Travel Nursing Advice Column - Questions and Answers about Licensure
See questions and answers travel nurse licensure here, or ask your own.
Back to top
Question
I've been researching requirements for licenses. What does it
mean if the temp license fee is included in the cost of the permanent?
Do travel nurses recommend getting permanent licenses? Do most agencies
cover the cost? Should I keep my original license renewed? My state
doesnt require CEU'S to keep my license; do I need to start acquiring
CEU's to be licensed in other states? About how many CEU's are needed?
Response
Unfortunately, there is no standard Responses when it comes to licensure.
An effort has begun to standardize the process....the licensure
compact. You may have heard of it? You have to reside and originate
in one of the compact licensure states and then you can use your
license like you use your drivers license from state to state. You
can find out more details about that at (www.ncsbn.org).
If you do not live in a compact state.....the licensure process
will be different for each state. Each state has different CEU's,
cost, processing time, and temporary license expiration. A few states
only offer permanent licenses. Many states do not require you to
show your CEU's to get the license, but perhaps to renew it. Others
such as New York require you to have classes topics such as abuse
and aids etc.
It all sounds complicated and overwhelming if you try to look at
the big picture all at once, but it really isn't. The first step
is to decide where you want to go and then see how long it will
take to obtain your license and what it requires before you commit
to a start date. If you want to travel right away, often recruiters
have an idea which states are easier and faster to get licensed.
Some states are what they call "walk through" states where
you can literally take your paperwork into the office and get licensed
that day.
Licensure reimbursement is one of those negotiable benefits. Not
all companies offer it. If they do, it is often a partial reimbursement
and is usually paid after you begin your assignment.
Travelers often recommend getting a permanent license. Some temporary
licenses do not stay active for a full 3 months. Also, you never
know if you may end up liking it and want to extend your assignment
or take another assignment in the same state. This way your options
are open.
I would recommend you keep your home state license active for a
few reasons. To maximize your tax benefits you will want to maintain
a permanent residence which means you will need to return home and
work occasionally to look like you still live there. Also, you never
know when you will want to return home for a while to visit friends
or relatives. However, if you know you won't want to return and
your don't care to maintain a permanent residence then you can request
that your license be put in inactive status. This way they still
keep you on record and the process is easier to activate then to
reapply for licensure, yet you don't have to pay for an inactive
license.
Overall, licensure is a fairly simple process in most states and
isn't usually an obstacle to traveling. Yet, it is good to consider
the licensure requirements as far as timing your assignments and
managing your commitments.
Back to top
Question
Do you know of any companies that will provide a rental car?
I'm nervous about driving clear across the country by myself.
Response
Companies do not provide a rental car as a standard. However, you
can negotiate for one. Often you can trade one benefit for another.
Get creative....especially if they offer a benefit you don't need.
Also, tell them that if they figure out how to provide a rental
car for you.....you will travel with them. This will motivate them
and believe me they have ways. This is a competitive business and
they want you to work for them.
Note: If they give you a car allowance...make sure to call and find
out what the car rentals in the area cost. One time a company provided
a car for me in Alaska. They gave me a car allowance that sounded
great. When I got there....I discovered that it was double that
to rent a car there.
Also, you may want to consider traveling with a friend. With the
travel allowance they pay.....if you travel low budget (motel 6)...you
can often pay for your friends food and airline ticket back (or
1/2). The trip can be a great experience. Many people would love
to go and see part of the country and then fly back.
Back to top
Question
I have been researching many traveling companies over the last
four months. I can not decide which one to go with. When I feel
that I have made my decision then I heard of someone who had a bad
experience with that company. I feel frustrated. I looked to your
company to hopefully find the highest ranking company to go with.
Please give me some advice. I will be traveling with my family and
I do not want to make a huge mistake and end up in a mess somewhere!
How do you find the best company to go with as you FIRST!
Response
Thanks for writing. Good question. One of the reasons travelnursingcentral
started ranking agencies is because of this very problem you speak
of. They want to get a compilation of opinions from several people
for a rating of a company. You have to take traveler's individual
experiences with a grain of salt. One person may be really happy
with a company and another unhappy with the same company. Most travelers
claim that their recruiter makes all the difference.
My advice is to look at the ratings, pick a company that has been
around for awhile, ask lots of questions and have them make the
benefits clear and spelled out in the contract, and meanwhile consider
how comfortable you are with that recruiter. They will be your lifeline.
The good news is that most companies that have been around awhile
they are competitive with everyone else. The travel companies are
very competitive. The worst that can happen is that you don't receive
your paychecks or the housing is a bummer. If the housing is bad,
you can demand they find different housing or you will leave. Remember
they want you to be happy. You are making them money. If you leave
the contract...they miss out on the money and they look bad to the
hospital. Try to get direct deposit for your paychecks. Companies
that don't pay..don't stay in business very long.
Pick one and go for it. You can always travel with someone else
next time. This is not an exact science and each company will have
its strengths and weeknesses. You have much more to gain than to
lose.
You may try asking your recruiter what she feels her companies strengths
and weeknesses are. Also, when you interview with the hospitals
ask them how satisfied travelers seem with the company and is there
a different agency they staff with that travelers seem more satisfied
with.
I know the first step is a scary one, but after the first one you
will have much more confidence. As a traveler, you really become
your own business person. You market yourself and negotiate for
what you want. It may feel that you are helpless in their hands,
but they are also in yours. Without you, they won't have a business.
Go for it.......you'll be fine. If it was that bad....there wouldn't
be so many people traveling. Even the people you talked to who had
bad experiences are still traveling aren't they? You have to do
your best to make a good decision and then make the plung.
Back to top
Question
I have been an RN for a bit better than two years, and have traveled
for the past nine months (on my third assignment now). my experience
is med-surg, some telemetry; also orthopedics and some others (i've
worked in small hosptials where you do it all). i really want to
work PACU, perhaps ER or ICU. i have the paper credentials, just
no experience. i've made it clear during my interview that i'd be
happy to float to these units as a "pair of hands" (just
for the exposure, though i don't say it that way). so far it hasn't
happened. any other suggestions for gaining this experience? i'm
getting a bit burned out on med-surg. thanks! oh--great site!
Response
Unfortunately, it is difficult to get "experience" in
a new department while traveling. You almost have to find a unique
agency or hospital. I believe Cross Country used to advertise a
cross-training program along with traveling. You may want to see
if they still do anything like that. Otherwise, most hospitals want
to put you to work where your strengths are. You are only there
for a short period of time. The time and money to orient you to
another department is difficult for them to justify. I know a nurse
who recently stopped traveling to work a year in NICU so she could
gain the experience she needs to travel and work in NICU.
The only other suggestion I have..... would be to discuss this upon
your interview with the hospitals. You may be able to agree to work
with them for a certain period of time, if they will work with you.
I would try to propose this with a hospital that is known for having
a ongoing need for travelers.
Back to top
Question
What countries offer international assignments to U.S. nurses?
Response
The english speaking companies tend to offer the international assignments.
The most popular places are New Zealand, Australia, and London.
Back to top
Question
How plentiful are Psych Nursing assignments, and which agencies
have the most Psych jobs?
Response
Psych is not as plentiful as other nursing specialties. While these
positions may be more challenging....it is not impossible to travel.
Your best bet is to find a company willing to search for positions
for you. Once you find a company that is willing to work with you
on an individual basis you will be fine. Also, Coremedical has been
known to have psych positions in the past....you may want to try
them. Also, if you are interested in international travel at all....you
may contact Psychiactric Care Consultants (pcc@pccnurses.com.au).
Back to top
Question
i'm finishing a current contract where i was for 26 weeks from
the intial first meeting the staff trhoughout the hospital was not
friendly,hostile and just downright rude....now the nurses are reporting
things not done wheras they are guilty of the same thing..plus i'm
guarenteed 36 hours and the next two weeks she has sligted me 12
hours each week...what should i do?
Response
I am glad you are finishing up your contract. Way to hang in there.
Every once in awhile a nurse will find herself among a sea of sharks.
Your proper plan of action is to contact your agency. They should
have someone that is a nurse advocate for problems like this. The
cut in hours will concern them as well. Unfortunately, some agencies
are great at backing up their nurses and some aren't. Good luck
and watch your back and dot your I's as they say.
Back to top
Question
Is traveling only for the very experienced? I work full time in
an office setting but only do 1 day a week in acute care. Woulkd
i be able to adapt to a travel experience?
Response
Good question. First, it is great that you are keeping your foot
in the door by working once a week in the acute care setting. I
am curious how long you have been doing that. Are you experienced
enough to travel? Well, only you can really determine that, but
here are a few pointers: Travel nurse companies usually require
a minimum of one year experience in order to travel. What if you
meet the requirements, but are not sure of your comfort level? The
more experienced you are...the more comfortable you will be. Here
is a good way to test yourself out without too much risk: sign up
with a local registry in town and try working a day or two in different
settings in town and see what your comfort level is like. If you
really want to travel, continue to do occassional registry work
in town until you are comfortable going into a new setting and being
put to work right away. If you can work at a variety of places in
town with comfort, you will be able to travel in comfort. Local
registry gives you a chance to see what traveling would be like
without the risk of uprooting yourself first.
Back to top
Question
Do you have any advice for traveling with children?
Response
Plenty of travelers take assignments with their children.
Some only travel in the summer when their children are out of school,
others homeschool their children. One company many travelers recommend
is www.sycamoretree.com as a resource for home schooling children.
I would recommend negotiating for private housing and to let your
company know you will be traveling with children so they can make
accomodations for you. Traveling can be whatever you make it.
Back to top
Question
What if I don't like my housing?
Response
Get out! Be firm with your
company when it comes to housing. You need to be happy with where
you are residing. If you feel real strongly about your housing,
you can refuse to stay on that assignment unless they provide adequate
housing. Many times the company has not seen the place you are staying
and have to rely on advertising. A few good websites to use in finding
another apartment in the area is: www.rentnet.com, www.apartments.com,
and www.petplace.com (for people who have pets).
Reader comment:
I just read your article on "What travel companies are the
best ones"
I work in the marketing department of a travel nurse agency who
has been around for 15 years, and as you said we are very competitive.
We work hard to provide good benefits to our nurses and recruiters
work hard to bond relationships with their travelers.
I can appreciate all the information provided to nurses, especially
ones trying to research companies for the first time. I think its
a helpful tool because many don't know what they are allowed to
do, ask for etc.
One thing I'd like to point out, however, is that in some of these
articles the nurse is empowered a little too much. Yes, we want
them to be happy, yes they are making our company money, but we
also have obligations and we enstow trust in the nurses we choose
to work with. Your suggestion to "demand new housing or you'll
leave the assignment" I don't feel is appropriate to say.
We do our very, very best to find the best possible housing for
each and every assignment. Of course its impossible to see it, and
yes, sometimes and housing is not the best, but may be an extremely
high priced area, or the nurse may have brought a pet or had other
requirements. In any case, once a nurse agrees to an assignment,
our company signs a lease with the housing committing us to this
housing for at least the period of the 3 months. Having a nurse
demand new housing is usually not an option unless its the housing's
fault, not just becuase they don't like it. We also have obligations,
and we're not concerned with no making the money on the contract,
but now we are responsible for the full three months lease.
A better suggestion to the nurses would be to do their own research
on housing, if its a big issue to them. Once a housing place has
been established, encourage them to call around themselves, talk
to the landlord, call the local police station, ask about how long
they have been there, what part of town its in, if its safe, etc.
They are grown adults after all.
If they are not comfortable with the housing at that point voice
concerns before signing the contract, and if new housing cannot
be found, then they should choose not to accept the assignment at
that point.
Again, don't know if this makes any difference, but being on the
other end it seems like people encourage the travel nurses to do
whatever they want and demand everything since its so competitive,
but we are trying to do the best we can and feel there are more
proper ways they can accomplish the same things.
Back to top
Question
Can you list some of the travel agencies who are known to provide
adequate housing? Or can you provide a ranking system by travelers
just for housing?
Response
We cannot specifically suggest one travel company over the other,
but travelers can. This is why we have a ranking system on our website
for travelers to rank the agencies according to their experience.
Over time, we hope this will be invaluable information and improve
the standards of the industry. We hope to become the largest independent
site for travelers to meet and voice their opinions and share information.
On the agency ranking page, you can view how each characteristic
of the company is ranked in detail including housing.
Our referral service can referr you to companies that offer private
housing if you would like. However, we cannot personally give out
our own opinions. Besides, what better place to get that information
than from other travelers on the web. We did a ranking system to
get a accumulation of opinions rather than one persons opinion.
You probably already have realized that many people have differing
opinions about the same agency depending on who their recruiter
was and what kind of experience they had with them.
Back to top
Question
I am about to start the traveling experience soon. I have experience
in many different areas of the hospital, in nicu and pacu currently.
what kind of assignment should i look for in traveling to keep my
experience current? i like to work with neonates and adults
Response
Good to see you are versitile in your experience and thinking ahead.
These two qualities will make you a great traveler. No problem.
Since most assignments are only 3 months in length, you can make
sure you work with each patient population throughout the year.
For example, if working with neonate is your favorite or the easiest
to find placement then take most of your assignments in NICU during
the year. Yet, make sure one of the assignments is in PACU. Agency
like to know you have at least one year experience in each of the
departments you wish to work. Furthermore, they like to know you
have worked in that department sometime within the year prior to
the assignment so you are current on your skills. You should be
just fine. However, if you wish to work in other departments, you
may want to get the experience before you travel. It is difficult
to gain new experience as a traveler. Since you are only at the
hospital for a short period of time, they want to utilize you where
your strengths are and often don't want to spend the time and money
to orient you to a new specialty.
Back to top
Question
I am on my first assignment and at a small hospital, contracted
for 12 weeks in ICU. I am frequently floated out to a very disorganized
Tele unit. At times I am starting to think my license my not be
safe. I have been there 4 weeks and already have worked with a 52
years old, in good health, developed pneumonia and died. The wife
is a nurse and requested an autopsy, from an "nonhospital associated"
source. I feel good about the care he got the day I took care of
him, but still worry about giving a deposition. If I refused to
continue working at this hospital, what would the potential consequences
be to me. My contract says that if I don't complete they can bill
me for any expenses they incur. they did not pay any of my travel
expenses and they do not provide the housing. My housing allowance
if paid with my hourly pay, each week.
Response
Are you
still feeling like your license may not be safe? You are in better
shape than most people who feel they must leave their assignment
because they aren't providing your housing. That's usually the issue
is their having rented out a space for a certain amount of time
that will no longer be occupied. Be sure to notify them by email
or letter and explain why. This way you have some sort of documentation.
It's too bad things are turning out this way. Is there any way
you could refuse to float to the tele unit? What's the worst that
could happen....they would end your contract?
The best thing to do in order to know what the company is going
to ask for is to tell them the situation and ask them straight out
what they would want you to pay if anything? This way you know what
you are facing if you decide to leave.
Please write and let me know how this turns out.
|
