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Questions to Ask When Choosing the Best Travel Nurse Agency 

Finding a great travel nurse company may seem like it’s a difficult task. After all, there are a lot of them throughout the country. A good agency can make or break your assignment since they can affect everything from your pay, your benefits and everything else related to your job. Before you sign a contract, make sure that you ask yourself (and your agency) these questions.  

What Does Another Travel Nurse Organization Say?

While reviews aren’t everything, they do give travelers an idea of how an agency works. As you’re starting your search for a travel nurse agency, do a little bit of research into what industry experts say. Start with websites such as VeryWell Health and the Balanced Careers and see what they say about different agencies.   Don’t stop there. Check out reviews on sites such as Facebook, Google and even Indeed and Glassdoor. Look at the overall rating, but don’t let a couple one star reviews give you pause. Any company that works with the public is going to have a bad review or two. Look to see how the company responds to the reviews, good and bad and don’t be afraid to ask about them when you connect with a recruiter. 

Size Matters: Large or Small Medical Staffing Agency?

Size matters when you’re looking for a travel company. Some travelers think that if they choose a very small company, they’ll get one-of-a-kind, personalized service and only deal with a recruiter. Sounds great, right? Hold up. When you have that small of an agency, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to find jobs in all the places you want to go to. Agencies like that are so small, their job pool is limited. Instead of thousands of available jobs, you may be stuck with choosing from just a few, none of them in desirable locations.   So, that means bigger is better, right? Think again. Huge agencies likely mean that you’ll be shuffled around from person to person. You’ll have a recruiter or maybe even an assistant that you’re dealing with, then once you actually sign a contract, you’ll have to deal with a whole compliance and onboarding team, plus someone from housing, someone from accounting and so on.   Instead, look for a healthcare staffing agency that’s just the right size. You’ll know you’ve found the right one if you consistently deal with the same person in the recruiting department and one dedicated compliance and onboarding person, rather than a team of faceless folks. 

Location, Location: Where are Travel Nurse Agencies Located?

Next, consider where the agency is located. Are they headquartered in the United States or are you dealing with overseas people who may be working in different time zones. This alone can make it difficult to work with agencies that are headquartered outside of the United States so a good rule of thumb is to stick with an agency that’s U.S. based.  One plus about using a U.S. based travel company is that you can swing by and actually meet your recruiter if your travels take you through the area. At Triage, we love it when travelers stop by! 

What Do Travel Nurse Companies Do If You Want a New Recruiter?

Good agencies know it’s not uncommon to not jibe with everyone and they don’t expect every traveler and recruiter to be a perfect match. Ask around to see what happens when you like the company, but don’t love your recruiter—are you stuck with them?   At Triage, the answer is no. We want everyone to be happy and we know a big part of that is the traveler/recruiter relationship. If you and your recruiter don’t mesh well together, we want to know and we’ll work to get you someone that better fits your needs. No biggie.  

What About Pay for Travel Nursing Agencies?

It’s a common theme between agencies. Travelers are interested in the pay rate, but the agency hides it like it’s a state secret. Not us. At Triage, we aim to be clear and transparent with you and that’s why our healthcare travel job board has a weekly pay estimate listed for most jobs. In keeping with our transparent theme, there are a few jobs that don’t have anything listed—this is just because our contracts prohibit sharing the rate on a public job board. It’s rare, but if you do see a job without a weekly salary listed, check with your recruiter. They’ll be able to share that info with you, no sweat.   Travelers do often make more than their staff counterparts. This is because travelers pick up and move every 13 weeks. They’re not actually hospital employees and the hospital pays a higher rate for agency travelers. Travelers can expect a higher hourly rate, but also a housing stipend that’s considered a tax free benefit. To qualify for this stipend, travelers need to duplicate their expenses—that is paying for a household in their home state, as well as a place to stay during their assignments.   If you have questions about travel nurse pay, your recruiter can be an invaluable resource. But be wary of recruiters who tell you that you don’t have to duplicate expenses. If you happen to get audited by the IRS, they’re not going to care what your recruiter said so it’s on you to make sure you’re following the rules and regulations. Consider chatting with an accountant who specializes in travel taxes to make sure you’re good if the IRS comes a callin’. 

Do Healthcare Staffing Agencies Offer Benefits?

Like we said before, travelers aren’t actually employed by the hospitals. That’s where a healthcare staffing agency comes into the picture. An agency takes care of all the HR-related functions for the traveler. They offer benefits, such as health, dental, vision and life (or they should! If your agency doesn’t, shop around). Many also often retirement accounts like a 401k and some even offer a company match after you’ve been employed by the same agency for a certain amount of time. If they do, take advantage of it—that’s called free money. 

What Kind of Experience Do Travel Nurse Companies Look For?

Next decide if you’re what the travel nurse agency is looking for. While some nurses want to dive right into traveling as soon as they get their license, hold up. You’ll need to have at least two years of recent experience, in most cases. Some specialties will accept less time, but two years is a good rule of thumb.   Nurses continue to learn and grow in their careers while they’re in their first job. No one graduates knowing how to handle every situation and it takes a couple years to become a fully competent nurse who’s prepared to handle any situation. Since travel nurses need to be able to jump right in and positively impact their unit without any training or orientation, it’s vital that travel nurses have this experience.  

How to Get Started With Nursing Travel Agencies?

Once you have your experience, it’s time to get started. Once you decide on an agency, reach out to a couple recruiters. Your recruiter is your lifeline at the agency, so pick someone you click with. A good recruiter will answer all your questions about each assignment, including questions about pay, benefits, hospital scrub color and everything else you have questions about.   Ask about your hourly rate, overtime expectations and pay, as well as your housing stipend. Ask if the agency will provide housing or if this is something you’ll need to handle yourself. Most travelers choose to take care of their own housing, but your recruiter should be able to help direct you if you need help.  

Once Hired, What’s the Onboarding Process Like?

After you sign a contract, you’ll need to go through onboarding. This means getting your compliance documents all in order and doing things like taking a drug test or even taking a fit test for a mask. Each facility will likely have slightly different requirements for compliance and onboarding so don’t be surprised if you have different tasks, depending on the facility. Onboarding can take a while, so when your compliance person asks for specific items, such as vaccination records or wants to know where you can complete an onboarding physical, respond quickly.   Some travelers, especially new ones, want to know if they’ll be required to pay for onboarding tasks, such as a physical or vaccinations. If you’re being asked to pay for items like this without a way for the agency to pay upfront, be wary. Your agency should offer to pay for a flu shot, though they may require you to go to a specific location. For instance, if they ask you to go to a clinic, yet you choose to go to a drug store, you may have to pay out of pocket for that flu shot at the drug store. But the agency and your recruiter should offer to reimburse you for this. You may need to wait for your first or second paycheck, but if there’s no offer of reimbursement, keep going.   Does becoming a travel nurse sound like something you’re interested in? If so, connect with a recruiter today and get started on the process.