If you took a job per diem in this new town, you would get no benefits. The best thing to do is call a Travel Nurse recruiter. Find out if there are indeed Travel nurse positions at this other hospital, and will they hire 'new' travel nurses. Many hospitals require a nurse to have 2 years of Travel before they will consider your application. So that may or may not even be a possibility for you. Otherwise, if you did get hired by the hospital as a Traveler, your assignment would typically be 13 week contract. If you didn't like the hospital, after your 13 weeks, you will not be penalized for not continuing. And if you like it, and vice versa, they may hire you full time when your travel assignment is done. You will also have to weigh the pros and cons of quitting your current job all together in case you absolutely hate this new place. You might consider staying on in your current job as PRN and do 1-2 days/month just to maintain your employment status in case you want to go back. Not sure how many hospitals will be in the vicinity of where you want to go, but there may be other hospitals w/in 30 minutes of where you want to move that also have openings for Travel nurses. Even if it not where you want to work forever. The more experience you get as a travel nurse, the easier it is for you to get hired. Some travel nurse positions can get extended for up to a year. As far as insurance, again Perdiem or PRN, you get no insurance. You have to buy your own. You do get insurance through a Travel position, and it is like any hospital position. You will pay more with more people on your plan. You will need to ask a recruiter about that. It may vary from company to company. But also be aware that with Travel, if you are not working, you have no insurance. The day your contract ends, so does your insurance. So keep that in mind with Travel and a family to look after.

While Travel is harder for people with families, it does have it occasional advantages, like checking out a new city and hospital without being penalized for 'quitting' after 3 months. Whatever you decide, good luck to you.

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If you have an ICU background, ICU pays the best in Travel nursing.

Would you mind elaborating on this point?

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