7 Potential Start-Up Costs for Travel Nurses
Whether you’re just getting started as a travel nurse or taking on your next travel nursing assignment, there are potential start-up costs that you will most likely be responsible for covering. Many of these costs may be reimbursed as part of your travel nursing pay package, but travel nurses should always anticipate the need to cover some costs up-front. In this blog post, we’ll discuss some of the potential up-front costs and offer some tips for dealing with them so that you can formulate a plan.
License and certification costs for travel nurses
Obtaining and maintaining the required documentation is a burdensome responsibility. It always takes time and is often a monetary expense that must be covered up front. For the purpose of this discussion, we’re going to split the documents into two categories: 1) licenses and certifications, 2) medical records. Each of these categories has its own nuances that require unique approaches to dealing with them.
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Licenses and certifications will almost always be a cost that travelers will have to cover up front. Again, these costs may be reimbursed, but as we’ve mentioned before, license and certification reimbursements are really just one of the variables to consider when evaluating the entire pay package.
Different agencies have different policies for reimbursing costs associated with licenses and certifications. Some will reimburse the costs on the first paycheck of the contract. Others may reimburse the costs in the middle of the contract, the end of the contract, or in increments over the duration of the contract. However, they typically don’t cover the costs up front because they’re concerned that an issue may arise that will prevent the traveler from starting the contract.
The cost of obtaining a state nursing license varies by state. For example, the fee for obtaining a California RN license by endorsement is $100, plus $49 for Manual Fingerprint Card processing, and $50 if you apply for a temporary license. You may also need to pay your education institution for the cost of certified transcripts that are required by the California Board of Nursing.
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Meanwhile, the fee for a obtaining a Texas RN license by endorsement is $186 and the fee for Florida is $175. Massachusetts charges $275. You should anticipate paying $150 to $300 for a state nursing license when all fees and related costs are accounted for.
The great thing about certifications as opposed to licenses is that certifications are nationally recognized, so you don’t need to obtain new certifications for every state you work in. Moreover, most nurses will already have the certifications typically required for their specialty prior to engaging in travel nursing. However, these certifications typically expire every two years and fees must be paid for renewal.
The most common certifications required for travelers are BLS and ACLS. Depending on your specialty you may also need PALS, TNCC, ENPC, NRP, an AWHONN Fetal Heart Monitoring certification, or other certifications. You can review our blog posts on travel nursing by specialty to see the common certification requirements for your specialty.
It’s important to keep your certifications active. Contracts can be cancelled when certifications expire during a contract. Although this is rare, it happens nonetheless. Lacking an active certification can also disqualify you for travel nursing jobs that require the certification in question. It’s also important to make sure your certifications come from the the most widely accepted certifying bodies for the certification in questions, the American Heart Association for example.
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Certification costs can add up quickly. They can cost anywhere from $50 on the low end to over $300 on the high end depending on the certification. Some certifications, such as the CPI certification, can cost more than $1,000. This is why it’s always important to sign up for certification courses when they’re offered at a hospital where you’re employed. Hospitals sometimes provide the courses for free to their employees. So if you’re just getting started as a traveler, be sure to look into this before leaving your current employer. You can even try to enroll in hospital courses when you’re working a travel assignment at a hospital. I’ve worked with many travelers who have taken free certification courses at their contracted hospitals.
Medical record costs as a travel nurse
Agencies will cover the cost of medical records in most cases. However, it’s highly advised that travel nurses own their own medical records for several reasons. First, agencies may not be willing to pay for certain records. For example, they may not be willing to pay for chest x-rays in the event of a positive TB test.
Second, agencies may withhold the records claiming they are the property of the agency if the agency paid for them. This can make it difficult on you when obtaining future assignments.
Third, even when an agency pays for the medical records, they’re most likely accounting for the cost when they determine the rate for the assignment in question. So if you’re able to present a fully compliant set of medical records to an agency, then you may improve your negotiating position and squeeze some extra money out of the contract.
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Again, these costs can add up quickly. $30 for a TB exam, $75 for a physical exam, $85 for an MMR titer report and you’re looking at a couple hundred dollars. Again, if you’re just starting out as a traveler, then try to utilize the services at the hospital where you are currently employed. You’ll find that they often offer these services for free. Also, inquire with HR department to see if you can obtain copies of what they have on file. In any case, you should always try to obtain copies of medical records, even when the agency is paying for them. It can save you time, trouble, and money in the future.
Housing start-up costs for travel nurses
You can also potentially incur start-up costs related to housing. We’ve previously covered what you need to lookout for when dealing with company provided housing. We’ve also covered the potential start-up costs involved with securing your own housing. You can review these articles to get an idea of what to look out for.
Travel start-up costs for travel nurses
Like licenses and certifications, agencies typically shy away from providing money up-front for travel costs. Agencies are more likely to purchase plane tickets, but they are less likely to provide cash to cover the costs of traveling to an assignment by car or any other method. Of course, these costs will vary depending on how the traveler is getting to the assignment and the distance covered to get there.
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Uniform start-up costs for travel nurses
Each new assignment will take you to a new hospital. Some hospitals maintain requirements on the color of scrubs that are acceptable. Some hospitals maintain requirements on shoes. As a result, you may need to purchase new scrubs and/or shoes more often than you would like.
Storage start-up costs for travel nurses
Ideally, you’ll be keeping your current apartment or home while you’re engaged in travel nursing. After all, this is the best way to maintain your tax home and qualify for the tax-free stipends that agencies provide. It’s also a great way to ensure that you have a place to keep all of your stuff while you’re on the road. In any case, you may need to secure storage for your the stuff you won’t be taking with you while on assignment.
Purchasing Comfort Items
While it’s true that travel nursing agencies can provide you with everything you’ll need, you may still need or want more than they can provide. As a result, you may need to purchase various items to ensure that you’re comfortable while on the road. Moreover, you may find that you’ll need to purchase some items that simply make it easier to travel; things to help you stay organized or storage containers for packing everything up.
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As you can see, starting a new assignment will most certainly have start-up costs. Using this list will help you estimate the total cost involved. This way, you’ll be able to determine how much money is required to bridge the gap between accepting the assignment and receiving your first paycheck.
As always, we’d love to hear about your experiences with subject, especially if we missed something! Please leave your comments, questions and feedback below.
