Travel Nursing Blog

Everything you need to know about travel nursing including finding travel nursing companies, negotiating pay, taxes, travel nursing jobs, and more.

Travel Nursing as a Labor and Delivery Nurse

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Labor and Delivery (L&D) nurses care for and monitor mothers and babies during labor and birth. L&D is regularly considered one of the most in demand travel nursing specialties. However, there are several issues regarding the L&D travel job market that L&D nurses interested in travel nursing should be aware of in order to properly set expectations and plan accordingly. Read more

Intensive Care Unit (ICU – CCU) Travel Nursing

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According to the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, critical care nursing is a specialty that deals specifically with human responses to life-threatening problems. This definition casts a very wide net that could include ER, ICU, CCU, CVICU, PCU, SDU and potentially other nursing units. This blog post will focus on travel nursing jobs in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) or Critical Care Unit (CCU), which we’ll collectively refer to as ICU from here on. Understanding the general landscape of ICU travel nursing will help ICU nurses get the most out of their experience. Read more

3 Things You Must Know About Medical Surgical (MS) Travel Nursing

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Like most specialties found in acute care hospitals, there is demand for Medical Surgical travel nursing candidates. Medical Surgical nursing was once considered an entry-level position where nurses could hone the basics before entering a more specialized field. However, Medical Surgical nursing evolved to require the mastery of so many skills that it is now considered a distinct specialty.

Despite the fact that Medical Surgical nursing jobs represent a significant percentage of all nursing jobs, Medical Surgical travel jobs can sometimes be sparse and are often quite competitive to land. Understanding the factors at play will help medical surgical nurses set their expectations and formulate a game-plan to get the most out of their time as travel nurses. Read more

Travel Nursing Pay: The M&IE Stipend

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The tax-free aspect of the travel nursing pay package can get really confusing. Different companies approach and handle it in different ways. You’ll find many companies that refer to the Meals and Incidental Expenditure (M&IE) stipend as one of the components of their pay package.

Like the rest of the pay package, the M&IE stipend can be confusing. Recruiters often use different terms when describing it. Different agencies offer different amounts in the same area. Recruiters often do a poor job of defining it clearly. In the end, travel nurses are often left wondering what’s really going on with this compensation variable. Read more

7 Things to Know about Travel Nursing Pay & Wage Recharacterization

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Travel nursing pay packages are quite complex compared to permanent-job pay packages. This is due to the fact that travel nursing pay is commonly split between a taxable base rate and various tax-free reimbursements.

Moreover, different agencies have different ways of splitting the pay among the various pay package components. Some agencies will pay travel nurses more tax-free money and less taxable money, and vice-versa.

However, there are rules that agencies must follow. One set of rules that agencies should adhere to pertain to what is commonly called “wage recharacterization.” Understanding this issue will provide travel nurses with a better understanding of travel nursing pay.

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How to Become a Travel Nurse in 10 Steps

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Travel nurses are nurses who work temporary jobs commonly referred to as travel nursing assignments. Assignments are typically 13 weeks in length but can be longer or shorter. Travel nursing is a great way travel around the country while gaining valuable work experience. However, you should familiarize yourself with the advantages and disadvantages before deciding to undertake travel nursing. If you decide that it’s right for you, then you just need to know how to become a travel nurse. Here we’ll provide our 10 steps to becoming a travel nurse.
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9 Points of Debate Between Travel Nursing Companies over the MSP Model

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The debate over Managed Service Providers in travel nursing and healthcare staffing heated up in June of 2013 when opposing sides exchanged barbs on The Staffing Stream. Colleen Mills, a Senior VP for the National Healthcare Staffing Alliance wrote a piece urging small and mid-sized travel nursing companies to “Take a stand on VMS/MSP”. Days later, Bob Livonius, President of Workforce Solutions at AMN Healthcare, took exception and urged healthcare staffing agencies to “Work Together to Embrace Best Practices with MSPs.” This is an important topic with major implications for travel nurses, travel allied professionals, and Locum Tenens.  Read more