What I Learned Working as a Travel Nurse

Ok so, Travel nursing.

Three months ago, I was like any other nurse out there that thought travel nursing was cool, but honestly had little factual knowledge about it. I still have much to learn but wanted to share my experience thus far. Ill structure this by summarizing my experience while throwing in some DO's and DON’T’s I learned during my assignment.

Overall, I can say that I am a fan of this travel nursing thing, my travel contract has been one of the DOPEST experiences of my life-I use this verbiage because it’s appropriate.

Travel Nursing during a Pandemic

Let me underline the fact that I did this during the coronavirus pandemic. The current rates of pay are basically doubling what they were pre-pandemic. Let me say that again, DOUBLING what they were previously, and we’ve always heard travel nursing can be lucrative. Because of that, I say DO it now rather than later. The average number of job sites is also twice what it was pre-pandemic.

I was worried, thinking I would be on the front lines of some crazy understaffed hospital during this pandemic. I came to a massive hospital though, on the east coast and I can say the work is very doable, the assignments (in my opinion) were no more difficult than what I was used to.

What travel agencies are like

First, understand they aren’t like your old nursing manager from your full-time job. There are no quarterly reviews about your progress while getting to know you well as an individual. Although I agree some degree of altruism should accompany their agenda, they are businesses that generally do not have long relations with their employees.

So, DO take your time finding a good agency, but DON'T expect the support you had from your old nursing manager, it's just a different thing.

-Overall I think they are very similar to car salesman

I’m from Ohio and my travel agency is in Florida, I’ve never met a single person from my agency but they were the most professional of the three agencies I dealt with. I had all three agencies pitch me on the same jobs, they throw out a bunch of cities basically, then you have a brief interview with those site managers. The agency I went with did not offer me the highest pay, but they were the most professional. Their documentation was clear, concise, and they did inform me well in comparison to the others.

Location

When I first decided to do this, I was heavily quarantined mid pandemic and wanted somewhere tropical to go and blow off steam. I realized some of the colder cities had better pay rates. I instead ended up going to a city in New England in the middle of winter, it was stupid cold and snowed the entire time. I have had an EPIC time here so far, even during a pandemic I have had some of the best 3 months of my life.

So, DON’T be afraid to go somewhere that is not tropical, the pay might even be better. This cold and seemingly boring city has one of the DOPEST food scenes I have ever seen. I would have missing that had I chose a tropical location. I had never been to this city before and the process of learning a new city has made this assignment so much more fun.

Extensions and Negotiations

I got a good deal for coming out here. But when I got here, I learned some of the travelers had rates that were a bit sweeter than mine, some a lot more. I made this realization with another traveler and we were both a bit angry hearing the news. The other gentleman was so angry he jumped ship with his current agency and resigned at another agency for higher pay.

I chose a different plan of attack. I worked a full month knowing I was not the highest-paid traveler, learned the institution as best I could, and made sure my name made it to management. A month into it, my agency rep called me and asked how I was doing. This is when I chose to renegotiate. They didn't budge at first, but it eventually worked (this was an all-day process with multiple phone calls, literally like dealing with a car salesman) and my already good pay rate got better.

DO attempt to renegotiate your contract during the assignment. It seems like a regular part of the process. But DON’T be unprofessional or hasty about it. I believe the way I did it helped my agency and I bond and think it’s important that both sides (traveler and agency) act that way so we can set the tone for future travelers.

Contrarily I have heard of some unbelievably bad agencies out there. So, DO take from this story that jumping ship is possible and finding another agency mid-contract at that same site is also possible. I also extended with my agency for an extra month and that helped to sweeten the deal.. I actually extended twice and I was recently even offered a full-time position at the site after my extension ends. DO attempt to extend if you like the site, you could use it to leverage a raise.

DON’T forget to discuss sick time, pick-up rates, and other benefits in the contact. My agency does do 403 contributions also and I hear some agencies don’t offer that. My insurance which I expected to be terrible isn’t half bad either and I got a good bonus for referring a friend.

Where to live during your contract

After looking out air B & Bs, apartments etc. I chose an extended stay at a local hotel. It was actually cheaper and a super cool experience-like when a homeless guy broke in and violently ransacked the lobby. My hotel gave me free WIFI, parking, and breakfast every morning. I LOVE to cook, and at this point who knows if I even can anymore but living without a kitchen was a worthy sacrifice. So, DO realize this third option in larger cities.

Now this and a few other reasons are why I say DO consider choosing a larger city with a larger hospital. Housing options are plentiful and being downtown I didn’t even need my car. I keep hearing stories about rural contracts at smaller hospitals being canceled. The smaller hospitals have a more dynamic needs and the census can fluctuate abruptly. Being at a larger hospital lots of other travelers are here who I get a ton of feedback and advice from. I can tell from the constant influx of new travelers my contract is not going to get canceled anytime soon. DON’T forget contracts can get canceled!

Few more things here guys

This isn’t your regular job where you get a month of orientation and a skills checklist before starting. I was put on my own after one day of orientation, I actually still have no idea where the emergency department is in this place. DON’T underestimate how much the first few weeks might really suck.

Nursing can be a gossip factory at times, DON’T give into the trash-talking of the facility the other travelers ARE going to do at times. You are there to help and don’t forget that. I could not hold back my comments when I learned I could not do things like mix phenylephrine or pull central lines. I regret that now because being taken out of your element is part of the process. You are going to hear things that make you want to say, “you’re joking right”? DON’T, create a constructive, not destructive culture. DO respect them because trust me you will learn that every facility has some great qualities about it.

In summary, I highly recommend travel nursing. This is my first and probably only travel contract as I do miss the regularity of a full-time location, my home in Akron, Ohio, and many work wives. I hope I was able to help someone out there with my story.

please comment below id love to hear your thoughts!