This article was provided by trustaff.
Have you locked in where you’ll be spending your first assignment of 2022? Here’s a shortlist of the top 3 reasons you should be thinking west coast and especially California for your New Years’ assignment.
First and foremost, many set their sights on California at this time of year for the weather. Want balmy and breezy? Head to southern CA. Or maybe you prefer more diverse weather where you experience a few chilly days? Northern CA is where you need to be. The climate is one of the biggest all-around perks for working in the state and opens a ton of options for recreation. Southern California is notorious for year-round average highs in the 70s–sounds pretty glorious to us! Even Northern California is still fairly mild, with the added benefit of easy access to wintery activities like skiing, snowboarding, or a snowy hike through one of their many state or national parks!
While the weather might not swing everyone, a big selling point for nurses and healthcare providers are their state-mandated patient ratios. In 2003, California enacted legislation where RNs have specific nurse-to-patient ratios mandated per shift that are protected by law. The ratio varies by specialty where the numbers were established based on needs, severity, and care needed, but the ratio for many specialties will never go above 1:6. This not only protects your license but also provides a more comfortable workload. Knowing your ratios and breaks will be mandated can be a particularly appealing offer, especially for travel nurses.
California is unfortunately not a part of the Nurse Licensure Compact yet, (awaiting legislation!) though they are allowing many nurses to practice in the state under a temporary license while your official CA RN license is pending. The California licensing process can be a tedious and sometimes long process, but many travel nursing agencies offer their travelers licensing assistance, such as help with the application process, reimbursements for your filing costs, or even an extra perk just for getting licensed in such a high-needs state.
Finally, California is one of the largest states in the US, and their need for travel nurses is equally as large. This means you’ll have lots of options when it comes to finding a job that appeals to you. Whether you want to be jet-setting in Los Angeles or nestled in the quiet vineyards, there are many assignments available for specialties of all kinds at a huge variety of facilities. Think of all the possibilities you could explore in the great state of California on your days off!
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