I want to talk about how travel nursing works. Over the last several months, I have had questions about the steps you should take if you’re thinking about making the shift to travel nursing. Or where to even begin in the first place.
How travel nursing works- steps I took to get started
I began working as a travel nurse back in October of 2018. The first thing I did was sat back and think about the pros and cons of becoming a travel nurse. I wanted to make sure that nursing was even something I still wanted to do. At that point, I had been at the bedside for about three years. I was going back and forth with myself, deciding if that career path was what I wanted to continue. Because at the end of the day, whether you’re working at one hospital for a year or at four hospitals within one year, the core job doesn’t change.
Once I decided to pursue nursing further, I read blogs, and I reached out to a friend of mine that I knew was doing it and had a candid conversation about her experience. I knew that my experience and hers might be completely different. However, the internet can only give you so much insight. Nothing takes away that experience of you having an actual conversation with a person. They can give you so much insight, information, and details directly related to what you want to know. Talking to her, having her opinions, and listening to her experience have helped me decide whether or not I wanted to continue the process of becoming a travel nurse. Once I knew that I wanted to move forward, I applied through a travel nursing agency.
How do you find the right travel nurse agency?
The easiest way to find a travel nurse agency is through a referral. Most travel nurse agencies have a referral program; if you refer someone to the agency, you and that person receive some type of bonus or compensation, which is a win-win for both of you—plus, having someone who has already vetted out that agency will help. They will be able to tell you if the agency is responsive to your questions if the recruiter is personable and if they’re likable, and if they have your best interest in mind.
Make sure everything is in order
After I was referred to the travel nursing agency through my friend’s referral, she connected me with her recruiter, and with their help, I was able to land my first travel nursing job. When you apply through the agency, that’s the first step you take to show that you’re interested in working as a travel nurse. The travel nurse agency will take you through a series of steps to ensure that you are compliant. You need to take to make sure that everything is done by your very first travel nursing assignment. The agency will have you complete a checklist to ensure that you have skills that apply to the jobs you are interested in. You will submit a resume and your work experiences. You’re also going to be applying for different licenses at that time. Some states participate in compact licensure; the way they work is, for example, that I was initially licensed in Florida, so when I applied for my Florida license, I made sure that I applied for a compact license. Having a compact license allows me to work in 37 different states with that one license. If travel nursing is something that you want to do and continue to do, then, of course, you want to make it easier for yourself by having that license that will cover you for several different assignments and states. Next, you can discuss these locations with your recruiter to see what jobs they have available and where they have them. They’ll be able to tell you what the job requirements are. If you don’t have the license for the state where the job is, you want to make sure that you ask your agency if they reimburse for licensing. Your agency is the middle person between you and the hospital. The agency looks for jobs for you, and because you are working with them and working for hospitals, the agency will get paid. It’s more of a partnership than anything else. As a partner, you want to ask them what type of benefits they provide for you as the contracted employee. Benefits like reimbursement for your license or the different applications and processes you’re going through.
Starting the application process with facilities
Once you’re done with the process of applying with agencies and making sure that your license is up to par, then you’re eligible for a job. Your recruiter will start to send out your personal profile to several different hospitals that match up with jobs that you expressed interest in. Your recruiter will tell you about jobs available, including; if they are day shift, night shift, how many hours a week, 12 or 8-hour shifts, etc. All hospitals and facilities have their own system and their own way of working. When you go in, you’re just going to jump in, and you’re going to go with the flow of things. Your recruiter is kind of that middle person that makes sure you’re getting the job that you want, and the facility is getting someone that’s going to fit. Once you apply through the travel nursing agency, have gone through the interview process, and have been offered an assignment, at that point, they’re going to give you your contract information, including; the date that your contract starts.
The Contract
The contract is very important; when you receive your contract, make sure that you read through it thoroughly to make sure that everything you discussed in your conversation with the recruiter is included in the contract. That piece of paper is what backs you up. If you have any time off that you need ahead of time, you want to make sure that you tell them ahead of time so that those dates are placed in your contract because once you get into the hospital, you’re there to fill in the gaps in the schedule so they’re not really, I’m not going to say every hospital but a lot of the hospitals aren’t open to just being flexible with your time off. Make sure that you’re telling them ahead of time that these are the days that you need off. For instance, if you have a wedding, you have a baby shower, graduation, or something important that you need to attend, be sure to put that in your contract. To be sure, you’ll still be able to be there for the different types of events you have going on outside of work because, as we know, this is a small portion of our lives. We can’t make up everything. That is part of the reason why I became a traveler; I wanted more control over my schedule, so I don’t want to go somewhere and work somewhere where I can’t be a part of anything that my family and friends are doing.
Your first travel nursing assignment
Once you go through those steps, then you’re ready for your first travel nursing assignment, and from there, you just move forward. You work your contracted time, and a lot of times, they will offer you an extension. If that is something that they’re able to do and if it’s something that you would like to do or that you’re open to, you’ll then go through your recruiter again. Another contract will be written up, indicating your contract’s new end date.
That is pretty much how travel nursing works, the experience from beginning the travel nurse journey to becoming a travel nurse.
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