To extend your contract or not? This is often a hot topic among travel nurses. There are some reasons that extending your contract makes sense. Below you will find a few.
Reasons to extend your contract
There is still more you want to see at your current location.
There are some locations that are AWESOME to have assignments in. Some locations are so jam-packed with things you can do that 3 months goes by so quickly and you feel like you’ve just touched the surface of activities in your location. Other places are still AWESOME, but at the end of 3 months you’ve seen every mountain, taken every tour, drank at every coffee shop, and it’s time for you to move on. If you’re at a location where you still have a bucket list to complete at the end of 3 months…stay.
The friends you’ve made on your assignment aren’t ready to leave either.
One of the best parts of travel nursing is the people you meet and the friends you make. One of the worst parts of travel nursing is having to say goodbye to those people. If you make some really good friends on your assignment and they are all contemplating on extending as well, why not just ALL stay there for another contract?
It doesn’t “put you behind” to stay in one place.
I struggled with this “stigma” a lot. Maybe it’s a stigma I made up myself, or maybe it actually is out there. But sometimes I feel that because I have the title of a travel nurse this means that I need to keep moving from assignment to assignment. It’s almost as if I think all these cities and jobs are just going to disappear overnight and I’ll never get to work there. This is not true. If you are satisfied with your current location and facility, there is no problem with you extending even though you wear the title travel nurse. More places, more opportunities, more hospitals will always be there. Don’t feel like you have to rush through your time being a travel nurse.
No other contracts are working out or look appealing.
Sometimes where you want to go next might just not be working out. Maybe there’s not appropriate pay packages at that time; maybe there’s no positions in your specialty available; or maybe you’re applying but just not getting those interview phone calls. OR maybe you’re looking at different cities, pay packages, and assignments and nothing looks appealing to you. If you’re not super excited about another location, or you’re not getting what you want in a contract, why not just stay at the facility and location you’re currently at?
It’s relaxing to not have to move every 3 months.
Packing up bags, finding housing, getting a new state license, getting fingerprinted, becoming compliant with another hospital, studying for the hospital’s tests, doing another drug test, etc. it gets exhausting doing that every three months! When you extend your contract, it’s so reassuring and stress-free to know that you don’t have to do any of that for your extension.
**Bonus**
You will usually get a higher pay package.
Usually you should receive more money during your extension. I’m not completely sure on all the logistics behind this, but the facility will typically give you a raise. Also, even though you’re extending, make sure that you still get your relocation bonus for your extension.
Looking for more information on extending your contract?
- Negotiating the Travel Nurse Contract Extension
- Tips for Asking for a Travel Contract Extension
- 4 Hints You May Be Asked to Extend Your Assignment
