Travel Nursing 101
Recently I have been getting a ton of questions about travel nursing. I am realizing it is kind of a difficult thing for a lot of people, including nurses, to understand. It is a challenging career that requires a TON of organization, flexibility, and mental stamina. These are things that I am only beginning to realize during my short time in the field. However, I thought I would pass on some things about travel nursing and answer the questions I am most commonly asked!
What is "travel nursing"?
A "travel nurse" is a nurse that is hired by a temporary staffing agency to fill an open position a hospital has. These positions could be vacant due to issues with staffing, nurse strikes, maternity leaves, seasons with high hospital census, events coming to the hospital's city, or simply as extra help. For example, I am currently working on an assignment in Minneapolis, MN because the city is hosting the Super Bowl in February and expecting an influx of patients during the event. The nurse is NOT employed by the hospital he/she works at but by the agency the hospital hires to fill the position.
Typically, how long are travel assignments?
A travel nurse is typically contracted at the hospital for 13 weeks. However, there are exceptions. Some hospitals may request nurses for 6, 8, 13, or even 26 weeks. The contract is also up for negotiation or cancellation at any time. For example, my contract in California was originally 13 weeks long. The day before I flew out, my agency called me to notify me that the hospital wanted to shorten the contract from 13 weeks to 8 weeks due to low census. I had no problem with the adjustment, but I had the freedom to negotiate if I chose. There are a variety of reasons why contracts get shortened, and sometimes even cancelled. That is one of the many risks of travel nursing. I have had fellow travel nurses drive across the country only to have their contracts cancelled and be stuck in a brand new city with no job!
"So do you make, like, a ton of money?"
This is probably the most misunderstood part of travel nursing. There is some rumor out there that travel nurses are rolling in the dough. As much as I wish that were true, it is not the reality. Travel nurse pay is difficult to understand, even for some nurses who are already working in the field. As a traveler, my income is split up into taxable income (the hourly pay rate) and non-taxable income (reimbursements for housing/meals). I plan to explain the details of travel nurse pay in a future post, so hang tight! Simply put, after everything is paid at the end of the month, I make about the same as a staff nurse. The difference is all in the experience, the challenge, and the excitement of traveling!
How far from home is considered a "travel assignment"?
This is another area that I wanted to address. Travel nurses get certain perks for a reason. They leave their homes and families to work in an area that needs help. However, I have worked with nurses who have lived in the same city or neighboring cities to a hospital and still collected tax-free stipends, which is not allowed. However, there is a bit of a gray area when it comes to how far away from your home address a hospital would have to be to be considered "travel". The consensus I have found has been that if the hospital is not within a reasonable commute of your home address and requires you to incur additional housing expenses, it can be considered travel. This would then allow you to collect a tax-free stipend.
How do you get an assignment?
When you are ready to start traveling, you first need to complete a profile with a travel nursing agency. I work with several agencies to make sure that I am comparing pay and getting the best rate before submitting to an assignment. For the past two assignment I have been with the same agency because I feel like they work the hardest for me.
For my first assignment, I told my recruiter that I wanted to be within an hour of the San Francisco Bay area. I was planning to go with my husband while he was on clinical rotation, so it wouldn't have made sense for me to leave my job unless I got an assignment I was happy with. The first assignment is always the most difficult, but after about 2 months of searching, I finally landed an assignment near my husband.
The second time around was much easier. I told my recruiter the areas I was interested in and submitted to positions in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Minneapolis. The job that I accepted in Minneapolis was actually one that I found through another agency. Even though I found the assignment on my own, I wanted to continue to work with my agency. I ended up calling my recruiter and asking them about the job. They contacted the hospital, got me the job, and a better pay rate than the other agency was offering! Not a bad deal at all.
Basically, as long as there are needs, you can go anywhere as a travel nurse. There are seasons where the market is slower, and areas of the country that are difficult to find an assignment in. Finding an assignment requires keeping an open mind and a bit of flexibility. Sometimes the places you thought you'd never go, you end up loving!
What other questions do you have about travel nursing? Let me know by visiting the contact page or sliding into my DMs on Instagram @oceansandevergreens . I would love to hear from you!