Travel Nursing: The Pros and Cons of a Float Pool Contract

Travel nursing contracts these days are not quite as lucrative or easy to land as they were during the height of the COVID pandemic. However, float pool contracts are coming up more frequently, especially if a hospital is severely understaffed on all floors.

When you get the call from your travel nursing recruiter that there is a float pool position and the pay is better than anything else you’ve seen on the travel nurse job boards, make sure you know what you’re getting into before you commit.

Float Pool isn’t for Every Nurse

Not all nurses thrive in a float pool position. You need an outgoing, positive attitude and resiliency. You have to go with the flow and adapt to situations quickly. You don’t know the floor you’re working on until you arrive for your shift, and you could be pulled to another floor after a few hours in case the need arises.

Here are some pros and cons to help you decide if working in the float pool suits you.

The Pros of Float Pool as a Travel Nurse

It’s easier to land a job as a float pool nurse

A travel nurse could get a job during the height of the COVID pandemic without interviewing. The hospitals were desperate for staff and weren’t as interested in your qualifications as they were in having a fully staffed floor.

Now, however, there are still jobs, but the hospitals can be much more selective. Twenty nurses may submit to one telemetry unit position, and the one with the most impressive resume gets the job.

The difference with applying for a float position is that not as many nurses will want to submit for it because they know it may come with some irritating aspects. But we’ll get to those in the cons.

You get to meet a lot of different people as a float pool nurse

Float pool nursing may be for you if you love talking and interacting with different nurses, doctors, patients, and family members. You get to hop from unit to unit and get to know everyone throughout the hospital. Some nurses thrive on this part of the job.

Float pool nursing is not monotonous

If you are working a 36-hour week, you could have three different patient assignments that week. Sometimes more if you get pulled mid-shift. This can keep you refreshed, especially if you have a problematic patient assignment for one shift. If you are working three days in a row, there is a good chance you won’t take care of that group the next night.

Float pool nursing maximizes your nursing skills

Depending on your experience and skill level, you could be working on Medical-Surgical, Telemetry, Stepdown, and possibly ICU if you are qualified.

Floating to various units gives you a real chance to show off your nursing skills and experience, particularly if you are an ICU nurse. You’ll find that other nurses on the floor will come to you for advice, ask you to put in an IV or help them with an unstable patient. You may even lead a rapid response or a code until the appropriate team arrives.

The Cons of Float Pool as a Travel Nurse

You don’t know what unit you’ll be on until you arrive

If you like following a routine and the unknown makes you anxious, then float nursing may bother you.

There is a lot of variation across units in most hospitals because each has a different manager who will make up other systems and rules for their staff. As a result, you will be adapting to different situations depending on your location.

The mid-shift pull

You’ve finally passed all your meds, got your vital signs in the computer, and you’re documenting your last patient; time to settle in and read some doctor’s notes. That is until the supervisor calls and says you’re getting pulled to the seventh floor in an hour.

For most nurses, this is an annoyance. You got in your rhythm, and your system was working. Now you have to go to another unit, get a report on an entirely different group of patients, do more assessments and documentation, and probably pass some more meds.

This irritates some nurses and it will often happen depending on where you work.

You don’t feel part of a team

As a travel nurse, you can sometimes feel that you are not part of the team when you start your assignment. However, by the end of the thirteen weeks, you’ve made a lot of close relationships with the nurses on your unit.

Float nurses often miss out on the opportunity to form friendships or to feel like they are part of a team. You meet many different people but feel like you’re an outsider because you don’t spend enough time on one unit. Floating can be challenging because one of the best things about being a nurse is feeling camaraderie with fellow nurses.

Those are just some of the pros and cons of taking a job as a float pool nurse. There is no right or wrong answer; it depends on your personality and ability to adapt to different situations.

If you are a travel nurse, you are well aware of having to adapt, ask questions, and fit in quickly. Whatever you decide, there is no doubt you will rock it.

Guest Author: Allison DeMajistre, BSN, RN, CCRN, TNCC
Allison DeMajistre is a Registered Nurse who has completed several float-pool travel nursing contracts.