Negotiating a Travel Nursing Contract

Travel Nursing can take you all over the US and the world, too.  The secret to this gig is securing a great location with a great contract at the same time. We realize now what a sweet deal Steve has up here in Tacoma and contracts like this one may be few and far between. The lesser desired locations seem to give a better overall package, but who wants to be stuck in Arizona in the summer heat? Don't get me wrong, we would love to visit Phoenix...in the winter/spring. Then there's Hawaii and the Virgin Islands complete with very low pay and poor housing. Someday we may do that, but not today, ugh, today we need 3 things...competitive hourly pay, substantial daily per diem and great housing. Yes, we want it all. So in a nutshell, this is how the travel nursing contract works...  

Hospitals that need temporary staff use staffing agencies to fill their vacancies. Staffing agencies hire recruiters to place nursing staff. Recruiters locate travel nurses to fill available positions by offering incentives...like competitive hourly pay, housing or stipends, meal and incidentals daily per diem, insurance and bonuses. Bonuses come in all forms from sign up, start up, completion, extension, holiday and added bonuses for regular and overtime hours completed, and I'm sure there's more. Most contracts are for a short time, like 8-13 weeks. Contracts can be cancelled for multiple reasons and they can be extended and renewed. Yes it's complicated and yes there are many hands in the cookie jar. Finding a recruiter you can talk to and trust is mandatory as you may find yourself in a strange city with poor housing or at a hospital that is unethical. Your recruiter is your only liaison working on your behalf, so don't hesitate to communicate with them, they are your lifeline. Most recruiters recommend looking for a new assignment when you are within 4 weeks of your current assignment completion date. Today Steve's contract ends in 3 1/2 weeks so it's time to step it up. We plan on taking a good road trip in between assignments, so a new contract start date around June 23 would be good. This is the tricky part where it all comes together, his recruiter submits his resume to hospitals in areas he would like to work and interested hospitals then call and 'interview" him (but really I'm listening in and interviewing them). Crazy? I know, but we are being cautious to prevent a possible bad situation. These hospitals are short on staff, so it's not uncommon for them to contact the recruiter immediately with an offer. If the dates and the money seem workable, the recruiter then creates a benefit summary and sends the offer to Steve. More times than not, it's a no go. Some are rejected due to the housing stipend, some for the hourly wage, some for location and sometimes there are red flags and we just have a bad feeling. To work like this you must stay calm, be adaptable and have realistic expectations. So today we wait and we pray that the perfect assignment will become available so that Steve can secure a summer contract soon ...