Beginning to travel?
What I have done is to take a few contracts near my home so that I can get my feet wet and see if traveling is for me. I was a bit fearful at first and every hospital is different. The one I am at now did NO orientation, so you have to be willing to hit the floor running!
I have found that after the first week I pretty much settled in and I have to say I LOVE the money!!
Hope all works out well for you.
Trish

the good and bad
I have been travelling for 2 years now. Best: the money, No pollitics and when I go home my time is my own. Worst:Lonely during holidays.

The people have always been great. You learn to make due with what you have. You learn other ways of doing things Make new friends. Expand your horizons.

Awesome experience(s)!
Permanent positions are living hell in office politics!! Travel nursing and per diem are just the opposite. You reach a celebrity status folks are very interested in you. And if you're personable and know how to just go with the flow it will be a mutual hit!!
Drawback(s) for me: 1) you have to line up your assignments otherwise the gaps in employment will eat up the great money you make. 2) finding someone you trust to watch your tax home in your absence.

I was a traveling nurse for 2 years and loved it. I went from to Michigan in Dec from Fla and what a shocker, but I met so many really nice people and got to see much of our country. I went to Lafayett La, then Del Rio, Texas and then Marathon, Fla. It was fun and for the first time in my life I went to work in Fla where it only took 3min to get to work. That never happened before. I always had to drive at least 30 min. You meet new people and new doctors and you DON'T get bored. Lots to learn and new places to learn it.

I am on my first assignment as a traveler and too was soooo burnt out. I worked at a hospital (Dartmouth Hitchcock) that had a lot of travelers and treated them well, so I had spoken to many people. I am now in Portland Oregon and having a blast. Go for it, especially if you are burnt out. The real main thing that I figured out is that you have to be willing to do things alone, you cant sit home and wait for anyone to go to the movies or whatever with. Just go. The hospital I'm at is pretty big and not so used to travelers (I was the only one at hospital orientation). They seem to appreciate me and why I'm there. Good luck and go for it!!

Money?
I keep hearing that travelers make sooo great money....do you just have to push for it? I don't know how with all they take out of base pay for your "package"....how do you negotiate with these people? I want to start traveling,but it is so much harder to get started than you hear about....I don't know if I'm just being "unrealistic" and "inflexible" or what...I'm a staff nurse who is also burnt out, but the trouble of all this is getting Very frustrating!

Pros and Cons of Travel Nursing
In my opinion, the PROS of traveling are: 1) Getting to see new places as if you are vacationing in a new city for 13 weeks. It's a great opportunity for young people who do not know much about the various parts of the US, and are evaluating places to maybe put down roots one day. 2) Not having to ever hook up utilities, sign leases, or pay a mortgage or rent is another one of my many loves about it. My company always gives me a fully-furnished, free private apartment, with a "soft-pak" (all linens, dishes, TV, small appliances etc) and I arrive, sign my name, pick up keys and that's it. 3) Money is usually good, unless you go to San Diego or Hawaii or some other desirable place where you have to pay a "Sunshine Tax". They don't have to pay you as much in nice places, as there are an abundance of travelers who want to go there and they simply offer a lower rate because someone will take it just to get to go there. While the money is good for the most part, you do have to negotiate with your recruiter for your wage. They bill the hospitals at 50-60 dollars per hour for you on average, and the less they pay you, the more profit margin they have making them more in commission and giving them better performance evals. You have to remember that it is far better for them to place you for a little profit as to not placing you at all and making NO profit because they won't meet your need money wise, so keep this in mind. Hold your ground but be realistic. Thanks to King George, the economy sucks right now (whether he lies about it or not) and the hospitals are suffering too. Sometimes they cannot pay 50-60 dollars per hour for a nurse anymore, and thus the trickle down effect occurs giving you a lower pay rate or by them not using travelers anymore at all. Also, remember that they are paying for your housing and utilities and such out of that total billing rate and in some markets this is not cheap. (San Francisco, Boston, etc.) Most companies require their recruiters to maintain a 9-10% profit margin when all negotiations are finished. Also remember that after you have traveled for the same company for a while, you should expect preferred status for your devotion to the company. Ask them for more money on an assignment, or a nicer apt. than what they are offering. If they consistently reject your requests, AND some companies will (and I won't mention names, but the letters CCTC might ring a bell - might want to avoid if you want high paying assignments), move on and find a new company. There are new travel nursing agencies popping up everyday. Never settle for substandard pay or working conditions. Always require competitive salaries and a reasonable, safe workload. 4) Never having to attend boring staff meetings or be a part of a steering committee or group that takes up your off time with nonsense that pertains to the hospital. (You get to smile inside when the staff complain about something bad in their organization, as it most often doesn't affect you). You clock in, care for your assigned patients and you clock out. You go home and you are left alone, unless you are on call back, which I never agree to. Seems like an avenue of abuse to me. Time off is needed to keep from getting burned out and you need it to enjoy the city you are in. Just say no to call. The $10 an hour or so isn't worth it to me personally. 5) You can learn a lot of new ways to "skin a cat" so to speak. Tricks of the trade shown to you by older, more experienced nurses and doctors at every turn. Plus you can make some fantastic friends for life. It all depends on how open you are. If you are a jovial extrovert that offers help to out staff RNs when they are busy, you will be respected as a hard worker and enjoyed while you are there. For me, I most always get a party thrown for me by the staff members when I leave an assignment and many tears flow. Most beg me to stay. It's all in what you give to them. Give freely of your self, your time, your sweat and your personality and you will be amazed that sometimes you might feel sick when it's time to move on.

THE CONS: 1) Securing your next assignment is not always easy. I have gone down to having just 2 days left on a current contract before having my next one confirmed and contracted. This can cause tremendous stress, especially if you don't have a nice emergency nest-egg to allow you to hotel stay for a while or if you don't have a permanent residence to go to somewhere and wait it out. If like me, your assignment IS your permanent residence, and it is imperative that you start looking EARLY, (within 4-6 weeks) of your contract ends date.
2) New state licensure fees and the application process. A BIG DRAG for me, personally. If you are unfortunate enough to find yourself in the bummer situation of con number 1 above, you might HAVE to take an assignment you really don't want to, and maybe in a different state just to continue your income flowing. This often takes weeks to get a new license in that state and can be very costly. Many states like CA charge you $60-80 to simply verify your good standing in CA to another state. I am sure all other states charge something. So, if you hold multiple state licenses, you could be paying several hundred dollars OVER the license fee each time you want a new state license JUST for verification. Some states have a "walk-through" where you can go to the state capitol or wherever the nursing board is located and walk through the process on site in a day if you are in a time crunch. 3) It can be lonely if you are traveling alone. New cities are always explored better with a friend for reasons of safety and fun. If you don't know of anyone else that travels that you can hook up with as a permanent travel buddy, try meeting people that work staff at your facility and try to set up a happy hour to get to know them better. With an open, friendly (and professionally helpful) demeanor, most staff folks who are single will keep you in the loop of their escapades. You can also meet romantic interests this way and maybe get a first-class tour of their city with added perks. OH MY!!! Just make sure the person knows you are a traveler and that you may be leaving in 13 weeks. Keep it light. If you fall in love, go traveling together, or take a staff job.

Number one recommendation: HAVE AND MAINTAIN A NEST EGG OF ABOUT $5,000 DOLLARS IN SAVINGS BEFORE YOU GO TRAVELING. DO NOT TOUCH IT EXCEPT FOR EMERGENCIES RELATED TO CONTRACT ACQUISITION. (ie DELAYS IN FINDING A NEW, ACCEPTABLE CONTRACT, OR HIDDEN COSTS ALONG THE WAY).

Sorry for the dissertation, but I hope this helps the new travelers. Always remember, you are an ambassador of our industry. Perform well and the travel nursing industry performs well. Also, our longevity as travelers is better assured.

PM me if you have furrther questions.

I have mixed travel with regular staff nursing for 5-6 years.
Pros of staff nursing

. I am familair w/ the doctors and staff, have lived life w/ them for years.
.Of course my friends for years friendships are all here at home...as is my son

Pros of travels nursing
.have been able to enjoy and be a part of my daughter's family. She lives on the west coast and i live on Oklahoma
. make new friends, learn new ways of doing nursing
broaden my horizons, and keep me out of boring ruts
.see parts of America the Beautiful at leisure time. When on vacation one has to take what comes, if the weather is bad..so goes the vacation.
.enjoy beautiful parts of the USA and not pay exhorbant motel and restaurant expenses
.plan your trip to your next contract to visit those Christmas Card contact friends and relatives or to explore our National Parks
.are you a writer?? I have taken writing workshops in local city Writers Guild and made friends apart from nursing.
.Photography is my passion, so need little to entice me out of an apartment
.i enjoy company, however am comfortable doing things alone, hiking, movies.

CONS
. changing places ..packing, travel time between contracts is not paid time
.Contracts come so close to end of your present contract, this is stressful to me.
.holidays away from home and friends
.costly shows are enjoyed with someone, not alone. I went to the Wolf Trap on the beltway in DC to see a great show, that would have been more enjoyed if shared with a friend


that's about it..have enjoyed making "Keeper Memories" and hoping to make a few more

The good, the bad, & the ugly
I have been very fortunate to have a vast experience with the traveling & permanent staffing world. I have been a nurse going on 18 years, and was a staff nurse at one facility for the first seven years of my career. I then decided to try the traveling thing. As many have told you there are good & bad that go with everything. You have to weigh the pros & cons for your particular situation.
The good things about traveling:
- You get to see so much of the country that you might have not seen otherwise.
-You get to meet a ton of new people (some good, some bad, but mostly good), after all, who couldn't use a new friend, or two, or ten?
-You can schedule your assignments so that you are not working holidays (if that is important to you).
-The $$ is usually better than what you can make as staff.
- NO POLITICS! You go in, take care of your pts., impress the heck out of them & then go home. You don't have to do inservice' (if ysou don't want to), no staff mtgs., No nothing... its just you and the beauty of caring for your pts.
-No looking for housing, no concerns about utilities, they do it all for you. Just think, it could be 110 degrees out & you can sit in your nice cool apt., & not worry about the bill!
-It's a good way to find a new home with out committing to anything.

The bad things about traveling
-it does get lonely at times, you need to decide for yourself, if you are going to go out & explore the world, or sit in your apt. & watch it go by.
-the licensing think can get to be a pain in the butt, but if you know where you might want to go & when, you can always get a head start. I have never been delayed, or had to go somewhere that I didn't want to because of licensing.
-You have to prove yourself all over every time you start a new assignment. Sometimes, it's easy, sometimes not so much.
-Packing, you have to get really good at it, & you learn fast what you need & don't need, but it can be a real drag packing up your life every three months.
- No home, you can't have all the stuff that you had at home. It's not your bed, or your furniture. But you get used to it (right now, all my stuff is in storage, & sometimes you just miss your stuff)
-Insurance is not that great. To this I am going to elaborate & hope that someone will learn from my experience. I traveled for 3 years after being a staff RN for 7. At the end of those 3 years, I was not ready to stop traveling, but was dx with NHL, & had to stop. The insurance that I had with the travel co. did not cover much at all, & luckily I was able to secure a FT position back at my original Hosp., so that I had better coverage. So please, please, please look closely at your health ins. & make sure you know that you will be covered.
-No, sick time, no paid vacation, ect. Usually the $$ makes up for this, but not always. Be aware of your hour status when on an assignment, because if you do call in sick, you have to make it up. I usually sign up for one or two OT shifts, just to give me a cushion (& the OT pay is nice too).

The Ugly

-Sometimes your company messes up, & you have no control over it. Make sure you stand your ground & stand up for yourself, if they mess up, they need to fix it, with out any adverse effects to you. Having a good relationship with your recruiter helps a lot.

I hope that this helps, I hoe that I didn't ramble to much. Feel free to drop me a line with any questions