With the way things are going, the number of nurses considering becoming travel nurses to help out in areas where they are needed, such as New York, are on the rise. Although it is expected that nurses get a pay package that is higher than average at this time, there are plenty of other factors that need consideration. If you are looking to hire a travel nurse, here is some basic information that you need to know.
What’s a travel nurse?
Travel nurses are nurses that are registered to take on short-term roles at clinics, hospitals, and other healthcare facilities all over the world. These nurses help fill in the empty spaces in places where there is a shortage or scarcity of nurses.
Travel nurses are often employed by a nursing staffing agency that works independently rather than a single hospital. This allows the nurses to travel near and far too different countries or also be there to help at local hospitals that need temporary help.
Some of these travel nurses actually opted for it because of the other perks and benefits that come with it. Some of these are the opportunity to travel to new places and explore, make new friends, experience a different practice environment, etc. Other benefits of this job are free housing, competitive pay, etc.
Their level of education or experience does not usually influence the payment for travel nurses. As a matter of fact, a registered traveling nurse with an experience of 2 years can get paid the same amount as another traveling nurse with ten years’ experience. This makes it ideal for new nurses as it provides them with the opportunity to make plenty of money than they’d have initially made to easily pay off the cost that they incurred during their nursing education.
The requirement for travel nurse
There are a few requirements that are checked before a travel nurse is considered. They have to be a registered nurse and have an excellent standing license. Typically, they have at least two years of experience in nursing. Apart from the credentials or certification needed for their specialization area, they don’t need extra certifications.
However, due to the current situation with COVID-19, nursing staffing agencies have gone to great lengths to ensure that it is effortless to recruit nurses into places where there are urgent needs. In some cases, they have waived the requirement for state nurse licensure in states that are already in a state of emergency. The RNs are coming back to work.
What travel nurses do?
Travel nurses tend to work with their area of primary specialty, which is different for individuals. So, depending on the specialties, the duties of travel nurses will vary very much. However, according to essay writers at best assignment writing service in UK, some nurses’ general responsibilities are:
- Examination of patients and talking to them about how they feel, the symptoms, health histories, etc. so that they can know if they have to make any critical decisions concerning their healthcare.
- Deliver counseling and information, which will help the patient improve their health.
- Play essential roles in delivering treatment and medication.
- Perform essential research.
- Ensure that healthcare quality to patients is high by collaborating with other healthcare practitioners to create quality assurance standards.
How a staffing agency help to hire traveling nurses
Staffing agencies actually help place nurses to hospitals where they are limited or scarce, and they can help set them on permanent or temporary placements. These staffing agencies are also responsible for securing contracts for these registered nurses so that they can work in different types of health facilities. So, if you need to hire a travel nurse, you have to go through the staffing agency.
It is becoming more commonplace for international nurses to get employment since the last decade. The reason for this is to be able to balance the demand for nurses all over the world with some supply. Because nurses who are internationally educated are now very expensive for hospitals to have, they tend to go through staffing agencies that specialize in nurse staffing internationally. These agencies are not very common. These agencies are the ones that typically sponsor the visa of the international nurse and charge.
The establishment of staffing agencies has really streamlined the process of getting healthcare professionals into hospitals that lack one. There are staffing agencies that choose to provide additional services to the nurse, such as ongoing support, education program, housing, etc.—understanding all the benefits you stand to gain from working with a staffing agency before committing yourself to them. The types of healthcare professionals that the staffing agency has will also determine the services they render.
Types of placements
There are different types of placement out there. Some of these are:
Pro Re Nata or Per Diem (PRN)
Per diem stands for per day, and is very similar to when a nurse is on-call. The contract typically ranges from one day through several weeks. When nurses work in this role, there are no guaranteed hours. A per diem nurse’s ideal situation is like a last-minute cancellation of shift or immediate demands as their services can be rendered very quickly. These nurses typically offer plenty of flexibility compared to PRN nursing.
Pro re nata refers to “as needed.” These nurses might need an RN to be sure that they meet up with some staffing stipulation to maintain their employment. This means that they might have to work on certain holidays or during weekends.
Travel nursing
According to top essay writing service, traveling nurses are typically given short-term contracts ranging from four to six weeks or longer sometimes. These nurses can come from different geographic locations. Then they get assigned to different areas of healthcare to cover for the employment gaps there. Their contracts are usually made individually and case-by-case depending on what the facility needs at the time but can’t be recommended to hospitals with shortages in coronavirus. The unfortunate thing is that traveling nurses can have workplace animosity.
Permanent placement contracts or temp-to-perm
Permanent placement contracts are the best ways for RNS to cover the bridge that is obviously between employments so that they can discover whether they prefer a particular geographical location. The intention here is for them to go into full-time work after a period that has been predetermined. Some temporary employees go through agencies just to get a transition process that is better streamlined.
Agencies that deal with permanent placement put out the direct nurses for a fee that has been predetermined. The cost will typically be about 20 – 25% of their salary per year, with no retention or any guarantee. This option is ideal for people who don’t want to live in that environment they’re in and plan to stay there for the long term.
Working with a nurse staffing agency
When you work with a staffing agency to hire a traveling nurse, major factors that you must look out for are the price, quality, and speed.
Price
At this time, chief nursing officers are trying to cut down on their contingency spending, and the best way to do this is by reducing labor costs. In the long run, it might be expensive to rely on additional labor. This is why healthcare executives are trying different means to get a sustainable solution to staff their facilities adequately.
Quality
A quality travel nurse has years of experience in them and is very hardworking and, more importantly, can fit appropriately into an organization’s culture. They tend to prioritize communication, teamwork, and the safety of patients. The way that an RN will transition and adapt to your facility is dependent on how much preparation they had before they started the contract.
Speed
The speed at which you have to need a nurse at your facility should be a significant factor for you when choosing the staffing agency to work with. The type of nurse you need is what will determine the rate you have to fill that gap. If you have immediate needs, you would have to consider going for a per day nurse or supplementing the vacancy with a PRN nurse.
Conclusion
There has to be a sustainable solution to dealing with nurse shortages in the long run. But for the time being, staffing agencies can help get traveling nurses to fill those voids.
