A great recruiter can be your friend and guide during your travel nurse journey.

Travel nurses and their recruiters are a dynamic duo in the healthcare staffing industry. Like peanut butter and jelly or mac and cheese, one without the other is unthinkable. That is, until now.

Nomad Health, a site that directly connects freelance doctors to healthcare systems without a middleman, recently expanded their services to travel nurses as well.

Before you jump on the recruiter-free bandwagon, you should carefully consider all the advantages you have with a recruiter on your side:

Pay: According to Nomad’s website, travel nurses will automatically earn more money since medical facilities are saving on recruiter fees. Taken at face value, this statement seems to make sense. However, you should keep in mind that no two bill rates are the same, so there’s really nothing “automatic” about better pay. In fact, in some cases, a recruiter can actually help you advocate for a better compensation package.

Jobs: Without recruiters, Nomad claims you can find job opportunities on your own terms. While that certainly sounds liberating, it’s simply not true. As a travel nurse, you don’t have to take any job you don’t want. Likewise, a great recruiter is your partner in your job search, and that means he or she can help you land your dream job. Your recruiter knows what hospitals are looking for in a candidate, so he or she can offer you sound career advice when needed. Plus, as an industry insider, your recruiter may know of jobs that haven’t even been advertised yet.

Safety Net: Besides job opportunities and pay, travel nurses also need to consider their safety while on assignment. In an ideal world, your travel nursing assignment would go off without a hitch, but that’s unfortunately not always the case. Just look at Travel Nursing Central’s Sticky Situations Q&A section! Your recruiter is your friend and safety net when something unexpected happens to you while on assignment. When you think of the alternative, who would you call? The Ghostbusters?

So, while it’s tempting to ditch your recruiter, this model probably wouldn’t add up to an overall amazing travel nursing experience. A recruiter offers you several advantages including industry knowledge, career advice, and a helpful ear should something unexpected happen.

What do you think? Is a recruiter-free agency appealing or do you plan to stick with your recruiter? Let us know in the comments below!