How to Become a Travel Nurse: Your 5-Step Plan to Start with Confidence

If you're interested in travel nursing and want clear steps on how to become a travel nurse, you're in the right place.

This article will help you become a travel nurse with leverage so you can land the highest paying jobs with confidence.

I'm Veronica, and I'm a travel nurse. After years of travel nursing, chats with 100’s of fellow travel nurses and recruiters from 500+ agencies, I’ve got the inside scoop on travel nursing to help you.

Short on time? Skip straight to my Quick Start guide below. However - I REALLY recommend reading this entire article.

Do your own travel nurse research before talking to travel nurse agencies - trust me!

Learning how travel nursing works will help you avoid:

• Lowball pay
• Missing out on money
• Bait & switch jobs
• Getting scammed
• Other common travel nurse pitfalls

You'll find all my favorite travel nurse experts included so you can take tips from lots of different sources. Happy learning!

Table of Contents

• How to become a Travel Nurse in 5 steps: Quick Start!
• What is a Travel Nurse?
• Pros and Cons of Travel Nursing
• What Degree do you need to be a Travel Nurse?
• Travel Nurse Requirements
• Do Travel Nurses make Good Money?
• What are the Best Travel Nursing Agencies?
• How to Negotiate Travel Nurse Pay
• Best Travel Nurse Blogs
• Travel Nurse Job Boards: An Objective Comparison

How to become a Travel Nurse in 5 Steps - Quick Start!

1. 🩺 Become an Experienced RN

• Earn your degree: RN Travel nurses can have a BSN or ADN. You can also travel nurse with your NP or APRN, your ADN or ASN or AAS, your LPN or LVN, or your CNA.
• Pass your Nurse licensing exam, get your state licenses.
• Gain 1-2 years nurse specialty experience & certifications: 1 year at minimum, 2+ years is better

2. 📂 Get your Docs & Data Security organized

• Prepare your Required Docs to apply: Licenses, Certifications, Resume updated, 2+ References from past year (usually 1+ from RN Charge/Mgr)
• Get your burner phone number and your private email BEFORE you contact travel nursing agencies to avoid spam.

3. 💻 BEFORE talking to agencies: Research the Travel Nursing Job Market

• Research travel nurse salary rates, taxes & application process BEFORE talking to agencies.
• Check current travel nurse pay trends & compare the best jobs from 500+ agencies
• Do your Math: Calculate your minimum pay to make travel nursing worth it, Prepare Emergency fund: you need 3-6 months living costs.

4. 🖐️ Choose 2-5 best travel nurse agencies to work with

• Start by contacting agencies that have jobs you want using your burner phone number & private email to avoid spam.
• No single agency is best or has all the jobs - you need full profiles with 2-5 agencies for more job options & leverage for better pay.
• Your best travel RN companies need great jobs, good pay & benefits, and responsive & transparent recruiters.

5. 🤝 Work with 2-5 recruiters you trust to land jobs & start work

• Have your recruiters from 2-5 different agencies submit you to jobs that meet your pay & location goals.
• Research potential facilities, housing availability, & travel plans before committing to contracts.
• Understand travel nursing contracts before signing.
• Begin your first assignment after close communication with your recruiter & facility leadership!

What is a Travel Nurse?

A travel nurse is a nurse that works a temporary assignment to supplement full-time staff, usually in a hospital or healthcare facility.

The main differences between travel nurses and staff nurses are:

• Travel nurses are hired, paid and contracted through a travel nurse agency, instead of directly through the facility or hospital.
• Travel nurses are hired for a temporary work contract only.

Yes, you do need travel nurse agencies to find a travel nurse job.

Hospitals and facilities nationwide use travel nurse agencies to recruit, hire and pay travel nurses so they don't have to deal with the frequent turnover of temporary employees.

Think of travel nurse companies like a third-party Human Resources (HR) for multiple hospitals and facilities across the US.

Is it hard to become a Travel Nurse?

Some might consider it hard to become a travel nurse. But if you already are a nurse, or healthcare worker, becoming a travel nurse or travel healthcare worker is within reach.

Becoming a travel nurse will be much easier if you take your time researching travel nurse requirements and learn how travel nursing works. That way you can learn what to expect and make your travel nurse career decisions in your own best interest with more information.

Is it hard to get a Travel Nurse Job?

Once you have your 1-2 years of nurse specialty experience it's not hard to get a travel nurse job, as long as you meet the requirements.

One of the best aspects of travel nursing are the many job opportunities available and different employers who want to help you get into a job.

Where do Travel Nurses live?

Travel nurses often work far enough from home that they need temporary accommodation for the duration of their travel nurse assignment.

If traveling nurses simultaneously pay for accommodation back home along with their temporary accommodation, this is called "duplicating living expenses".

"Duplicating living expenses" allows travel nurses to be eligible for tax-free living stipends included in their compensation package through the travel nurse company.

Tax-free income is one of the biggest benefits of travel nursing.

Can you become a Travel Nurse without traveling?

Yes! Don't get too caught up on the "travel" part.

You can "local travel nurse" while sleeping in your own bed at home. You can accept a temporary travel nurse assignment that you commute to from home.

The catch with "local travel nursing" is that you won't be eligible for tax-free living stipends since you're not "duplicating your living expenses", so all your travel nurse income will be taxed.

Even though "local travel nursing" compensation packages are fully taxed, these temporary positions often pay higher and offer more flexibility than staff nurse jobs.

What do Travel Nurses do?

Travel nurses fill critical staff shortages in facilities nationwide possibly due to:

• Parental leave
• Vacation
• Staff injury/illness
• Nurse retention gaps

Traveling nurses work in a multitude of different environments, such as:

• Hospitals - the most common setting for travel nurses
• Outpatient clinics
• Long term care facilities
• Home health
• Schools
• Rehab centers
• Vaccine clinics

The main job of a travel nurse is to temporarily fill a critical hole in staffing.

Because travel nurses are hired to supplement full-time staff, a travel RN is expected to hit the ground running with minimal hospital orientation.

Pros and Cons of Travel Nursing

Pros that could make travel nursing worth it for you:

• Job flexibility
• Higher satisfaction with job choice & employers than staff nurses
• Low commitment - only 13 weeks
• No work politics or drama
• Exploring different healthcare & living environments
• Control over job choices & time off
• Not stuck in toxic work environments
• Builds nursing skills, resourcefulness, and adaptability

Cons of travel nursing you may find hard:

• Working and living away from friends, family, people you know
• Moving every 3-6 months to a new work & living environment
• Packing & arranging travel, navigating new cities
• Less job stability
• Less living stability
• Constant job hunt
• Working on low-staffed units
• Duplicating expenses - sometimes the pay isn't enough

Ideal qualifications you'd have to make travel nursing worth it:

• Adaptable
• Open-minded
• Flexible
• Organized
• Good planners
• Confident in nursing skills
• Connect with new people easily - patients, co-workers, neighbors
• Quick learners
• Good problem solvers
• Advocate well for yourself & your patients

Is Travel Nursing stressful?

Nursing isn't an easy profession, and travel nursing can feel hard at times.

Travel nursing adds more variables and complexities to your daily life that you wouldn't experience if you got a staff nurse position or per diem nurse job, living and working in the same location for a long time.

For many of us travel nurses, the variables and complexities are exciting to manage on our own terms. Having to frequently adjust to new experiences and new people often will make you more well rounded as a nurse and a person.

You'll find many travel nurses loathe monotony and feeling stuck in one role or workplace for too long.

Variety is the spice of life.

And if travel nursing becomes too hard or too stressful for you, find your exit plan. Start researching a long-term nurse staff position or per diem nurse positions. You're never stuck too long in travel nursing. Nursing itself affords more flexibility and job options than most other careers.

Travel Nurse Responsibilities

A travel nurse has the same responsibilities to the nurse staff on whatever unit they're hired to.

A typical travel nurse schedule on assignment is:

• 12 hour shifts - Days or Nights
• 3 shifts per week
• 36 hour work week
• 13 weeks is a standard travel nurse assignment

The catch is that traveling nurses are expected to supplement nurse staff by taking a full patient assignment after only a few days of orientation, usually 2-3 days orientation - much less than staff nurses receive upon hiring.

Due to the nature of filling critical staffing needs with minimal orientation, nurses who become travel nurses should be VERY experienced in their travel nurse specialty.

Hospital units that need Travel RN's are often:

• short-staffed
• high patient census
• high-acuity patient loads

These are high stakes work environment for an inexperienced nurse. That's why it's recommended to have 2+ years nursing experience in your specialty before traveling.

What Degree do you need to be a Travel Nurse?

To meet the job requirements to become a Travel Nurse, you need either a BSN degree or an associate degree like the ADN, ASN or AAS.

Travel RN's need anyone of these degrees:

• BSN - Bachelors of Science in Nursing
• ADN - Associate Degree in Nursing
• ASN - Associate of Science in Nursing
• AAS - Associate of Applied Science in Nursing

All RN's will need to meet the job requirements to become a travel nurse, including up-to-date licenses & certifications and 1-2+ years of recent nursing experience in your specialty. Keep reading to find the full requirements to become a travel nurse.

Travel RN's can search the latest highest paying travel nursing jobs without worrying about spam right here on StellarNurse.com.

Can you become a travel nurse with an ADN?

Yep. Associate Degree prepared Nurses can become travel RN's. You can work in a travel RN position as a nurse with your BSN, ADN, ASN or AAS, as long as you pass your NCLEX-RN and you meet the job requirements.

Some healthcare facilities prefer a BSN, but an Associate Degree ADN, ASN or AAS is the minimum requirement for travel RN's.

Can CNAs be Traveling Nurses?

For sure. CNA's can become travel nurses. There are travel certified nursing assistant jobs available nationwide.

You'll need to have your CNA certification and meet the other CNA travel nurse job requirements, which usually include 1-2 years of recent specialty experience & up-to-date licenses & certifications.

Can an LPN be a Travel Nurse?

Definitely. Nurses with their LPN/LVN's can become travel nurses. Like travel RN's, travel LPN's and LVN's need 1-2 years experience before they can become travel nurses.

Though StellarNurse only has travel RN job listings for now, lots of other job boards list travel positions for LPN's or LVN's.

"Travel Nursing" isn't only for RN's

Travel Nurses can have a wide variety of degrees or certifications:

• RN - BSN degree or ADN, ASN, AAS degree
• NP or APRN degree
• CRNA degree
• LPN or LVN degree
• CNA certification

"Travel Nursing" isn't only for Nurses

There are a large variety of travel healthcare work positions available nationwide, not just for nurses.

Allied health workers can take "travel nursing" jobs or travel healthcare work. Allied health specialties in high demand include:

• Respiratory Therapists
• Physical Therapists
• Occupational Therapists
• OR Techs
• X-ray Techs

All travel nurses and healthcare workers can research travel nurse salary trends and track current pay trends compared to historical pay insights going all the way back to 2019. You can also find the highest-paying travel nurse agencies and the top-paying locations.

Only travel RN positions are currently available here at StellarNurse.com, but we plan to open travel nurse job listings for all kinds of travel nurses & travel allied health workers in the future.

Travel Nurse Requirements

All kinds of nurses & healthcare workers can become travel nurses or work in travel healthcare positions, as long as you meet the requirements.

Travel Nurse requirements for all specialties include:

• Degree - Earn your Nursing degree, ie. BSN or ADN
• Exams - Pass your professional exams, ie. NCLEX-RN
• Experience - 1-2+ years of recent experience in your travel nurse specialty
• Resume - updated highlighting recent 1-2+ years in specialty
• References - 3-5 recent references, at least 1-2 from your charge RN, manager or supervisor
• Certifications - current & relevant to your specialty - ie. BLS or ACLS
• Professional Licenses - your current professional license, ie. RN
• State Licenses - for locations where you currently or plan to work

Two Additional Travel Nurse Must-Haves

I'm going to add two more requirements that aren't actually required on any job description.

But from personal experience, having these items ready before you start travel nursing will save you stress, time & money.

1. Get a Burner Phone Number & Email

Get a burner phone number and private email BEFORE you start talking to travel nursing agencies to avoid spam.

Don't give your personal phone number or email to agencies, job boards, marketplaces, or landlords you're messaging about jobs.

Spam & harassing phone calls, voicemails, texts and emails are a HUGE issue when you're searching for travel nursing jobs.

Protect your personal phone number & email closely - trust me! Only give them out to people you absolutely trust to not spam you or sell your information.

Get a free or cheap burner phone number here.

Your phone number's covered, make sure your personal email is protected from spam too.

Get a new email alias you can use just for travel nursing:

• Google - Free & easy, but Google does profit off your data
• SimpleLogin - Extra-secure, create multiple email aliases you can turn on or off, Open Source
• Proton.me - Extra-secure, end-to-end encryption, Open Source
• MySudo - Extra-secure, can get burner phone number & privacy cards for cheap
• StellarNurse - yes, you get a free private email here when you make a profile!

Having your burner phone number and private email set up in advance will allow you to talk to as many travel RN agencies about job opportunities as you want without worrying about spam.

2. Build an Emergency Fund

An emergency fund?!

I know what you're thinking. "I'm travel nursing to MAKE money! Why do I need money BEFORE I start travel nursing??"

But there's inherent risk with travel nursing you'll need to be prepared for.

Common travel nurse situations an emergency fund would help include: - Contract cancellations or Delays in job start - gaps in work and/or pay - Car trouble/flight delays/transportation issues on your way to your assignment that cost money to fix - Housing issues requiring you to find alternative accommodation on short notice - scams, bad landlord or neighborhoods you need distance from - Medical emergencies for you or your family

All these situations are NOT UNCOMMON and you'll have a less stressful experience and accruing debt if you have a financial cushion to tolerate these annoying occurrences.

**I recommend an Emergency fund that covers 3-6 months living expenses. **

You deserve to take home a profit at the end of your travel nursing assignment. Give yourself a cushion so you can handle issues without them wrecking your travel nurse experience.

Organize your required documents

Travel nursing will force you to get organized - that's for sure! Keep digital copies very accessible on your laptop or smartphone, whatever device you use regularly and will have with you during travel nursing.

For travel nursing you'll need:

• Your updated resume
• Your up-to-date state licenses & certifications
• Proof of any vaccinations required
• 1-2 recent references from your charge RN, nurse manager or supervisor

You'll need to have these documents ready to present in order to complete multiple agency profiles and apply to jobs. It'll be your responsibility to keep your licenses, certifications, resume & references up-to-date as you travel between assignments & employers.

Prepare your references by having their contact email and/or phone number available to present for agency profiles & facility applications. Notify your references that they'll probably be contacted.

Don't be shy about requesting references and contact info from your current or previous nurse managers, charge nurses or even their bosses, like the Director of Nursing. Try to leave jobs on good terms. That way you can gather references and have the option to return if you need it.

Travel Nurse Requirements for Certifications

Regarding certifications, almost every specialty requires your current:

• Basic Life Support (BLS)
• Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)

Other possible required or preferred certifications could include:

• Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN) for Critical Care Travel Nurses
• Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) for L&D and NICU Travel Nurses
• Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) for Pediatric Travel Nurses

PRO Tip: Many Travel Nursing Agencies will pay or reimburse you for certification fees. Ask your travel RN companies about this, and how it affects your overall pay package.

Travel Nurse License Requirements

When you earn your degree and pass your NCLEX (or other licensing exam) you can apply for your state license with your states' Board of Nursing (BON).

Nurses who live in a compact state can also apply for a multistate license if you meet the licensure requirements, opening up your nursing job opportunities to the 43 states that are currently part of the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC).

If you live outside the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) or want to work in one of the 7 states outside the nurse compact, you'll need to apply for state licenses individually.

You can apply for additional state RN licenses using your existing state RN license in a process called 'licensure by endorsement', as long as your license is current & active.

State license requirements depend on the state, check each state's Board of Nursing website for full requirements.

For example, California's Licensure by Endorsement requirements include:

• "Verification of License" form
• Fingerprint-based background check
• Online RN Endorsement Application
• Application fee $350

You should also check license processing timelines. California is notorious for delayed RN license processing times - currently estimating 12 weeks processing time. 😭⏳

PRO TIP: Many Travel Nursing Agencies will pay or reimburse you for state license fees. Ask your travel RN companies about this, and how it affects your overall pay package.

Having a current, active & un-restricted nurse license is required for all travel nurses. Ask your travel nursing agency or state Board of Nursing if you have any questions about restrictions on your license.

How long does it take to become a travel nurse?

You need at least 1 year of nursing experience to become a Travel Nurse - it's better if you have 2!

Although some travel nurse agencies & facilities accept 1 year of experience for travel nurse jobs, 2+ years in your RN specialty will be safer for you, your license & your patients.

Travel nurse jobs require that you are ready to enter an unknown facility and supplement the unit staff by taking responsibility for a full patient load with only a few days orientation.

2+ years experience handling higher-acuity patients in your specialty should allow you to meet those minimum travel nurse requirements.

If you recently switched nursing specialties, but more than 2+ years RN experience, travel nurse companies and facilities will usually still require you to have at least 1 year recent experience in the specialty you want to travel nurse in.

All travel nurses, including CNA's, LPN/LVN's & RN's need 1-2 years of specialty experience before they take a travel nursing job.

Your possible timeline to become a Travel Nurse

The soonest you can become a travel nurse is 1 year after you earn your license & gain experience in your specialty.

Here's how long each step to become a travel nurse usually takes:

• Get your nursing degree - 2-4 years
• Gain nursing specialty experience - 1-2+ years
• Research Travel Nursing industry, jobs & agencies - 1-3 months
• Compare travel nursing jobs, apply & receive offers - 1-3 weeks
• Give notice at work & travel to your first assignment - 2-3 weeks

Remember: It's safer for you to have 2+ years of nursing experience before you become a travel nurse.

Travel Nursing for New Grads

New Graduate nurses can't get hired as travel nurses. All travel nursing jobs require at least 1-2 years of nursing experience before you start your first travel nursing assignment.

1+ year RN experience in your specialty is the minimum qualification for travel nurses. I recommend gaining 2+ years experience in your nursing specialty before becoming a travel nurse.

2+ years of nurse specialty experience will more adequately prepare you for travel nursing. Accepting a travel nursing job means you're agreeing to accept a full patient load and give safe patient care in an unfamiliar work environment with only a few days of orientation.

Getting 2+ years of nursing experience will give you more confidence in your travel nurse role, protect your license & ensure you can deliver safe healthcare to your patients.

The best way to prepare yourself for travel nursing as a new grad is to build strong nursing skills for 1-2 years learning how to treat high-acuity patients in your specialty with confidence, and obtain licenses & certifications relevant to your specialty.

Cultivate strong professional relationships with your nursing & healthcare co-workers, charge nurses & nurse managers. Focus on learning from their experience and networking with them for future job opportunities. You'll need great references from your leadership and co-workers for travel nursing jobs in the future.

Do Travel Nurses make Good Money?

You can definitely make good money as a travel nurse.

Travel nurses make higher pay, on average, than staff nurses. That was true before covid, during the pandemic, and it's still true now.

Average Travel Nurse Salary vs Staff Nurse Salary

According to the latest median staff nurse salary outlook pulled from BLS.gov, travel nurses still make more money than staff nurses.

All StellarNurse travel nurse salary data was aggregated from Google, & tons of public job boards posting all across the web.

Will YOU make good money as a travel nurse?

Rather than in a staff nurse or per diem nurse position?

That depends on you. Here's how to get a clear idea of your travel nurse salary potential.

Research Your Travel Nurse Salary Outlook

Here's numbers you should calculate when considering if your travel nursing job offers are a good deal:

• How much can you make working as a staff nurse or PRN nurse now?
• Are your current travel nurse job options offering higher hourly pay than your staff/PRN jobs?

For the most objective overview of your current travel nurse salary outlook start here:

• Research your travel nurse salary trends, taxes & onboarding process BEFORE talking to agencies.
• Check current jobs pay rates & compare the best jobs from 500+ agencies

Researching the job market before you start talking to agencies will help you answer these questions:

• What are current best pay package offers for your nurse specialty?
• Which locations are paying the highest & need you the most?
• Which travel nurse agencies are paying the highest and have the most jobs for your nurse specialty?

Calculate your "Blended rate" to compare travel nurse jobs

Breakdown your gross travel nurse pay package to an hourly pay estimate to compare to staff nurse or per diem nurse job offers. Or to compare travel nurse jobs to each other.

Your "blended rate" combines your taxable base hourly pay as a travel nurse with your tax-free living stipends.

To calculate your "blended" rate, just break your gross travel nurse pay package down to an hourly rate.

For example:

• Your gross pay package is $2400/week
• You work 36 hr/ week
• Your "blended" hourly rate would be ~$67/hr.

Compare that hourly rate to your staff nurse or PRN nurse offers.

Don't forget to plug in a few more numbers to get clear expectations on your travel nurse income potential:

Calculate Your Living Costs

• What are your current living costs vs where you want to travel nurse?
• Can you find affordable rentals easily?
• Can you afford to duplicate living expenses so you can get tax-free stipends?

Consider Your Tax Situation

• What are your current state income tax rates vs where you want to travel nurse?
• How much would that affect your take-home pay?

What type of travel nurse makes the most money?

Travel nurses who make the most money use different strategies:

Travel from Low-Paying regions in US

Nurses travel from regions with low staff nurse income potential, so their travel nurse pay is significantly higher than what they could make at their local facilities.

Work High-Paying Contracts in Low Cost-of-Living

Nurses work high-paying contracts in areas with low cost-of-living, so they take home more money.

Budget

Nurses maintain tight living budgets to save more of their travel nurse income.

Negotiate with multiple agencies

Nurses negotiate, work with multiple agencies and hold out for the higher paying contracts, so they can jump on good deals when they arise.

Work in High-Demand specialties

Nurses gain experience in a specialty with consistently high pay and high demand.

What is the Highest Paid Travel Nurse specialty?

The top 10 highest paying & most in-demand travel nurse specialties in 2025 are:

1. Cardiovascular Operating Room - CVOR
2. Cardiac Cath Lab
3. Labor & Delivery - L&D
4. Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit - CICU
5. Case Management
6. Neonatal Intensive Care Unit - NICU
7. Operating Room - OR
8. Step Down Unit - SDU
9. Oncology - Onc
10. Intensive Care Unit - ICU

Nurses who work in these travel nurse specialties have lots of job options to choose from & leverage to negotiate higher paying travel nurse pay packages.

What are the Best Travel Nursing Agencies?

No agency has all the jobs, you'll need to complete profiles with 2-5 agencies for more job options & leverage for better pay.

There's no single best travel company for nurses.

Don't make the mistake of only working with 1 agency - this will limit your travel nurse opportunities and your travel nurse salary earning potential.

**Start choosing your travel nurse agencies by contacting the ones that have jobs you're interested in. **

And remember, USE YOUR BURNER PHONE NUMBER & EMAIL!

Even though completing profiles for multiple traveling nurse agencies sounds tedious, having your documents ready to go will make the process much less painful.

Your best travel RN companies must-haves:

• Great jobs in your specialty & locations you want
• High pay compared to current market rates
• Good benefits ie. day 1 medical insurance, guaranteed hours, housing assistance, 401k
• Responsive recruiters that are helpful & transparent

Remember you don't need to be friends with your travel nurse recruiter. But you do need to be able to trust your recruiter professionally.

Think of your recruiter & agency as your temporary HR as you're choosing a travel nurse agency.

For the duration of your travel nurse assignment your recruiter has multiple roles including:

• Helping you get hired
• Submitting your profile to apply for jobs
• Your agency point of contact
• Your liaison between you and your hospital
• Handling your pay and contract details

And if anything goes sideways with your recruiter, you can switch to a different recruiter within the same agency, with no issues.

Questions to ask Travel Nurse Agency

Here's some questions to help you find your best travel nurse agencies with great jobs:

• What sets your agency apart?
• What agency resources are available if I have issues?
• What benefits can I get?
• Do your benefits start day 1 of my contract?
• Can you send me your health insurance coverage & cost details?
• Does your agency provide housing?
• Can you accommodate my requested time off?
• For each job - What are the pay package details? Which hospital?

How to Negotiate Travel Nurse Pay - My Top 5 Tips

Do your calculations for your minimum income requirements if you haven't already!

Keep your minimum pay package needs & other travel nursing goals in mind as you compare open travel nurse positions with your recruiter.

Don't wait until your first travel nurse job offer to start negotiating with your recruiters.

Start negotiations early by researching the travel nursing job market.

1. Understand Travel Nurse Pay

You should already understand how travel nursing pay works & be aware of current pay package rates for the jobs you want - this will help you negotiate. Take the time to research if you haven't already!

2. Use your blended hourly rate to compare job offers

Break down each pay package offer to a blended hourly rate to make quick comparisons.

3. DON'T DISCLOSE YOUR MINIMUM PAY needs with your recruiters

You could be reducing your pay potential to that number. If they ask for your preferred salary range, give them your upper range number. You can decide later if you're willing to drop from there, but you should start negotiating from the upper end of your travel nurse salary goals.

4. Tell recruiters that you're working with multiple travel nursing companies

Keep them posted on your job search progress. This is good for negotiating and creates a transparent, open communication environment for both you & your recruiter. You can even discuss competing offers with recruiters to incentivize them to match pay offers.

5. Negotiate your reimbursements

You should try to get the agency to cover as many costs as you can without adjusting your weekly pay to cover those costs. Examples include travel, parking, certifications, state licenses, etc.

I've had success with these tips from this article on negotiating travel nurse pay & contracts from bluepipes.com - one of my favorite travel nurse blogs. You should check them out!

How to Apply to be a Travel Nurse

• Choose 2-5 different travel nurse agencies with jobs you want & helpful recruiters.
• Complete your profile with 2-5 agencies - This includes your travel nurse requirements, verifying your references & completing a skills checklist.
• Have your preferred recruiters from 2-5 different agencies submit you to jobs that meet your pay & location goals.

You have two choices: You can either have your auto-submit you to jobs that meet your goals or they can get your permission first.

If you allow your recruiter to auto-submit you to jobs, there's no commitment until you sign the contract. And you can slide into great jobs as soon as they are available in the agency system.

If you require your agency get your approval before submitting to jobs you keep control & can track your submissions. The drawback is you may miss out on great jobs as they fill fast.

BUT! Don't worry if the travel nurse jobs you want are filling.

Keep this in mind about travel nurse jobs:

• 15,000 new travel nurse jobs open every day
• If your preferred job is already closed, the agency will have similar open jobs you want now or soon - possibly the exact same position.

Can you apply to multiple travel nurse jobs?

Yes! And your recruiters from your 2-5 chosen travel nurse agencies should help you submit your full profile to apply to multiple jobs.

There's no commitment for travel nurse jobs until you sign a contract, so applying for multiple jobs will open more opportunities for you.

Try not to apply to the same job twice through different agencies - this can cause confusion for the facility on which agency will represent your contract and can cause delays in hiring or the possibility that both your application will be removed.

Just be upfront with your agencies that you're working with multiple (this is normal) & keep track of jobs & hospitals you've applied to.

How long should you wait to hear back from a job?

A travel nurse job can take anywhere from 1 day to 2 weeks to get back to you. If you're antsy to start work, keep submitting your applications every few days to jobs you want from your 2-5 chosen travel nurse agencies.

Travel Nurse Questions to ask Hospital

Some travel nurse jobs are offered without an interview.

If you get an opportunity to interview with your hospital, you should focus on getting your questions answered to make sure this job's a good fit for you.

If you don't get a chance to interview your hospital, ask your recruiter to get these questions answered.

Here's a list of questions you should ask about your travel nurse assignment hospital/facility:

• What's the charting system?
• Are there other travelers on the unit?
• What's the proposed schedule look like?
• Can special schedule requests be accommodated? Ie. Request time off, Block schedule etc.
• What's the patient population and acuity like?
• What are the usual staffing ratios?
• What exams are required to pass to work on the unit?
• What's the unit scrub color?
• Are there possibilities for overtime or an extension?
• What's the cost & location of parking?
• Are call shifts expected?
• What will facility and unit orientation look like?
• What's the unit break culture like?
• What's the float policy?

Travel Nurse Contract Checklist

Before you commit to a travel nurse assignment:

• Research potential hospitals/facilities - look up reviews
• Make sure you have affordable housing options - ask your recruiter for options
• Research what your travel plans & costs would be

Before you sign your travel nurse contract:

Take 24-48 hours with your contract to read & review - make sure you're not getting screwed.

Contact recruiter with any questions.

Make sure you can answer these questions about your contract:

• What are the contract conditions?
• What's the pay for any hours worked over contracted hours? (different than 'overtime')
• What are the penalties if you are unable to complete your contract for any reason?
• Can you get out of the contract if you feel that you, your license or your patients are in jeopardy?
• Are there penalties for your missed hours? (for calling in)
• Are there guaranteed hours or any cancellation protection with this job?
• Are the schedule requests, time off, overtime & holiday pay rates per expectations?
• Is the float policy outlined?

Put your contract into Chatgpt to help you understand the finer points - prompt "Explain this contract to me like I'm 5. What are my work expectations?" Ask Chatgpt questions about your contract.

Remember to remove personally identifying information (PII) such as names, phone number, emails, or any other personal info from your contract before inputting into any AI system.

Begin your first assignment as a Travel Nurse

After you sign your first travel nurse contract, keep in close communication with your recruiter -

• Get hospital check-in instructions
• Get directions for on-boarding & orientation
• Book housing for at least your first week
• Get yourself to your travel nurse assignment location!

Best Travel Nurse Blogs

Don't rely on agencies to teach you everything you need to know on how to become a travel nurse.

Travel nurse companies can and do get information wrong. Even if it's not on purpose. Travel nurse agencies want to get you into a job ASAP.

BEFORE you talk to agencies, research travel nursing on your own so you'll spot incorrect or misleading information faster.

Always verify and research all information from travel nurse agencies (& your fellow travel nurses), especially before signing a travel nurse contract.

Here are my favorite travel nursing blogs, full of useful info you should look into:

• BluePipes - has a Travel Nurse Job Board
• The Gypsy Nurse - has a Travel Nurse Board
• TravelNursing.org - has a Travel Nurse Board
• Nomadicare
• Pan Travelers
• Passports & Preemies

Travel Nurse Job Boards: An Objective Comparison

Looking for the best travel nurse job boards to research the travel nurse job market?

Finishing up

Thanks for reading! I jam-packed this article with all my favorite advice to help you become a travel nurse with power and leverage.

You deserve a satisfying and successful travel nurse experience and I'm here to help.