However, from a travel nurse’s perspective it can be a scary situation, causing anxiety and uncertainty. It can make questions like, “Do I still have a job?”, “I am going to get paid?”, “Where am I going to live?” or “Will I still have insurance?” go through your head. And even if the in the end the company stays in business it is still stressful to even have to think about.

Although this last year and a half has been rough on travel nursing companies in general, with other travel nursing companies being bought up or going out of business, there are some steps you can take ahead of time to try and determine the probability of this happening to a travel nursing company you are considering. I recently wrote about these steps, but thought in light of this recent news it would be good to point you to them again. So here are 12 ways to check if your travel nursing company may go bankrupt ahead of time.

There is much to think about when switching companies. First asked yourself why you want to switch companies. Keep in my mind that when you keep switching, that requires more paperwork and keeping up with your healthcare plan. Changing companies can more of a hassle then what it is truly worth. Write out both the positives and negatives before actually making a switch.

Staying with one company that you’re comfortable with allows you to build a strong, professional relationship with your recruiter. You and your recruiter will actually become friends since they will always be there to talk to you 24/7. You are their number one priority. The better your recruiter knows you and your career goals, the better he or she can find jobs that are the best fit for you.

Also by staying there can be far less surprises. No worries about a company not coming through with what they say they are going to do. This can leave you free from worry when traveling on assignment.

Of course there are also legitimate and sometimes necessary reasons to shop around for a different company. Just be clear about why you want to change companies and be aware of some of the extra work that you’ll need to do in order to make it happen.

I was recently reading this article ”How to converse with travel nurse recruiters” at TravelRNgab.com and it reminded me somewhat of an older post from Beth at PixelRN.com where she talked about nurses having a Mission Statement.

Almost every company has a Mission Statement that clearly communicates the company’s vision, their methods of conducting business, and the standards they measure themselves against. These statements are created mostly for the employees’ benefit. As they can use the mission to help guide them through business decisions and also provide motivation during the work day.

Gary’s post at TravelRNgab.com was a very good post with tips about how to talk with travel nursing recruiters, but to me the most important part of his post is how to be prepared to talk with a recruiter.

So how does this relate to a Mission Statement?

As a travel nurse or someone considering travelling, it is crucial to have a good idea of what you want from a travel nursing career. Your Mission Statement. Why do you want to travel? Where do you want to travel to? Do you like the challenge of being working in a large city hospital or do you prefer a small town atmosphere? Do you want to try to learn new skills?

Gary mentions having a list of priorities that he needs each recruiter to answer. For him, these priorities include understanding certain benefits a travel nursing company offers. This is a great idea that you should add as part of your Mission Statement.

All these things are important and will help you have a rewarding travel nursing experience. Armed with your Mission Statement you’ll be able to use it to help guide you in choosing travel nursing companies and assignments that match your career goals.

There were some bits of advice that I had never thought of before, but i think could be very valuable for a travel nurse. For example one traveling nurse talks about calling her housing complex ahead of time and asks to talk to people who live there. With the importance of good housing to a travel nursing job, this is a brilliant piece of advice.

Another great piece of advice that was very insightful was to make sure the company has experienced recruiters that can steer you clear of travel nursing assignments that are a bad fit for you. You should really feel confident about your recruiter and believe that

As you can see from just these few examples, this list is pretty good, so I would definitely recommend checking it out. Do you have any do’s and don’ts you would add?