Travel nursing jobs
Currently, there is a severe shortage of nurses in the United States and this has made relocation of nurses highly imperative. Nurses are relocated from an existing place to the hospital that has severe shortage in the nursing staff. This shortage and the practice of compensating it through relocation, eventually gave rise to a full-fledged travel nursing career. Travel nurses, typically, are nurses who just travel from one hospital to the other. They are not staff nurses.
There are several agencies that source travel nurses to hospitals. They act as brokers. When a hospital reports a shortage and requests the agency to provide healthcare professionals to fill it, the agencies send over nurses registered with them as per the requirements. Travel nursing has developed into a full-fledged career. In character, it is similar to the role played by a staff nurse.
Travel nursing jobs enjoy huge benefits out of these arrangements. Today, hospitals and recruitment agencies are offering enormous incentives ranging from relocation assistance and furnished housing to stipends and bonuses to qualified registered nurses taking up these jobs. There are several travel nursing agencies and companies that help in this relocation process.
Travel nursing jobs are usually short-term assignments given on a contractual basis. The contract could vary from four weeks to 13 weeks. Some hospitals might offer extensions when the contract period ends and sometimes, you might also get an offer for a permanent job.
A travel nursing job enjoys a better pay than the staff job.
The payment is usually done on an hourly basis, bi-weekly basis or on monthly basis. Whatever is the mode and the duration of payment, it is considerably higher than a staff job. However, other non-salary benefits might be fewer. In case, a travel nurse maintains a permanent residence while working, there may be tax benefits. Most agencies also offer healthcare insurance, similar to that of staff jobs.
With a Travel nursing jobs, travel nurses are also provided accommodation in a safe locale, closer to the hospital. The accommodation could be a shared or independent accommodation. Some big travel nursing agencies even provide furnished apartments for accommodation. Travel nursing jobs companies also provide assistance in moving as well. In case, you decide to secure housing independently of the agency, you will get a modest stipend accordingly. A travel allowance is often paid by the healthcare staffing agency that may or may not be sufficient to fully reimburse the traveler for all the costs of a cross country trip.
There is a severe shortage of nurses in the country. The growth prospects are extremely high. Consequently, over 300 travel agencies have propped up across the country. There are more than 20,000 travel nurses today and the shortage is still not adequately dealt with.
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