Table of Contents
- What is a Travel Nurse?
- What do Travel Nurses do?
- Travel Nurse Responsibilities
- Travel Nurse Requirements
- Is it Hard to get a Travel Nurse Job?
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.
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.
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.
Travel Nurse Requirements
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.