I'm currently in nursing school at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, FL. I am interested in travel nursing and was wondering if anyone had any insights, opinions, experiences (good and bad), and any basic info about it. Thanks!
Nathalie
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November 27th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
I agree, I have been thinking about travel nursing in the future, I heard that it has great benefits and you have to be ready to pack up and go for various amounts of time… some can be 6 months, some can be a few weeks. I am interested in hearing some responses and hoping for some insight as well!
Angela.
December 30th, 2007 at 10:37 pm
I guess it depends if you want to travel within your own country, or overseas. I know in Australia, if you go from Queensland to say Victoria, you have to register in Victoria. Not sure how it works for like working holidays though. I want to go and do a working holiday in Canada, and it takes a while to get your registration and all immigration stuff done.
January 1st, 2008 at 11:14 am
I moved from UK to Australia. Most westernised countries have reciprocal recognition for nursing qualifications but your best place to visit would be the nursing, immigration and local health authority website.
I actually found it easier to enter using an agency as they were geared up to do the immigration/visa stuff for me mostly. I just had to complete the paperwork.
It also depends on what you want to travel for. If it’s just for the travel, then it’s usually easy to find a place you might like to go. If it’s for the money then you will probably be better in somewhere like Saudi/Dubai. If it’s for the experience fo nursing in other countries – be prepared; it can be a huge shock to move from one organisational culture to another. Tho the principles remain the same; organisational attitudes and government policies can make a huge difference to your experience.
January 1st, 2008 at 5:13 pm
I am a nursing student in Indiana and met a travel nurse in a coffee shop once. She told me that she loves it and the benefits/pay is great. She also gets a several-thousand dollar bonus for referring people (which is probably why she approached me). She explained that she works in the Indianapolis area and only has to travel about 1 hour to/from work. She said that her contracts range from 1 week to several months, but that if at any point during her contract she does not like the hospital or unit, she can leave penalty-free. It sounded nice to me, but I think that for me personally I would do better starting out for a few years at one hospital. Hope this helps!
January 2nd, 2008 at 9:11 pm
I also am a nursing student getting ready to graduate this year and have done a lot of research on the topic as I plan to travel. Most agencies require a minimum of one year experience. And there is also the licensing that must be acquired if you plan to practice in a state outside of the state you are licensed in. (But must agencies that I have looked at have recruiters that specialize in helping that process).
My advice as an experienced certified nursing assistant that has “traveled” locally to different facilities with an agency is to get at least one year of experience under your belt. Most hospitals give a standard 30-90 day orientation to new nurses, when you travel you will be lucky to get 2-3 days. You definitely need some experience, skills and confidence in your practice to walk into a new facility. The benefits are definitely amazing, great pay, travel, 6-13 week assignments, day 1 insurance, 401K, educational opportunities, housing, etc., etc.
There are “tons” of agencies and web sites out there–just “google” travel nursing and do a little research first.
Best of luck in your schooling, and maybe I will met you “out there” on the road in the future!
January 8th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
Im a travel nurse. I have been doing it exclusivly for a couple of years. Sure the money is good but if you do it to go to cool places, the hot spots dont always pay. You definitly want to have STRONG skills. Do you mind being pulled? Do you make friends easily? I have worked places where no one spoke to me for a week. Then it was like pulling teeth in the beginning to get help. Granted there were labor issues at that hospital and people did come around. Definitly cultivate a friendship with an experienced traveler. Some of the companies will take advantage of you too.
January 16th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
Thanks this all helps so much!
January 17th, 2008 at 3:17 am
Definately get a few years experience behind you. They wont put you with the hard patients which is good..well agency nurses here in Australia dont get the hard patients.
February 20th, 2008 at 10:37 am
Thanks for the info Elizabeth. I have been considering travel nursing for quite a while and just can’t seem to find the right pay. I have received many offers for less than what I am making now. Only if it is to my financial gain will I do it. How do I maximize the money? Perhaps I need to consider why I want to travel nurse. Money? Experience? Travel? I certianlly have the skills, knowledge and experience to do well at travel nursing.
July 16th, 2008 at 3:08 am
Lance, once of the biggest advantages of travel nursing is the tax savings. The IRS allows employees who travel large tax savings through per diem. Google IRS, travel per diem and you can read all about it. You need a home base to which you can show you go home to between assignments (on paper atleast) with a driver’s license, voter registration, and you need to have that be your address for your state license(s) board of nursing. I will be using my mom’s home in AZ. Now I will get to visit her every 13 weeks! And you must pay state taxes for each state in which you work, but your agency, if it is a good one, will give you your per diem pay pre-tax so your gross taxable income will be much lower for tax purposes. Find a great tax accountant; you’ll need one. Arizona is a compact state, which means that being licensed and having a home base there allows me to work in 22 states without getting a license for each. Google nursing compact states for more info. It is a wonderful thing. I also have a license for two non-compact states and my soon-to-be agency reimburses the cost of getting any additional state licenses. As said before here, be very careful about the agency you choose. There are around 400 out there now. I would pick one to start with that is referred to you by a nurse who currently is or has traveled with them. They aren’t all honest, but some are great. I’d stay away from the flashy ones with costly websites that make outrageous claims; someone has to pay for all that recruitment. Some make you live with a roommate, but mine doesn’t. I’ve heard stories of substandard housing in crime ridden areas for some of these flashy agencies. Or party apartment buildings which is good if like that, but bad if you don’t. Mine offers a choice between their housing or finding a place on your own while they provide several thousand $ per month tax free to pay for housing (all IRS approved…see the IRS site.) Some agencies essentially make you a registry nurse in a location, so you never know if you are going to work each day or not. And you might have to drive some distance to get to your daily assignment. Mine will give me a set 13-week assignment on one unit in one hospital, and if the staff likes me and I like them it can often be extended, or I could even take a permanent position with them. Some agencies demand that you drive to the location even if it across the country. Mine pays to fly the traveler there and then back home afterwards, and provides a free rental car for the whole time assignment. So my research shows that it can be very good, or with the wrong agency it can be a bad experience. But with 400 to choose from and no obligation with any of them, go for it. And you do need atleast one year acute care experience to travel; trust me, you have to have solid skills and be autonomous. Plus you need a friendly personality. Another bonus, you are actually encouraged to have a small pet such as a cat or small dog who travels with you. They know that travelers are happier and stay with the agency longer with their loving pets along. Except for Hawaii that quarantines all incoming animals for 6 months, I don’t think there are travel restrictions for pets with other states. Please keep in mind that this is all based on my own research, and with talking with my classmate who has been working with this one agency. I don’t have personal experience yet, and I most definitely want input from any travelers out there so I will have a great travel career.
October 7th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Appendum to above posting: Anyone interested in travel nursing should get atleast two years experience before trying it. I ended up using two different agencies/recruiters to find me work. Both have been telling me that one year experience was enough, especially since I had worked at one of the top hospitals in the nation.
Reality: no assignments yet, so I have put in applications for permanent positions at a hospital in a city in which I would like to live. I still have my recruiters submitting me for travel assignments, but if I interview for and get a regular job first, I will take that.
Please tell everyone new to nursing who wants to travel: Get TWO years experience, atleast. Many travelers have a lot more experience, and they get the jobs. And keep your job while your recruiter(s) are submitting you for assignments; it might take a couple months to get a contract, even with two or more years experience.
And that experience must be in one area. Two years med/surg, or ICU, or ER, etc. Not one year med/surg, then transferring to the ICU for a year. Now you only have one year in each. If you transfer to a different specialty, then stay there for at least two years.
Unless, like me, you really need a long break from working and can afford it. That said, now watch me get my first assignment tomorrow (I doubt it.)
And watch out for Kaiser. They use Nursefinders for pre-interviews.
Kaiser seems to think they deserve only nurses with many years of experience who have done virtually every nursing intervention known to man on a regular basis, and will float EVERY shift (and work like a dog, and take the most patients.)
I hope this information about traveling and Kaiser helps some new grads out there. I wish someone had told me these things. I want your careers to be fabulous.