Being a travel nurse means more than just showing up for work. So it’s no wonder why some new travel nurses get frustrated when they don’t get the greatest assignments, have to wait on agencies for their assignments, and generally wonder why their travel nurse staffing agency isn’t doing more to help.
What successful travel nurses know is that, besides their travel nurse agency, they have to do work too in order to get the placements and assignments they want. In short, the quality of your assignments generally reflects the quality of effort you put into finding those assignments. The good news is that there are some very easy things that travel nurses can do to improve the type of assignments they get from a healthcare staffing agency.
Be a prepared to brag about your travel nurse qualifications.
You should always be ready to deomstrate how you are qualified for a particular assignment. Know your qualifications. Sure you have them on paper, but could you rattle off each state you’re licensed in and your education background without looking it up? You’ll impress recruiters and hospitals by not only knowing these facts off the top of your head, but also by having the documents to support them. The more qualified and professional you are, the more likely you are to get a good travel nurse assignment.
Know what you want in a travel nurses gig.
If you don’t know what kind of travel nurse assignments you’re looking for, you might want to reconsider your career options. If you can’t tell a recruiter what you want in terms of a travel nurse assignment, your recruiter or staffing agency won’t be able to figure it out either. Which pretty much means their chances of making you happy are slim. Do you want to be in a metropolitan setting? Do you want something rural? Are you looking for somewhere you can stay for longer than 13 weeks? Shorter? The more you know about what you want, the better an agency can help you.
Have realistic expectations.
If you’ve seen blog posts and forum chats about high-paying travel nurse assignments and have dollar signs in your eyes, you’re not alone. It’s a big reason why travel nurses get into the business. Quite often, high-paying travel nurse asignments pay well for a reason. These reasons include low nurse-to-patient ratios, overtime laws and the overall need of the hospital. Before you jump at a high-paying travel nurses gig, ask questions about how the hourly rate has been determined.
Know what you’re getting into.
Read the entire contents of a contract BEFORE you sign it. If you have questions, ask. If something is too vague, the time to clarify is before you sign. The more clearly a contract is written, the less likely it is that a travel nurse will run into any gray areas that could land them in trouble.
If you take these points into consideration, you’ll be in a good position to get travel nurses assignments that meet your needs. Your agency will have the information they need to find you the best possible matches, and you’ll know what you want and don’t want. It’s only with this kind of active participation that you can truly find yourself in a rewarding career as a travel nurse in the United States.