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Adventures in Travel Nursing

At the end of a long shift one cold, dark Ohio evening, Robin Thomas suddenly decided she wanted to leave town for someplace more exciting. So she called up travel-nurse placement agencies, got her paperwork in order, and spent the next five years exploring the country, one city at a time.

Leann Harper, on the other hand, had always planned to travel. As a Canadian, she saw travel nursing as the ideal way to explore the United States and get paid at the same time. After gaining her initial few years of experience in a local hospital, she interviewed agencies and began her adventure. Short-term assignments allowed her to check out as many states as she wanted and to experience care techniques at a variety of facilities.

"Travel nursing suits so many different lifestyles," says Julee R. Bolg, RN, MS, MBA; director of Standards and Quality Improvement for Cross Country TravCorps. "Our travel nurses range from young professionals looking for a little adventure to retired staff who want to see the country now that the children have left home. Others are checking out new locations or spending summer vacations with their families in unique places."

These days, nurses who travel have a wide range of placement choices, benefits, and job opportunities from which to choose. In fact, because of the current worker shortage, hospitals in all parts of the country are relying on travel nurses to fill part of their staffing plan.

And as a result of the increasing number of openings, travel nurses are well compensated for their work. The hourly rate depends on a number of factors, including geographical region and experience, but travel nurses can expect to earn anywhere from high-$20s to mid-$30s per hour. In addition, they generally are provided with free housing or a housing subsidy, as well as a full benefits package that includes healthcare, life and dental insurance, and a retirement program. Also, many agencies offer long-term incentives so the longer you work with them, the better the benefits become. Nurses can work their way up to private housing, get generous completion and referral bonuses, and be reimbursed for continuing education and licensing requirements.

While opportunities abound, travel nurses must have some basic requirements before they head out on the road. Agencies require a professional RN license, at least one recent year of acute-care experience, good references, and specialty certifications.

It also helps to have a little bit of a travel bug. Says Thomas, "Once you do it, it gets in your blood. I left on a whim and stayed for five years."

"The best travelers," adds Bolg, "are those [who] are flexible and love to be challenged. You need to be willing to jump in and get your feet wet quickly."

That's because the typical assignment is about 13 weeks, and many who travel will live in several cities each year. (Talk to your accountant to be sure you understand any effect this will have on your taxes.) Orientation may be quick, depending on the facility. In addition, hospitals often float travel nurses before they move around regular staff. Because of the ever-changing nature of the job, travel nurses need to be able to adjust quickly.

And they need to know they can rely on their placement agency to be there when they need it. A good agency will never let a nurse feel he or she is alone when on the road. It will offer a 24-hour hotline and responsive recruiters who know the abilities and preferences of their nursing staff.

Those who have traveled recommend asking a lot of questions—both of the agency and other travelers—before choosing an agency to work with. Most importantly, how reliable are the recruiters? What do other nurses and hospital administrators say about them? Do they know the area where you'll be traveling and will they be able to provide safe, quality housing?

Says Thomas, "It can be stressful when you are on your own. Your recruiter becomes your lifeline. Having a great recruiter makes all the difference."

Once you've decided travel nursing is for you and have chosen your agency, all that's left is to select where you want to go. Will you base your choice on geographic location, earning potential, the hospital's reputation, or a combination of all of these things? Do you want to build a travel itinerary for a two-year exploration? The best part of travel nursing is that the commitment is short-term, so you can't really make a poor choice. If you don't love a place or an assignment, you have the joy of knowing you'll move on in as few as 13 weeks. In the meantime, you have the opportunity to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new ways of doing things.

"It's an incredible way to see the country," says Harper. "And it's a great confidence booster because you really get to learn and experience so much as you go from assignment to assignment."