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Nursing is currently and will continue to be one of the professions in high demand over the coming years. Because there is so much need for highly skilled RNs, travel nursing is growing as well.
Travel nurses work as contractors through an agency, taking on assignments for a few weeks at a time. They are sent to areas to help fill the talents gaps at hospitals and other medical facilities. What started as a way to help health care facilities in smaller cities and rural areas fill their talent gaps has grown into a thriving niche career for RNs.
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Over the last few years, travel nursing has become an attractive option for those who wish to take their patient care skills on the road. Travel nurses who line up well-paying jobs throughout the year can earn salaries that are comparable to that of hospital staff RNs. They also enjoy other perks including having their travel and living expenses paid for. Add to that the ability to make your own schedule, and you can see why travel nursing is an appealing option for some people.
Take a look at some of the major trends impacting the travel nursing industry over the last couple of years, along with predictions as to what’s in store for travel nurses in the future.
If you’ve done any research into the profession, you’re probably aware that there is a shortage of nursing professionals, and it’s likely to get worse. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, through 2022, there is expected to be 1 million job vacancies for registered nurses. This mostly has to do with a workforce that is reaching retirement age, and not enough younger nurses to take their place.
However, it also has to do with the demographics of the country, and its changing health care needs. The aging population has more senior citizens than ever before, many of whom will develop one or more chronic health conditions. As per U.S. Census data projections, by 2050, there will be 88.5 million people over the age of 65.
Looking ahead: As a result of the continuing nursing shortage, it could very well end up that medical centers begin to rely more and more on travel nurses and other contracted workers to meet this demand. In many cases, it is more cost-effective for them to bring in nurses as needed as opposed to hiring full-time staffers.
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According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) resulted in 20 million people gaining health insurance coverage. As a result, with the passing of this legislation, health care institutions and hospitals needed to pivot quickly, and travel nursing is one of the ways they were able to accommodate more patients.
Keiser Health News even attributed a 20-year high demand for travel nurses directly to the ACA.
Looking ahead: There’s no telling what will become of the ACA once President-Elect Trump takes office. He has promised to dismantle Obamacare, but any changes will likely happen incrementally over time. That being said, he has stated that he plans to keep the parts of ACA that have welcomed formerly uninsured people into the system. This policy includes making sure that those with preexisting conditions have access to healthcare, and allowing young adults up to age 26 to remain insured on their parent’s policies if needed.
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As medical organizations look to reduce costs, they are turning more and more to advanced nursing professionals (such as nurse practitioners) to take on larger roles so that fewer physicians are needed. Hiring or contracting more nurses can also help save money in the long run by reducing readmissions and costly medical errors.
Once again, bringing in travel nurses who are trained in a specific area – such as those with credentials to treat a specific condition like cancer, or who work exclusively with pediatric patients – has provided a solution for improving patient care.
Looking ahead: As more specialty nursing responsibilities emerge, top institutions will seek to find professionals who have the most up-to-date skills and certifications. It’s not just about filling job vacancies; it’s about finding the right professionals who have the exact skill sets needed. For some employers, working with a travel nursing agency helps simplify the recruiting process. In some cases, such as in Florida when senior citizens flock down during the winter months, travel nurses are the perfect solution to meet seasonal demand.
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Overall, there probably won’t be any monumental shakeups in the travel nursing industry in the coming year. However, based on potential changes to the healthcare system, as well as the aging workforce, older population, and greater reliance on RNs and nurse practitioners, travel nurses will continue to find great opportunities to work across the country.
Speak to a staffing agent about new travel assignments today.
You did it! After spending what seemed to be an endless amount of time researching travel nursing companies, you finally found the right one for you. You’ve spoken with several recruiters and discovered the right person to represent you. But what do you do when all the offers start rolling in? How do you know which offer to take and which one is best for you?
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Well for me, these were just a few questions I asked myself as my first offers started coming in. This can be extremely frustrating especially when you don’t have the answer to those questions.
First thing, don’t freak out! This is an awesome opportunity for you to be picky and find the best offer for you. A helpful tool I used to help me pick an offer was to create a simple pros and cons list. I would suggest starting with what is the most important to you. Here are the top pros and cons that I use.
For me, the main reason I wanted to become a travel nurse was to see new locations across the U.S. So if the offer was in a new place that I had never been to, this quickly became a pro for me.
I wanted to experience new locations and discover all the new things each location had to offer. If the offer hosted site to my family’s past spring break vacations, I would probably list it as a con.
When I got an offer, I always asked about the area of town where the hospital was located. I wanted to make sure my family would be safe living in this location for 3 or more months.
Weather played a huge factor for me traveling. Last thing I wanted to do was consider a contract in Alaska while I was battling a windy winter in the Midwest. So I would encourage you to consider what the weather will be like while you are visiting. No sense in taking a contract when the weather is going to be at its worst during your time there.
During my first winter as a travel nurse I landed an awesome contract in Arizona. It wasn’t too hot and it wasn’t too cold. So I was basking in the sun while my friends and family were experiencing one of the worst winters back at home.
Discover new travel assignments in your specialty here.
It’s important to remember that just because you have a large pool of additional support staff at your current job, doesn’t mean every location has that same support staff. Some unit ratios are different for the same specialty so make sure you ask during your interview what support staff is available to you.
Another consideration is whether you will be working days or nights. I was typically a day shift only nurse. But when that Arizona opportunity came my way, I had to consider taking a night shift. After weighing the pros and cons, I realized taking a night shift position was well worth the opportunity.
You know how the old saying goes “money drives decisions” but money wasn’t my primary focus.
Typically, if the offer was high paying I would list it as a pro, but if the location was lame and in the middle of nowhere, I would then list it as a con. Sometimes you have to sacrifice a location for pay but by no means should you go below your bottom dollar amount just to experience a warm winter in Florida.
I have always enjoyed a good location that has a rich history.
We would go walk in little historical towns and go shopping or hike in a famous national park. One of my favorites was Mount Rainer National Park. I highly suggest it! So if the location had a high probability of me discovering a few historical sites, I would list it as a pro.
These were just a few of my top motives that would help me consider which offer was best for me. In the end, whichever had the most pros over cons would then become my next contract.
I would encourage you to list what is important to you and then list them as either a pro or a con. Because you will be living there for months and you want to make sure you enjoy your time there.
Travel nurses make up to $2,300 per week.
To learn more about Kyle and his decision to become a travel nurse, check out A Journey into Travel Nursing.
And check out his interview series:
Interview With A Travel Nurse: Preparing for a New Facility
Interview With A Travel Nurse: How to Recover From Failing the NCLEX
Interview With A Travel Nurse: How To Prepare To Be A Rock Star Travel Nurse – Before You Are One
Interview With A Travel Nurse: Sure-fire Signs You’re Working With The Wrong Staffing Agency
Interview With A Travel Nurse: Preparing For Travel Nursing Even Before Nursing School
It’s the middle of summer, which means it’s also the middle of beach season. There’s something at the beach for everyone and fortunately for travel nurses, one of the best beaches in the nation can be a quick drive away – or possibly right across the street! Finding the perfect city that also happens to be close to a beach is much easier than you might expect.
New travel nursing jobs available here.
When people think of Washington state, the first thing that comes to mind is usually rain and evergreen trees. While that’s not entirely untrue, there’s a lot more that this west coast state has to offer.
The beaches in Washington state come in all types of varieties. There are sandy beaches that draw big crowds whenever the sun comes out, and there are rockier beaches that are excellent for finding a secluded area for kayaking or jumping in the water.
There’s really no way to rank the best destinations for beaches without mentioning Hawaii. Hawaii is one of the most beautiful areas in the world, home to volcanoes, forests and, of course, beaches.
One reason Hawaiian beaches are to die for is the great weather that Hawaii is famous for. Sure, it’s not perfectly sunny year round. However, it will be easier than not to find a day to enjoy beaches that people travel across the world for.
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Alabama isn’t usually on people’s list for great beach destinations. That makes sense, considering Alabama only has a little over 50 miles of coastline, but the coastline Alabama does have is definitely worth getting excited about – especially since their weather is consistently warm.
Many of the beaches in Alabama are long and sandy making them perfect destinations for weekend retreats or day trips. Also take into account that you’ll be able to get some of the best seafood on the Alabama coast and it’s hard to think of reasons not to travel to Alabama.
Discover new travel assignments in your specialty here.
Fun fact: Florida has the second largest coastline of any state (after Alaska). Not only does Florida offer beaches in the Gulf and Atlantic coast, but Florida also shares the same waters as the Bahamas.
Travel nurses should be sure to check out Miami, Tampa and Jacksonville if they are looking to be right on the beach.
Who said the best beaches had to connect to the ocean? Michigan borders four of the five Great Lakes, and each of them is much more impressive than expected. Michigan beaches can get a little chilly to visit during the winter, but during the summer they are just as good as any ocean beach you’d find.
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New Jersey gets a bad rep because of certain people, but it can actually be an awesome place to take a travel nursing assignment in. Jersey beaches are severely underrated, and all it takes is one visit to realize it.
The best beaches in New Jersey are easily reachable from Atlantic City. Those willing to travel farther to get to the beach may even consider taking an assignment in Newark or Jersey City.
California and Nevada share one of the most appreciated lakes in the country: Lake Tahoe. Because it’s in the mountain, Tahoe beaches can get frigid in the winter, but waiting until the summer is totally worth it. Not only are the beaches beautiful and the weather great, but water visibility is usually around 70 ft – meaning you can see clearly 70 ft down into the water.
And such concludes our list of the top beach locations for nurses! Did we miss anywhere great that you visited on a previous travel nursing assignment?
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Since becoming a traveler, filling out skills checklists and new company applications are probably the top two things I hate doing the most – even more than peeing in a cup every three months. However, it’s absolutely necessary to get exactly what you want out of travel nursing.
Traveling with more than one travel company can ensure that you’re getting the money you want, housing you want, and benefits you want.
Not all travel companies offer the same experience so traveling with more than one allows you to personalize it to fit your needs.
Match with a travel company here.
Obviously the first thing on everyone’s mind is money. Your check can be affected by a couple of different factors with different companies.
First, the more companies you work with the more diversity in your housing. Some companies have bigger take home pay but maybe the housing isn’t stellar. This would be a good company to go with if you’re just looking to make bank for that super sweet island vacation you’ve been dreaming about.
If living in an extended stay hotel all the time isn’t ideal for you, it’s good to have that company with a little less take-home but luxury housing working with you too.
Another way multiple companies can be beneficial in the payroll department is by being able to compare multiple different pay packages. Some bonuses are offered by hospitals but some are offered by the company. Traveling with only one company means you could potentially miss out on lots of bonus Benjamins.
Also, some companies have lower hourly rates and higher stipends and vice versa. It really just depends on what’s important to you. It also depends on taxes and Lord knows He did not bless me with accounting skills so definitely do a little research on that subject when accepting a pay package.
A lot of times different companies will have the same position so you wouldn’t necessarily have to give up a great location because the company you’re currently with doesn’t offer a bonus or the stipend amount you’re looking for.
One tip I recommend is to make sure you let the company you’re most interested in know what others are offering. Often they can match or get close to what other companies are offering just to keep you.
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Working with multiple travel nurse agencies helps you get to where you want to go. I’m sure it comes as no surprise that not all companies have contracts with every hospital in every state.
Some companies can get you to Alaska and Hawaii, others can get you to specific hospitals like Johns Hopkins or New York Presbyterian. Certain companies have exclusive contracts with agencies. So you really have to work with multiple companies if getting to a specific hospital is on your agenda.
The more companies you work with the more options you have, simple as that. The more options you have also helps you get to where you want to go WHEN you want to go. You definitely won’t find me in the north during the wintertime if I have anything to do with it! I’m a fair weather kinda gal and working with multiple agencies helps me stay comfortable all year long.
Travel nurse companies have anywhere from zero to all the benefits. And similar to the dinero side of things, which company you go with depends on your needs at the time.
Are you so over paying on your student loans and just need them out of your life?! Then a company with little benefits and more cash is probably the way you want to go for a little while until Sallie Mae stops sending you all those emails.
Do you have a husband and two dogs (or kids) to take care of? Then maybe a company with a 401k and health insurance is the way for you to go. There’s even a company or two out there that offers PTO and sick days.
The lovely thing about living is that you can go from one set of needs to another and sometimes back again at any point in your life which is why being already set up through many companies is most beneficial to your wellbeing/stress level.
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Personally, I work with about five different companies. They go from one of the largest in country to the smallest.
One company has gotten me to the biggest, most prestigious hospitals, another has housed me in places nicer than I’d pick for myself where I can truly make home for 3 months and get paid enough to support my family and pay off student loans at the same time.
I’ve had such great experiences with each of the companies I’ve worked for. I have no doubt that no matter where I want to go or when I want to go that I can get there because I have so many people on my side working to get me there.
Match with a travel company here.
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I would say that one of the questions I get asked the most about travel nursing is, “how is health insurance handled?” There are a few options for insurance coverage as a traveling nurse which can be overwhelming so this is something you should discuss in detail with your recruiter.
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When my husband and I first started traveling we tried using our travel nurse agency’s provided insurance, but that did not work well for us for several reasons:
I did some research early on and found that we could find better coverage for far less money on our own. The caveat to that was finding a company that would cover us as we moved all across the country. After doing our research and making a few phone calls, we found that the best answer for us was a policy through Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield because they are in all 50 states. They were able to write our policy out of our home state, but we were still covered when we traveled.
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Most travel nurse agencies also offer a reimbursement of some sort if you provide your own insurance, usually around $150 per month. With that offsetting our cost it was a far better deal to provide our own insurance and not have the hassle of changing it with each assignment.
However, there is one catch to this. Our situation is unique in the fact that we got our own insurance lined up five years ago, before Obamacare. This means we are locked in at lower rates than most people who are currently trying to get their own coverage so I’m honestly not sure if this is still a feasible or affordable option anymore. It is definitely still worth looking into if you feel like having your own policy is the best option for you and your family.
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I don’t want it to sound like I am knocking agency provided insurance benefits because for many people this is probably the best solution. For instance, if you only need to insure yourself this might be an excellent option, especially if you plan to be loyal to one agency. However, the one thing you should be aware of is that not all agencies provide coverage. If agency provided insurance is important to you, make sure you seek out a company that offers this benefit and ask a lot of questions up front, such as:
Because of Obamacare, we have noticed that many companies have really re-vamped their insurance benefits and many recruiters are still confused by all of the changes. Make sure you speak with their benefits specialist and ask questions until you feel that you understand enough to make an educated decision on what is the best solution for your situation.
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I know very little about this option other than the fact that I know that it is a possible option. I am a member of a few online travel communities and insurance questions are asked in these groups frequently. Many fellow travelers have found medical cost sharing programs to be a good solution for their family. From what I understand it can help to keep costs down but to still meet the requirements to be covered. There are many medical cost sharing programs to choose from so be sure to do your due diligence if this is the route you choose to go with.
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Q: Do all staffing companies offer health insurance?
A: No. While many do, every company is different when it comes to what they cover and even if they offer health insurance at all.
Q: What is typically covered?
A: Again, this varies greatly by company and you really need to ask each agency the specifics about their policy options. From what we have experienced, travel nurse coverage is nothing like the typically great coverage nurses are offered when working as a staff member for a hospital. Travel nurse benefits seem to be much more basic with higher fees and less coverage.
Q: Are family members covered?
A: Sometimes yes, sometimes no. From our experience you can cover your family members at your own expense, but not all companies even offer that.
Q: When does coverage start/end, i.e. does it start on the first day of assignment and end on last?
A: I feel like I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but again, it varies. From what we have noticed since Obamacare took effect, most policies do not start on day one anymore and some actually extend past the last day. Each company varies greatly so ask your agency how they handle this.
Q: Is extended coverage an option, i.e. if you commit to a particular staffing agency for multiple assignments.
A: Yes, this is probably the easiest way to use company provided health insurance. If you stay with one agency and follow their guidelines for remaining covered, it should be quite simple to avoid lapses in coverage.
Q: What do most travel nurses do for health insurance in between assignments?
A: It depends on the nurse. We have our own private policy so we are covered whether we are on an assignment or not. Some agencies will keep your insurance benefits active as long as you take another assignment with them within X amount of days. Some however, do not so be sure to ask!
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Are your health insurance coverage options as a travel nurse clear as mud now? It is honestly just one of those things each individual/family has to work out for themselves since everybody’s circumstances are so different. What works perfect for us might not work at all for the next family. While circumstances and options may vary greatly, here are a few tips that work in all situations:
Good luck navigating the world of travel insurance! It can be a bit confusing at first but just be patient and diligent and you will figure out what works best for you.
