We figured it would be a good idea to post some tips that should be at the top of a travel nurse’s list when looking for a travel nurse staffing company and what should be in the travel nurse’s contract.

1. If an item is not in writing, then it doesn’t exist. It doesn’t matter what the recruiter from your staffing agency promises, unless it’s in the contract, you shouldn’t expect it to happen. All contracts are typically approved (or disapproved) by the head of the company or someone authorized to execute the contract to make it official. And chances are, they won’t know anything about the conversations you and you recruiter have had by the time they see the contract.

2. Check out what the per diem travel nurse pay is in the area you’re considering. Your pay should be similar to that, and in the same range when expenses such as rent are added in. Anything significantly different and your agency or recruiter is probably taking money that you deserve. The sad truth is that there are quite a few agents who hope that their travel nurse clients are not aware of this.

3. Housing deductions need to be comparable with the area you’re looking into. Not that you should be getting $2000 each month for housing for an apartment that’s only $600 per month. If your housing deduction is too out of whack, IRS flags go off and then you are responsible for the taxes on that other money.

4. Sub-renting housing with another travel nurse does not get you the full deductions on expenses. Since the housing costs and the housing are being shared, that leaves you subject to taxes on what was not spent towards the housing by you.

5. Do your research on every agency, every facility, and every area you consider traveling to. If any of it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

In an upcoming post, we’ll tell you where travel nurses can turn for help in these situations.