Information on Travel Nursing
Travel nursing is a form of nursing employment in which registered nurses, working through an agency, select short-term job assignments at hospitals, usually in a different state. It is essentially a "temp agency" for nurses, though some nurses choose to make their careers as traveling nurses, moving from one assignment to the next. The assignments could be as short as two weeks, to help out during training, or 13 weeks, to cover a maternity leave. Travel nursing companies provide competitive pay, free furnished housing, continuing education, full health benefits and other support to nurses.
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Requirements
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Most travel nursing agencies require that prospective travel nurses are licensed RNs in the United States with at least two (but sometimes a minimum of five) years of hospital experience. To be a nurse in certain specialties, additional experience in those fields of at least 12-18 months may be required. These minimums vary by agency and by particular assignment.
Aside from job experience, a nurse who wants to become a travel nurse should be willing to move to different parts of the country, open to new experiences, able to meet new people, have excellent clinical skills and be able to jump into new situations easily and quickly.
Benefits
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One of the main benefits of travel nursing, as opposed to any other type of nursing, is free housing. A traveling nurse usually can expect to live in a fully furnished one-bedroom apartment or studio or share a two-bedroom, two-bath condo or apartment with another traveling nurse, free. Utilities are usually included. Traveling nurses who want to travel to assignments with their families can make their own housing arrangements and receive a housing stipend.
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Pay
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Travel nurses usually receive up to $40 an hour (in addition to the free housing/stipend) and are eligible for overtime. Some traveling nurse agencies guarantee pay, meaning a nurse will be paid for a minimum number of hours even if shifts are cut due to low patient census. Other opportunities to earn money are through referral bonuses (typically paid after the referred nurse completes one assignment), sign-on and completion bonuses for assignments, and other compensation such as loyalty bonuses.
Logistics
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Being a traveling nurse can pose some logistical challenges. A good traveling nurse agency will have support staff to help nurses with transitions. Some time-saving programs include direct deposit (so it's not necessary to change banks), mail forwarding, 401k and continuing education classes to keep certifications current. Since some states have different licensure requirements, agencies help nurses who are approved for assignments get the necessary credentials to work in that state.
Application process
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Applications can be made to individual traveling nurse agencies, or to a clearinghouse such as TravelNursing.com, which feeds applicants to all the main agencies using one application. A nurse speaks to a recruiter and discusses preferences such as specialty, location, size of hospital and length of assignment. The recruiter returns a list of assignments the nurse is eligible for, and after interviewing directly with the candidate, hospitals extend employment offers that the nurse can accept or reject. After an assignment ends, the nurse may have the opportunity to extend the assignment, choose a different assignment or take a break from traveling.
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References
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