A traveling nurse travels around the United States filling temporary nursing positions. If you are a nurse and love to travel this may be the right career move for you. There is a high demand for traveling nurses in areas in which the population changes. These changes can be seasonal like the snowbirds going to Florida for the winter and then returning to there home state. They could be in high tourist towns during peak travel seasons. Whatever the case may be where the population fluctuates a traveling nurse is needed.

Although a traveling nurse, job can be for a period as short as 4 weeks or as long as 52 weeks, they generally fall within the 13 to 26 week period. Another scenario of a job that a traveling nurse might fill is when a full time nurse quits and a replacement has not been found. A scenario likes this could possible turn into a full time position for the traveling nurse if she is happy with the facility and they are happy with her performance.

There are something’s you need to consider before becoming a traveling nurse. These are the things that can make up your mind on whether being a traveling nurse is right for you. The jobs that you accept may take you away from your family for up to a year. Depending on how far away the job may be this could be a deciding factor. Generally, it is best if you do not have pets because it is possible that the housing provided for you will not accept them. You will have to be licensed in every state that you choose to work in. These are things that a good traveling nurse agency will help you work out. Jobs are often assigned months in advance to give time to prepare. They can happen in as little as two weeks from application to beginning your traveling nurse job.

Being a traveling nurse, you will be able to work in many different settings. For example there are Hospital and acute care facilities or surgery and out patient surgery centers for the normal hospital type settings. You could work with the elderly in nursing home and assisted living centers or with children in the school and camp nurse’s offices. Other traveling nurse positions can include doctors offices, correctional facilities, occupational health facilities, and clinics and labs. It is usually required that you have at least one year hospital experience when becoming a traveling nurse. This may vary from place to place.

If you are looking for a rewarding career that allows you to travel across the United States, then a career as a traveling nurse could be just what you are looking for. Look for agencies in your town or on the internet to help get you started on your journey of a traveling nurse. They will help place you in a job that is right for you and show you how to take care of the little details you may forget.

A travel nurse is a licensed nurse who typically works in a hospital for a few months at a time before moving onto a different hospital in a different part of the country.

Hospitals like to hire travel nurses and other traveling health professionals for a variety of reasons. Travel nurses can bring a variety of experience and knowledge that a hospital can benefit from. Lots of times, a travel nurse can act as a mentor for other nurses that have just completed their training and are not yet comfortable and/or confident with their new professional status. Medical facility’s that have just opened will often hire the services of a travel nurse until they are up and running smoothly. The new, inexperienced staff will be able to benefit from the travel nurse’s previous work experience. Most travel nurses enjoy the experience of traveling, meeting and working with new co-workers, and hope to gain a well rounded work experience that will serve them when they settle on working full time at a specific medical facility. Many travel nurses claim that the experience allows them to develop a better understanding of their chosen specialty. These same travel nurses also claim that their unique work experiences have helped reintroduce them to patient focused nursing.

Before they start working at a new hospital, a travel nurse has already established an agreement with the hospital. This agreement states what salary the nurse will be making while she is working for the hospital. Before traveling to the new hospital the nurse knows how much of their travel expenses will be paid for. They also know where they will be living while they are working at the medical facility.

Travel nurses generally enjoy a more lucrative salary then they would receive if they worked in a single location. The salary the travel nurse earns is generally based on the location they are working, typically a travel nurse will not earn as much working in a hospital in a rural community as they will earn working in a large inner city hospital. Some nurses prefer travel nursing to nursing in a single medical facility because they enjoy the opportunity to see the world and other cultures. Working in a constantly changing location challenges a travel nurses knowledge and talents. The skills that travel nurse develop on their journeys are skills that they will be able to utilized when they settle on a home base.

Travel nurses find employment through a travel nursing service. This service pairs nurses with medical facilities that are seeking a travel nurse. The travel nursing service typically has a long and happy relationship with hospitals, medical facilities, and medical professionals. The nursing service helps reach agreements between the medical facility’s and the travel nurse. The travel nursing service will also be able to help the travel nurse make sure that they have the proper licensing to work in the state they are about to be going to.

Before a nurse can become a travel nurse there are a few professional criteria that they must complete first.

For the most part the life of a travel nurse seems to be for nurse that are in the dawn of their careers before they relationships, families, and other responsibilities that force them to find permanent employment. The other time that many nurses become interested in an occupation as a travel nurse is towards the end of their careers, after their children move out of the house, leaving their parents free to pursue nomadic whims.

It happens, especially to the younger nurses, that they are working at a travel nurse assignment and find that they fall in love with the city they are in, they adore their co-workers, or they find the job so rewarding they want to keep it.

When a nurse finds an assignment that they don’t want to give up is consider the contract they signed with their nursing agency. If they signed a contract that has a time line it is going to be difficult to get out of the contract and accept a permanent working position. Nurses that have long term, binding contracts with an agency will probably find that they have to work as a travel nurse long enough to fulfill their contract. Once they have worked out the terms of their contract they can go back to the hospital or medical facility that they enjoyed so much and seek a permanent position.

Sometimes travel nurses will find out that the temporary position they are currently filling is just that, temporary. For whatever reason the job was created on a one time basis and no matter how badly the travel nurse may want it at a permanent position it just isn’t possible. When this happens the travel nurse has two options. They can decide if it is the hospital they like working at, or maybe they just really like the city, or perhaps they really click with their current batch of co-workers, or they feel that the job they are doing is tailor made for them (and it really might be). If they look at all their options and decide that it’s the hospital or their fellow nurses that appeal to them they can apply for a permanent position in the hospital. If the travel nurse decides that it isn’t necessarily the hospital, the staff, or the position that appeals to them they might want to consider looking for a hospital in a similar location.

If, after you have looked at all the options and decide that it really is the position that is making you consider exchanging your nomadic shoes for a more permanent pair, talk to your nursing agency, even if you have a long-term, binding contract, the agency will be able to keep and eye peeled and look for similar positions. If you are at a point in your life when you are able to accept a permanent position look at other hospitals across the country. Just because the hospital you were working at only offered the position on a temporary basis doesn’t mean that other hospitals wont have the position available on a permanent basis.

The main reason that younger travel nurses give up their careers as travel nurses in favor of more permanent positions because they are tired of traveling, they are ready to start a family, or other members of their family need them at home. When its time to find a permanent position keep an optimistic attitude, you’ll find the right position.

There are a lot of benefits to becoming a traveling nurse not to mention top pay in a very high demanding field. There is a huge demand in the nursing profession and travel nurses are placed in areas around the country to fill those vacancies.
A quick overview of all the benefits you may find when becoming a travel nurse is listed below. These benefits are just a few of the many rewarding benefits you will experience.

Travel:

As a traveling nurse you are reimbursed for all your travel expenses from moving to and from each assignment. Some agencies cover gas mileage while some will offer up to 650 for air travel expense. Most agencies have worked it in a way that your travel expensive is tax free.

Housing:

While on assignment your housing is paid for including your basic utilities. Private housing usually includes a one bedroom apartment close to your assignment that is full furnished. If your needs are greater then a 1 bedroom then you may have to pay a small portion towards your special housing needs. You can also choose to live in your own accommodations that you find yourself and will be given a housing allowance based on area of assignment. Some of the communities that travel nurses are placed in include gyms, pools, spas and clubhouses. You can even travel with your spouse, children or pets. Depending on your needs your agency will help you obtain the housing that you need to suit your lifestyle.

Retirement Plans:

Most agencies will offer you some kind of retirement plan, a 401K or something of that nature. You will want to see if the agency you work matches your contributions.

Medical, Dental and Eye Insurance:

Most of the top agencies will offer you medical, dental and eye insurance at no cost to you. Your dependent coverage will depend on the company and is usually available for a minimal fee. You are usually offered a choice of plans that you can choose from that will suit your lifestyle and needs.

Top Rate Pays:

As a traveling nurse you will be opened up to a higher pay level then if you where a non-travel nurse. As a traveling nurse you can obtain hourly pay up to $60.00 per hour depending on the assignment and the location of the assignment.

Sign on Bonuses:

Depending on the type of assignment available and the demand for the position to be filled some facilities will offer a sign on bonus. A sign on bonus can range anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a couple thousand dollars easy. Some agencies will even offer you a sign on bonus to sign on with their agencies. As the needs in the nursing field grow more agencies are looking to fill positions.

Completion Bonus:

Although not as common as the sign on bonuses some agencies will offer a completion bonus for when you complete an assignment.

Referral Bonus:

Some agencies also offer their employees a referral bonus when they have someone sign up with the agency and say that their employee referred them to the agency. Sign on bonuses can range from a hundred to a thousand dollars. Some agencies have even offered more for their referral bonuses.

When you were going to school to become a nurse you were probably told several times that each individual state requires its very own license in order for an individual to practice medicine. You are probably already licensed to nurse in the state where you became accredited, that is probably the same state that you plan on working as a nurse. However if you are a travel nurse you don’t know what state you should be licensed in.

Each state has its own set of policies and laws when it comes to travel nurses. Some states have a grace period, a period of time that a nurse can work in the state without a medical license, provided they are certified nurses in some state. In some states this grace period is a mere thirty day, in other states it can be ninety days. It varies from state to state. Some states will even award a temporary nursing license for the duration of the job.

Before accepting a job, do your homework, a quick Internet search is a quick and efficient way learn what the state you are considering working in requires in the way of licensing. After reading decide if you are qualified to work in the state. If you aren’t qualified decide how big a hassle will it be to become qualified and then decide if the job is worth the hassle.

The nice thing about being a travel nurse is that you work through a travel nursing agency. The agency typically helps match jobs to your personality, provides you with a travel and housing allowance, makes sure you paychecks arrive in an orderly fashion, and makes sure you are qualified for each and every position you take.

The people who are in charge of your travel nursing agency know each individual states requirements for practicing medicine within their state lines. They know if you can work in the state for a certain amount of time without a license and they know if you have to get a license before you start working. Best of all they know the names and phone numbers of the people to contact if you aren’t yet qualified to work as a nurse in a particular state. The people who run your travel nursing agency know how to get a license for a state in and efficient and expedient fashion. They can make the whole process painless. The people who are in charge of the nursing agency should know, maybe even faster then you will, what you need to accept a job.

If the agency tells you that you have to get a license in order to practice medicine in a certain state, find out how much getting the license will cost and know who pays the fee, you or your agency.

After being granted permission to work in a state find out how long you can legally practice medicine in the state. This information is especially important if you are working on a grace period. You don’t want to get arrested for practicing medicine without a license because you spent a few extra days working.

If you had to become licensed before you were allowed to practice medicine, find out how long the license is good for. This could be useful information when you decide its time to hang up your traveling shoes and become a permanent nurse.

Working as a travel nurse can be a fun career that is filled with new faces and exciting adventures. Working as a travel nurse can also be a very lonely profession.

Travel nurses are nurses who make a living traveling from hospital to medical facility, moving from state to state. Traveling nurses temporarily fill positions at hospitals and medical facilities for a short period of time. Typically travel nurses work at an assignment for three to six months before they move onto another position. If a travel nurse works several back to back assignments if can be years before they get back to their home town to spend quality time with family and friends.

One way to alleviate the loneliness is to work tandem with a friend. Two nursing friends, often a pair who went through nursing school together, joins a agency that specializes in finding positions for travel nurses at the same time. Once their applications have been accepted at the agency the two friends scan the agency’s available jobs and find two assignments available at the same hospital or medical facility. If they are unable to find jobs in the same facility the friends might be able to find assignments in the same town.

Travel nurses that work in pairs know that when they leave on a new assignment that they will see at least on friendly face when they get to a new town in a new state. When they start their new job they know that there will be at least one person who is willing to listen to them complain or rejoice about their new co-workers. Travel nurses who work together are able to offer each other a shoulder to cry on when everything seems to go wrong.

A benefit to friends working together as travel nurses is the ability to share travel expenses. Most travel nurses shun flying, preferring to drive from a completed assignment to their new assignment. Driving from assignment to assignment means that travel nurses came save the expense of renting a car. Friends that are both travel nurses can drive together to the new assignment can split the cost of gas and share hotel rooms.

Friends who work together as travel nurse can also save money by sharing living expenses. Not only can the friends split the cost of the monthly rent, the pair can also split the utilities and the cost of groceries. When you are going to be living together tell your nursing agency and let them know that you will be sharing the housing, this could mean that the agency looks for a bigger space. If you are going to be rooming together remember that the apartments nursing agencies generally find for their travel nurses are small. Be prepared for tight living quarters. The space becomes even tighter if one of you has a pet.

Having a friend with you will give you someone to go out with while you are in an unfamiliar city. The experiences you share will strengthen the bonds of your friendship.

Some nursing agencies report that they have had a great deal of success with spouses who work and travel together as travel nurses.

There are numerous perks to being a travel nurse. You get to see the many different and varied parts of the country, you tend to enjoy a larger salary then your stay at home contemporaries, if you can’t stand your co-workers you at least have the knowledge that you’ll only have to deal with them for a short period of time before you can move onto a whole new set of co-workers. Most travel nurses have great dental and health plans. You are constantly expanding on your working educations. You get to work with a wide variety of patients. Your traveling expenses are usually paid either by your travel nursing agency or your temporary employer. You seldom have to worry about finding a new home. You are making new friends all over the country. In some cases if you and your best friend are both travel nurses you can work side by side with a familiar face. The benefits are lucrative. You are probably part of a great reward program. Your temporary housing is fully furnished.

The down side to travel nursing is if you are a pet lover. The lifestyle of a travel nurse is not well suited for keeping a pet of your own.

One of the big reasons you will probably have to find a new home for your dog and/or cat is all the traveling you will be doing. It is difficult and stressful for a dog or cat to be constantly moving from one part of the country to the next. Some pets are more adaptable then others. if your pet has a difficult time dealing with change, dragging it along on your cross country journeys could potentially shorten its life.

Consider the expense of traveling with your pet. The travel nursing agency typically makes sure that your travel expenses are paid for but that doesn’t mean that they will be willing to pay your pet’s travel expenses. More then likely your dog or cat’s plane ticket will come out of your pocket.

Travel nurses are generally provided with fully furnished housing that is close to the hospital or medical office that they are going to be working in. This housing is normally in the form of a hotel room or a short rent apartment. On the average this type of housing does not allow pets because pets shred curtains, chew on furniture, ruin carpets, and expose other tenets to allergens. If you insist on taking your pet along, you might find that you are going to have to find your very own housing, housing that will allow you to keep a pet.

Pets, especially dogs, require a lot of your attention. This is especially true after you have transplanted them from the home they know into a home in a different part of the world. You will probably be working long hours. Do you really want to have to take your dog for a walk and play with it when you finally get home.

If you decide that your new lifestyle is not fair to your pet, talk to your friends and family, find out if someone is willing to take your beloved pet into their own home provided that you pay their expenses. This will give you piece of mind knowing that your pet is in good hands while you are away from home, and will let you see them when you return home between jobs.

Travel nursing is nursing that allows a nurse to work for a few months in one hospital before moving on to another hospital that is in a different part of the country. Hospitals and medical facility’s use travel nurses because they feel that they can benefit from the travel nurses expertise, to help get a new facility up and running, and to act as a mentor for a novice staff. But why would anybody become a travel nurse.

A huge reason nurses pursue travel nursing careers is the money. Travel nurses make significantly more money per hour then their contemporaries who work in just one hospital. Travel nurses do not get paid directly by the hospital they are working for. Typically the travel nursing agency collects and hands out the travel nurses salary.

Travel nurses love traveling. Through their jobs they can not only visit different parts of the country they can actually live and work in various parts of the country. They get to see how medical services differ from one part of the country to the next.

Travel nurses know that if and when they meet a co-worker that they don’t get along with, they know that it isn’t a big deal. They will only have to deal with them for a few months and then they will be moving onto a different location.

Travel nurses make lots and lots of new friends all over the county.

The average travel nurse enjoys excellent medical and dental benefits. In most situations agencies that specialize in travel nurses offer these medical and dental benefits to lure travel nurses to their agency. Some nursing agencies also have 401K plans.

Working as a travel nurse is an excellent way to build a fantastic resume. The things a nurse learns during their experience as a travel nurse will go a long way to obtaining a successful job in a home hospital when the nurse is ready to cease their nomadic ways. The people you meet working as a travel nurse will be valuable references, before completing a work assignment make sure you keep a record of names and phone numbers that you can use as references when you are ready to find a permanent nursing position.

Some travel nursing agencies offer their nurses an additional way to make some extra money by offering a bonus each time the nurse makes a successful referral. Because the travel nurse is constantly working at hospitals and medical facility’s that are full of brand new nurses the opportunity to encourage referrals is endless. Some agency’s also offer their travel nurses a completion bonus when a job has been finished.

Some times friends who have gone through nursing school together decide that travel nursing is something they can do together. Working in tandem means that the travel nurse always see familiar face no matter where they go.

Some travel nurses enjoy the experience of working in various parts of the country they decide to further their traveling careers by offering to work at missionaries and hospitals all over the world.

As a traveling nurse you will need to be able to adapt to your surroundings quickly. Since s/he will be traveling to new areas and dealing with different jobs on each assignment the traveling nurse accepts this is one very important draw backs to the job if you are not able to adapt quickly.

Since nursing deals a lot with interaction to patients and your co-workers if you are a shy person then meeting new people constantly may also be a drawback. If you take a long time to build a good working interaction with your co-workers becoming a traveling nurse may be a drawback.

As a traveling nurse you need to be able to adjust to out of the ordinary situations and the unexpected. If you like and are more comfortable in surroundings that you know and are familiar with then a career as a traveling nurse may not be the wise choice for you as you are constantly changing your surroundings. When you travel things can go wrong, no mater how much you have planned no matter how much detail you have put into your plans the unexpected will happen. If you are uncomfortable dealing with problems that can arise during travels then you may want to look into a more contemporary nursing job. If you love the security of home life a traveling nurse moves around a lot and their home is in various parts of the country while they are employed by different assignments.

If you are the type of person who likes to be close to their family and can not deal with being away from their family for long periods of times then you need to be aware that a traveling nurse can be gone for roughly 6 week periods of time to much longer. A typical assignment lasts from 6 weeks on up to 52 weeks. The one plus to this is that you can choose your assignments and choose the places you are willing to relocate so if you wish to only go a matter of a few hours away or 2 days away the choice is yours to accept an assignment or not.

Another draw back is that you are on call usually 24 hours a day because you are living on site, or if you are on a cruise ship assignment your services will be rendered as needed. For people who wish to work a set schedule this can sometimes be upsetting to them mentally and physically.

There is sometimes even co-worker resentment to deal with. When a co-worker finds out you are a traveling nurse they know you are being paid higher for the same work that they are doing. This sometimes leads to resentment awkward working situations. The best way to deal with situations like this is to be pleasant and helpful and to understand that you are there to do a job. A lot of times it will even have a non traveling nurse look into becoming a traveling nurse.
Lastly one of biggest drawbacks is dealing with two employers.

The agency you work for and the facility that hired the agency to place a nurse in their employ. Sometimes the provisions in your contract with your agency will conflict with the regulations that the facility is trying to have you work.

If you love being a nurse and love to travel then a career as a traveling nurse may be exactly what you are looking for. Being a traveling nurse has many benefits. You are able to travel around the United States instead of being stuck in just one place. The jobs can last from just a few weeks to a year, with most lasting between thirteen and twenty six weeks.

Traveling nurses are some of the best-paid nurses in the country. These are just some benefits that may be available to you exact benefits will vary depending on the traveling nurse agency that you choose. Generally, the pay can range from $21 to $48 an hour this is based on your skill level and the location of the assignment. Agencies often offer sign on bonuses and completion bonuses as well. Some even offer bonuses when you renew your contract for at least 13 weeks. There are loyalty bonuses available at some agencies that offer different monetary bonuses, housing upgrades, paid vacations, and more. Referral bonuses are often offered for nurse that you refer to agencies.

With health benefits being the huge issue they are today, many traveling nurse agencies offer wonder benefit packages. Most have fully paid medical insurance with the options to add your family at your expense. They also can have many add ons such as Life insurance, vision and dental insurance, disability insurance-both long and short term, and accident coverage insurance.
Many offer retirement plans such as the 401K after just a month of service with them. Some offer roadside assistance packages such as AAA. Most offer continuing education reimbursement as well.

Traveling is a benefit of being a traveling nurse. It often is not considered a benefit because it is part of the job, but to many it is a benefit. A job as a traveling nurse allows you to work in new areas. Often times these are areas that you normally would not consider for a vacation because they are not high tourist areas. You can see places across the United States as you work.

There are many benefits, rewards, and bonuses available to those who decide to become a traveling nurse. The amenities seem to be endless as there is a high demand for nurses who are able to travel for their jobs. These traveling nurse jobs can take you away from your family, pets, and loved ones so a hard consideration into whether the job is right for you is necessary before committing. It is also important to investigate the agencies that you are thinking of signing up with. Ask the agencies to speak with some of the traveling nurses that are already a part of their company. Search the internet to see what others say about the agencies.

Becoming a traveling nurse is beneficial to many nurses that have worked the same job for years. They are often burnt out on the same thing day after day and looking for a change. A traveling nurse job could be the change that you are looking for.