Travel Nursing 101

So you’re thinking about travel nursing.  Our first piece of advice, take the risk and DO IT.  

As we come to the end of our first travel nursing assignment, we’ve compiled a must know list before you start your travel nursing adventure.  We are still learning as we go, but wanted to share what we’ve learned thus far!

Companies/Recruiters:

Depending on what your nursing specialty is and where you’d like to travel in the U.S., should direct you to a company best suited for you.  The first thing we’ve realized is work with a few of them. They all receive different job offers and pay packages. The more you work with, the more jobs you are presented with, so you can find a job that fits your wants and needs best!  Our first company we worked with was MSSI, simply because they had the job in Minneapolis/St. Paul that we wanted. Our recruiter, Rick, was very responsive and easy to work with, I would definitely work with him again. Because MSSI does not have pediatric jobs in many other states readily available, we also started working with a recruiter with Fusion.  Jess, has also been really responsive and sends us jobs that fit our wants and needs. We have attempted to contact some other companies whose recruiters are not quite as responsive or quick, so we have opted out of taking an assignment with them. It is extremely important to have a good working relationship with your recruiter and someone who will act fast for you as jobs are coming and going every day!  We haven’t heard too many bad things about any company, but be sure to do your research because some definitely pay better than others. Recruiters can be annoying and call at inconvenient times, but if you have a good working relationship with them, tell them your preferred method of contact and times and they are usually willing to work with you!

Taxes:

Easily the most confusing part of travel nursing.  As I am not an accountant, I do not feel I should be giving out tax advice, but I do recommend doing A LOT of research about how to do your taxes and tax home the right way, just in case you would be that traveler that gets audited.  You don’t want to owe the government a lot of money back on your tax free stipends. Either find an accountant you know, or visit traveltax.com blog to find out more information.

Licensing:

Do your research on what states you’d like to travel to and the licensing process.  Some states take quite a while to get a license in and others require transcripts, fingerprints, tests, etc.  (We're looking at you Illinois!) Some jobs allow you to apply without a license and then obtain it after, where others want you to have a license, so look into where you are wanting to apply ahead of time.  Have a few licenses available, as job availability changes all the time. For instance, we have both Minnesota and Wisconsin licenses, luckily, Wisconsin is apart of the compact, meaning we can travel to ~25 other states with that license.  However, getting our Illinois license was a production and required transcripts, travel to Illinois for fingerprints and a lengthy wait time. You’ll also find California takes a very long time to get a license and it is very expensive. It's not a bad idea to get a California license before you start traveling as there are always jobs in California, even during the not so busy summer Peds season.

Paperwork:

Travel nursing comes with a lot of paperwork.  Get yourself organized however works for you. Keep track of license expiration dates, trainings, certifications, etc as every job you apply to needs record of it.  I created a binder and printed out everything so I had it in hand, but I also have it saved in my Google Drive, so it is accessible to me always. You'll also find that you'll need to be scanning and sending a lot of documents, I have found the Genius Scan app to be super helpful.

Health care and insurance:  

All companies do insurance and benefits differently, so check with your company on how to do it.  Luckily, you can fill gaps between assignments by paying your premium with Cobra, if needed. It doesn’t sound fun, but it doesn’t make a big difference with the extra money you’ve earned during your contract.  Not all companies offer 401Ks or other benefits your previous employer might have, so it is important to take into consideration your personal needs and set up some of those things independently.

Housing:

Tax free stipends are the way you make the majority of your money as a traveler.  Your company can find you housing, but that eliminates your stipends, so I would recommend finding your own housing if at all possible.  We used AirBnB and requested a discounted monthly rate and have been so happy with our furnished duplex. We’ve also looked into Craigslist and Furnished Finder.  The city you are headed to will determine which website is used more readily. We have also found Facebook groups helpful, in both finding jobs and housing. The groups are listed in the resource section.  

Interviewing:

So far, the interviews I’ve been apart of are very informal.  They ask you a lot of questions about your experience to see if you’d be a good fit, and you also have time to ask them questions to see if they’d be a good fit for you.  Here are a few thing we like to consider before taking an assignment during the interview process--

Questions to ask during interviews: Call/weekends?

Shift length?

Floating?

Cancellation policy/pay?

How do you schedule?

Testing required?

Charting?

Scrubs?

Unit size/population?

Patient ratios?

Float requirements?

Use travelers?

Orientation length/content?

Pumps?

Parking?

Teaching hospital?

Contracts:

So you have a job offer!  Be sure to review your contract thoroughly and ask your recruiter questions when you do not understand.  Every contract is different and each place has different cancellation policies, so be sure to read it thoroughly and be sure you understand how much money you will be making and what will be deducted from your pay if you are cancelled, sick or leave voluntarily.  

After the offer:

There is usually quite a bit of paperwork to get done, so just sit down and do it!  Make it easy on your recruiter and get it done in a timely fashion. I found it super overwhelming, but got it done in a day after finally sitting down and making a checklist.  Keep all of your records saved, as you will likely need all the same things for a future assignment. Be sure to review medical needs and drug testing for your job. They sometimes require you to come a week early to do some lab work, fingerprinting, etc, depending on your hospital.  

Before you leave:

Declutter, get rid of stuff and only pack the necessities!  It’s really liberating getting rid of all the extras and realizing you actually don’t need that much stuff.  Be sure you make a bucket list for the city/area you will be in and check things off throughout your assignment.  The 13 weeks fly by faster than you’d anticipate!

During your assignment:

Don’t be that annoying outsider that compares every other place you’ve been to to their facility.  Go in with an open mind. Be willing to learn quick and ask questions. And enjoy!

Resources:

Travel Tax

Furnished Finder

Airbnb

Craigslist

Facebook groups: Pediatric Travel Nurses, Travel Nurse Housing- The Gypsy Nurse, Travel Nurse Jobs- The Gypsy Nurse, Traveling Nurse Housing.  There are also assorted groups for different cities as well.

Apps: Genius Scan+ (great scanning app to send documents to your recruiters)

Cheers and happy traveling! Travel Nurses Steph and Taylor