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Thu 3 Apr, 2014 11:25 pm
Thu 3 Apr, 2014 10:52 pm
Hi everyone.
I glad I found a forum that wasn't just a front for the nursing travel companies. I'm at a place in my life after 36 years of nursing, breast cancer survivor, turning 59...where I want to do some travel nursing for the next few years without the politics of staff and the freedom to take off a few weeks at a time between assignments. It's been many years since I've done travel nursing, so the three companies I'm working with all know that I'm a "newbie." I live in California and I planned on traveling in my home state, hoping to be able to pocket some of the housing stipend. Bottom line: I'm blown away by the low monetary "packages" I'm being offered so far! Example: One company told me today that with the housing stipend and travel allowance, the number she gave me came out to $27.00/hr! I'm being told that, "everyone wants to work in California," "the nurses prefer to make less taxable money and get the rest in housing stipend, etc." it all seems to still come to half of what I'd make an hour on staff. I'd appreciate any feedback as to: is this how it works today? Is it true that the lower the package that the nurse will accept equals more in the company's pocket? I wanted to remain in Southern California, but I'm willing to travel to the bay area if it would mean getting paid what I deserve. Thanks in advance for your feedback. (I originally posted this in the wrong forum, so I reposted it here.)
..."Is it true that the lower the package that the nurse will accept equals more in the company's pocket?"...
Yes, its absolutely true that the less you as a nurse demand, the more the company pockets. You have to ask for what you want rather than them asking you what you want to be paid. Like this one company, AMN takes 30% right off the top and will put the nurses in hotels like extended stay america for housing and charge for it... it may be private, but its certainly NOT free! They don't give much of anything to the nurses working for them all the while they have monopolized the market by buying up all the smaller agencies.
I went back to PPR because I traveled with them back in the early 2000's when they were a very small company (still growing) and paid nurses well... bonuses, good housing stipends, or put nurses up in nice apartment complexes... but all that's changed! These agencies are rogues in my opinion they look out for numero uno so I'd suggest that you look out for yourself as well by asking for what you want and making sure its in writing in the contract.
Traveling nursing is a growing field in the nursing profession and it helps so many nurses for so many reasons. Some nurses like to do their nursing jobs while traveling the world at the same time. That is the status of my friend's sister. She wanted to try something new and exciting and she loves traveling to different sites in order to do her nursing. So, it is a new and exciting career choice. I wish you the best and good luck to you.
Traveling nursing is a great and interesting field and a booming field as well. It seems to me that nursing is a great field to be in; especially in traveling nursing. My friend's sister is a nurse that worked in the nursing home, then the ER, and then she decided that she wanted to go into traveling nursing. What I would do is to do a Google search on Traveling nursing and see what options that you have.
I would also contact someone that is a traveling nurse and see what they say.
It is a new way and a new specialty of nursing. It is nice because of these particular reasons:
1. Traveling nursing allows the nurse to travel back and forth and go into different places.
2. Traveling nursing is a great way to see different parts of the world and do nursing as well.
@Sunshine858,
Travel nursing is a lot of fun. I always like to travel to different places and different sites whenever possible. I always find that having some change during the day is always so great. You will enjoy travel nursing.
That is one of the newer jobs in nursing now and it is becoming very popular and fast too. I find that it is always interesting when I can fly to different destinations and be a nurse for that specific area of that country. I watched a move once and it had a nurse who flew to a South American country to do nursing. I thought that was very neat. I knew some other nurses who just drive an hour away or even a half and hour away and they really enjoy being in a different environment. Travel nursing is so much fun because you get to be in different environments.
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