Travel Nursing Careers - Should You be a Travel Nurse

Travel nurses are nurses who work on short-term assignments and travel from location to location for a designated time, as needed by the medical facility employing them.

Travel nurses may be utilized by hospitals and physician offices to fill temporary shortages due to busy seasons or peak times, or absences due to maternity leave or illness in the permanent full-time nursing staff.

Assignments can vary in length from a few days, ("per diem") to several months, depending on the nurse's availability, and the facility's needs. The typical assignment the travel nurse industry is 13 weeks.

Many nurses get into travel nursing because they want to experience a variety of work settings and locations before settling down full time. Obviously, travel nursing is more ideal for nurses who are not bound by family obligations at home. Travel nursing also allows you to work as much, or as little as you want, by controlling the number of assignments you book. Travel nursing can be a great way for new graduates to decide where they want to work long-term.Travel nursing is not as recession-resistant as permanent nursing positions. When hospitals are looking for ways to cut back, it is easier for a hospital to end or cut back on travel nurse assignments, rather than to terminate full-time, permanently employed nurses at the hospital. Therefore, when staff cuts become a necessity, contract and temporary employees are the first to go. Clinical staff such as nurses are usually more secure than the administrative staff, and support staff, but as a temporary or contract employee you are more easily expendable than permanent employees.

Also, as mentioned above, travel nursing is not good for people who have significant family obligations at home. If you cannot be flexible and travel frequently on a national basis, travel nursing may not be a good option for you.

Compensation will depend on the type of nursing degree and experience you hold. Travel nursing pay is usually comparable to permanent nurse positions. However, it may be structured differently. For example, a permanent nurse if often paid on a salary with benefits. A travel nurse, depending on the agency and employer, may be paid daily or hourly, at a higher hourly rate, but may have to cover some benefits out of that higher amount.There are hundreds of agencies that specialize in placing travel nurses. Usually it is a good idea to register with a few agencies, to increase your options of assignments. Each agency represents different assignments, locations, and employers.