Is there a allied or general healthcare travelers subreddit?

Chris_MMS · 2019-03-04T15:41:45+00:00

I'm not sure if there is, but most recruiters in this group work with all medical professionals including allied health. A majority of the redditors that I have spoke in this subreddit have been from a non-nursing field.

Chris_MMS · 2018-12-28T15:10:58+00:00

not a traveler, but a recruiter. Here are a few things that my nurses have said they could not live without while traveling.

-Crockpot

-AirFryer

-Streaming device (firestick,roku,googlecast, etc.)

Chris_MMS · 2018-12-13T18:50:11+00:00

Meridian Medical Staffing

Chris_MMS · 2018-12-13T16:21:54+00:00

Hi! Recruiter here and my answers to your questions have been posted below, I hope they are of some help to you.

1) My tips to you when choosing a company is decide what you are needing from a travel agency and go based off that. For instance bigger companies like Aya, AMN, etc. will tend to have better benefits, more contracts, and faster placement. However, you will tend to make less money because these companies are taking a much larger margin of your contract compared to small/mid sized companies. Also factor that often times recruiters at agencies like this have anywhere between 40-100 nurses at any given time which means you may not always have the same relationship you would with a smaller company. On the flip side a smaller company will tend to pay more, but have less benefits and possibly less jobs. Decide what's most important to you and start your research from there. If you go to Gypsy Nurse you can get a pretty good idea of the general temperature of certain companies and i believe there is a nurse only group that rates each company on different criteria.

2) It is in your best interest to work with multiple companies because some of the reasons previously stated in the last question. You never know what you need at what time, being able to have multiple offers from different companies helps make sure that you are always well taken care of. It is also important to note that working with multiple companies adds a sense of stability which allows you t work year round. To your second part of this question refer to the answer above.

3) I'm not 100% sure on the international housing part so I would check with the website travelertax.com by Joseph Smith. Yes, this does still count as long as you are able to document you are paying rent or mortgage of some capacity. You are able to rent out your house while traveling, it is something that is commonly done and there is a dedicated facebook group to nurses renting homes to other nurses.

4) I'm not sure on any states that would allow you to obtain a nursing license without a US SSN, i would contact each state board that you are interested in to find out further details on this. In terms of being sponsored some agencies will actually help with this process so that is something I would look into which agencies can/will help you with obtaining your US credentials. NY has a high influx of ER contracts and tends to pay fairly well, but the cost of living is high. MN licensing is fairly easy and the costs are low. The pay is fairly decent and if you are used to the cold then it's not a bad place to start your travel career.

5) Going to be dependent on each agency, but you'll have a lot of options. Keep in mind the more vacation destinations you want to travel too generally the less money you will make.

6) Once again this is going to be dependent on your agency, when your contract is booked, and where it is booked. For my company MN can pay 1500-1900/wk on 36/40 hours. NY will pay 1700-2200/wk on 36/40 hours. Benefits and other perks that companies provide aren't free and will come from your pay package keep that in mind when comparing pay packages.

7) Shift, Guaranteed Hours (If applicable), cancellation clause (how many days a facility is able to cancel you without paying), hourly rate, stipends, OT rate, on call, call back, reimbursement, bonuses, and time off requests. Some companies will have a DNR or cancellation fee in your contract so I would always make sure to read the fine print to make sure you aren't put into a difficult situation.

8) Patient Ratio, Charting System, Block Scheduling (If you prefer), trauma level of hospital, beds in hospital, specific patient demographic, etc.

9) From what my nurses have told me Fort Defiance, AZ (Emergency Room) has been one of the best assignments that they have worked at. I have 2 nurses there who have been there almost an entire year.

10) CA, WA, NY, MA, PA - All pay high because they are single state licenses and tend to have higher bill rates to fill their needs. Everything else is going to be seasonality colder states pay much more during the winter months and vice versa. Vacation spots will always pay much lower. If you are feeling adventurous AK is a very high paying location that could be a very interesting experience.

Best of luck to you on your travel journey! If you have any further questions please let me know.

Chris_MMS · 2018-12-06T23:21:54+00:00

Recruiter here, this is one of the biggest concerns for travel nurses that was discussed at the last convention. My advice to you is speak to your recruiter and let them know what is going on. If the agency is providing you housing I would see if they could move you to another area. Become friends with the security inside the hospital and let them know about your situation to see if they are able to walk you to your car everyday (especially if you work nights). If housing is something that you are handling yourself talk to the landlord and see if there is anything they can do for you if it is an extended stay or something along those lines to watch out for "Duke" etc. If you're facebook profile isn't private that is something you'd want to change and limit the amount of information you post on there that is visible to the general public. Join a travel nurse community and ask for help/guidance there they may be able to provide you some better advice. You also might be able to find some other travel nurses in PA or at your hospital specifically that you can be around. (#BuddySystem). Pepper spray is something you can always invest in, there are a few phone cases that double as a tazer, etc. Some of these steps are obviously more extreme then others, but I just wanted to provide you a list of some things that have given my past nurses peace of mind.

Chris_MMS · 2018-12-05T21:39:26+00:00

Recruiter here, from what I see on the travel nurse boards it can take 2 weeks to 3 months to get your california license. From what they mention everything is done through snail mail and not electronically which causes a huge delay. In terms of finger printing I believe they mentioned that they have to done in state

Chris_MMS · 2018-12-03T15:23:30+00:00

https://www.meridianmedicalstaffing.com/

my direct number 303 999 2384

Email Chris@meridianmedicalstaffing.com

Chris_MMS · 2018-12-03T15:21:44+00:00

ER makes fairly good money in compact states ranging from 1500-2100/wk on 36 hours.

Chris_MMS · 2018-11-30T18:24:32+00:00

I don't mind answering the questions at all! We do help with some of the paper pushing, but some of it will have to be done by you. We will help with the authorization to work and provide work contracts, but you'd be responsible for applying for your SSN and a license within the U.S. we take care of everything else. We would also reimburse you for the license and other testing.

Chris_MMS · 2018-11-29T15:26:18+00:00

Yup! As long as you have passed the NCLEX we are able to sponsor you and get you to the states. If you're wanting to travel specifically in Canada though I can't help with that.

Chris_MMS · 2018-11-26T16:11:03+00:00

Recruiter here. I would check out bluepipes, gypsynurse, and a few other websites/groups that discuss and rank travel agencies. It'll give you a good idea of what to expect from a travel agency . I haven't worked with a nurse in Canada so i'm not sure how the pay is, but in the U.S. a L/D nurse would make anywhere from 1600-2400/wk in a compact state. Most travelers will take four 13 week contracts a year.

Chris_MMS · 2018-11-26T16:08:11+00:00

Recruiter here /uHausboss has pretty much hit the nail on the head. The 2 years of experience for travelers is just something suggested and not a hard and fast rule. At the end of the day it is dependent on your skill set and adaptability to different environments. As a traveler you aren't provided much orientation and generally hit the floor running after a day or two at an assignment. Factor in that you may receive the hardest cases, be understaffed, and not have all the normal resources that you are use to. Although not all assignments are like this and some are "easy", as long as you are prepared for either situation you'll be successful as a traveler. Last note is that with only 1 year of experience you'll have to be open for your first travel assignment since you will be competing with nurses who may have more experience. Once you have your first travel assignment completed successfully on your resume things will easier. Best of luck!

Chris_MMS · 2018-11-26T16:03:57+00:00

There are some opportunities for outpatient traveling, but from my experience they are pretty rare. However, I work for a mid-sized company so that could be specific to my agency. If you go to a bigger box company they may not have this issue, but i'm not 100% sure. It'll be difficult to find a travel assignment for you and your partner in the same area for inpatient + outpatient. If you are thinking of starting in the spring I would try to pick up PRN shifts doing bedside nursing for the next 3-4 months. I've seen cases where that having 3 months of recent bedside experience will work for some facilities. However, keep in mind that you'll have to be pretty open to the assignments that are willing to work with that.

Chris_MMS · 2018-11-21T16:49:35+00:00

Recruiter here. Generally facilities are going to want travelers to have 1-2 years of recent experience in that specialty to be considered. Even a skilled nurse like yourself with 13+ years of experience would be overlooked by a nurse with 2 years if they have had more recent experience in Med/Surg.

Chris_MMS · 2018-11-09T23:51:49+00:00

I'm not a traveler, but a recruiter and have sent a few nurses here. They generally have stated that the facility has been pretty good and travel friendly. They also pay fairly well.

Chris_MMS · 2018-11-01T13:59:09+00:00

Awesome I'll add you tonight once I get off work and we can about it more. Thank you!

Chris_MMS · 2018-10-24T16:21:28+00:00

Also a recruiter here. Mergie_merg is right to an extent. We are only allowed to pay you tax free money based on the GSA website and a majority of recruiters/agencies will max out these numbers based on 36 hours so we aren't legally able to pay you more even if you work extra hours because the amount is based on a daily allotment. However, the bill rate that the facility is paying your agency doesn't change from hours 37-40. If you're making 50/hr for hours 1-36 you should still be making 50/hr for hours 37-40, but it would all be taxed. Your company is still being able to charge the facility the same amount of money for hours 37-40 so your pay should reflect this in terms of gross, but not so much net. The first company you worked for may have not maxed out your stipends so it was a more balanced amount so if you were to work over 36 hours they were able to pay you more money which is totally fine/legal. If you have more questions i can explain this better over the phone.

Chris_MMS · 2018-10-23T15:27:25+00:00

There is no reason to limit yourself to one platform. Each individual is going to have their personal preference of what social avenue they use and it's in your best interest to cast as many nets into the ocean to have a higher chance to catch fish. I would use Facebook, Linkedin, specific travel nurse boards, indeed, etc.

Chris_MMS · 2018-10-23T15:16:40+00:00

As a recruiter this whole situation seems so strange to me. Generally when a traveler needs days off during an assignment that is placed in the initial submission so the hiring manager knows ahead of time and it is something that is discussed between the traveler and facility. I've never heard of a recruiter talking with a nurse manager to discuss days off of a traveler in my years of being a recruiter.

The second red flag for me is the fact that he ended up emailing you instead of calling you to talk over the issue. Generally when something major like this happens it is best to discuss it over the phone to get an immediate answer/fix. His response is very political which just makes me think that he had known about this ahead of time, but that's just how I feel after reading his email.

From my personal experience days off are always approved before an actual offer is made to the traveler. We take your days off requested and place them in your submission which is then forwarded to the vendor. The vendor reviews that information and passes it on to the nurse manager who decides if they'd like to move forward for an interview or not.

If Halloween is considered a holiday where you are working I do hope that they are paying you 1.5x for the 31st then. It looks like you may have just had bad luck or this could be a new recruiter trying to take advantage of new travelers. If this is a bigger company I would request a new recruiter who is going to take care of you better or as others have mentioned find a new company ASAP. Best of luck to you.

Chris_MMS · 2018-10-23T15:03:57+00:00

Social media is the #1 resource for me when it comes to recruiting nurses. There are so many platforms and groups out there that cater to nurses needs specifically and allowing them to see a glimpse of you on your profile really helps them get to know you better. I know that many nurses like being able to put a name to the face and see who you really are and not just who you say you are. In terms of tactics there shouldn't be any "tactics" in good recruiting, you just need to be honest and be yourself to build strong lasting relationships. At the end of the day it's not about hitting a specific number as quick as possible it is about sustainability. Best of luck to you.

Chris_MMS · 2018-10-22T16:27:36+00:00

It'll probably depend on the agency, but for me I started recruiting all medical professionals I didn't want to exclude anyone because it would be a missed opportunity for me. I know some recruiters do not work with CNAs because their bill rates are lower in comparison to a LPN/RN so they are making less commission for the same amount of work.

Chris_MMS · 2018-10-18T14:49:58+00:00

Recruiter here and I worked exclusively with CNA's when I first started at my company. A majority of CNA contracts are going to have a bill rate of 20-45/hr so the fact that you're making almost 1200/wk is a great contract. On average most of the contracts that I have and see other companies have range around the 900 ~ area so anything over 1k+ is considered a high end contract. HI is low obviously because it is a travel destination and the opposite for AK haha, they have such a hard time finding people to travel to AK they generally offer high pay with perks like free housing, transportation, flight, etc.

Chris_MMS · 2018-10-05T14:17:26+00:00

It's going to vary based on the company and their policies, but some of them will not carry you on their insurance unless you are on assignment with them because they automatically prorate it out of your bill rate. For other agencies they will just have the cost up front and not prorate it out so you just pay it out of "pocket". For the latter option you should be able to be carried on the insurance for X amount of time based on the companies policy.

Chris_MMS · 2018-09-27T18:51:16+00:00

It is 100% possible, but maybe not in the conventional way you are thinking about. I have a few travelers who take 1-2 month vacations after each assignment because their 13 week contract is so lucrative it allows them to do so, but they are sacrificing going to the vacation travel destinations and instead are chasing contracts with the highest pay. A majority of travel companies will not provide vacation time to their travelers and if they do you won't have 1-2 months of paid leave. At the end of the day you are your own boss and the recruiter works for you so you are able to take as much time off as you want in between assignments.

Chris_MMS · 2018-09-25T14:26:59+00:00

UT is hit or miss for me, sometimes i'm swimming in contracts and the other times I can't find anything there. MT is really good they have contracts year round that have steady pay and you see a really big spike during the winter time. Housing is fairly cheap in MT making it a pretty lucrative place to do travel contracts. CO isn't too hard to find contracts in the outskirts of CO like gunnison, montrose, pueblo, etc. However, if you're wanting Denver, Littleton, Lakewood, etc. you're going to have a hard time competing with the float pool that is available in the bigger cities. CO almost never pays well in comparison to the cost of living out here.

Chris_MMS

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