A Guide to Travel Nurse Assignments: Your FAQs Answered

Whether you’re a new travel nurse or a seasoned traveler, travel nurse assignments can be confusing and sometimes difficult to understand the terms. Let’s review the advantages of working with a travel nursing agency and some FAQs below.

Find Travel Nursing opportunities all over the United States

Registered nurses have the opportunity to become travel nurses at any point during their nursing career. Most of the time, travel nursing agencies require at least two years of nursing experience before becoming a traveler. However, this varies by agency and specialty. 

Just like a career in nursing offers a variety of specialties and job opportunities, so does the world of travel nursing. As a travel nurse, you have the opportunity to work in your specialty while traveling the country. You get the opportunity to meet new people, work with a variety of patient populations, and expand your professional network.

If you’re interested in exploring what travel nursing opportunities are out there, many travel nurse agency websites offer job boards, including Health Carousel Travel Nursing. Most  job board postings detail the location, start date, assignment length, weekly hours, and expected pay ranges. Due to most job boards’ transparency in this criteria, it’s easy to compare agencies and nursing jobs.

Advantages of working with a professional Travel Nurse Agency 

There are several benefits of working with a professional travel nursing agency. Get to know your recruiter first. Your recruiter should understand your needs, wants, and preferences in an assignment. Once they understand your assignment preferences, they can help you with your travel nursing job search. Oftentimes, they can better filter nursing jobs and may offer new jobs that haven’t been made public yet. 

Next, your travel nurse agency recruiter is your assignment advocate and liaison between you and the healthcare facility. They will prepare you for your interview by providing typical questions and prepping your responses. If you need any days off or a more flexible schedule, they will help you ask for these as well. 

Once you have an offer, navigating a compensation package can be pretty difficult to understand. An advantage of working with an agency recruiter is that they will help you through every step of the process. This can include benefits, sick leave, stipend amounts, etc. If you don’t understand an area or amount, or would like more compensation, then ask. Your recruiter will help you negotiate Your recruiter will help you negotiate your travel nursing contract with the healthcare facility, depending on their company policy. Typically, no two contracts will look the same.

FAQs

Now that we’ve reviewed the advantages of working with a travel nurse agency, let’s detail some frequently asked questions (FAQs) below.

How long are typical travel nurse assignments?

Travel nurse assignment lengths vary depending on the nursing demand, healthcare facility, unit, and season. Most assignments last 13 weeks but can be shorter or longer. Some crisis contracts are as little as two weeks. Other contracts start as 13-week assignments, but hospitals sometimes offer contract extensions of up to a year.

Do travel nurses get easy assignments?

Travel nurse assignments are based on nurse shortages and increased demands in the area and unit. Every travel nursing experience is different. There’s no way to determine beforehand if an assignment is going to be easy. We all know that one day at the hospital can be fairly easy and the next can be draining. 

To prepare, ask about typical unit assignments, patient-to-nurse ratios, and patient populations during the interview process. If the patient-to-nurse ratio seems high for your specialty, consider this before accepting an offer. 

How do I choose a travel nursing assignment?

Many travel nursing agencies offer nursing job boards for you to search for available assignments. Before beginning your search, write down a list of your preferences, including locations, units, and desired pay. This will help you filter your initial search. 

Many states are transitioning to the nursing licensure compact agreement. If you hold a compact license, this means you can practice nursing in that state without applying for a new nursing license. It makes it easier for travel nurses especially since they work in different states. However, keep in mind that you may only obtain a compact license if you reside in a compact state.

What type of travel nurses are most needed?

Travel nurses are  always needed. However, the demand for what specialty of travel nursing varies greatly, depending on the area, nursing shortages, and employers. Most of the time, there is a high demand for medical-surgical, intensive care, and emergency room nurses.

Is it hard to find jobs as a travel nurse?

Typically, it’s not hard to find travel nursing jobs. You may not get your first assignment choice, but there are always plenty of other options available. To make it easier during your job search, apply for several assignments and obtain your compact state nursing license if you haven’t already done so. 

Is travel nursing risky?

Working as a travel nurse comes with the same risks as working as a staff registered nurse. You will need to understand the state regulations, the scope of practice, and the healthcare facility’s company policies as you would with any other new nursing job. 

Is travel nursing worth the money?

Many registered nurses transition to travelers and make travel nursing their career. Most travel nurses find travel nursing worth the time and money. You get to travel the country, typically make higher pay than staff nurses, and make your schedule (for the most part). ZipRecruiter shows that the national average salary for travel nurses is $118,400, which is well beyond the average staff nurse salary.

Health Carousel Travel Nursing Boasts Travel Nursing Assignments To Advance Your Career

Health Carousel Travel Nursing has travel nursing jobs available for you throughout the country. Our recruiters work to understand your needs and want to keep you aligned with your career goals. We partner with top healthcare facilities throughout the United States, so you have many career options available. We also offer great benefits, including medical and dental insurance, and sick leave.