The impact that a good recruiter can have on your career as a travel nurse is very real and finding one that you can trust to stand up for you and get the job done is not something you should take lightly. A good recruiter with a good caring travel nursing company behind them should be someone that is not only professional, but someone you can trust and someone you should be able to have a relationship with.

It is often said that a recruiter is a travel nurse’s lifeline while they are out on the road so never just assume that the recruiter you started your travel nursing career  with is the one you have to stick with.

Here are some previous articles we have written on the healthcare staffing recruiter and the travel nurse:

• 14 questions to ask your travel nurse recruiter
• Tell me a little about yourself

So if you tried travel nursing, but did not have a good experience or are just tolerating your recruiter, maybe it is time to explore your options.

And the Healthcare Traveler article could be a good place to start. The recruiters listed are voted on by their travelers so it is a great recommendation of them by fellow nurses like you.

Here is the article: 2010 Recruiters of the Year

Well, one of the best ways to find a good travel nursing company is through referrals from other travel nurses. A referral lets you get the inside scoop, beyond what their website says or what their recruiters tell you. Because lets face it, a company’s website is not going to tell you if they are always late with your paycheck or if they will forget to call you for weeks at a time while you are on a travel nursing job.

One negative part about referrals though is that you need to find someone to give them to you and they may not have traveled with enough companies to have a real good feel for what is out there. Well one way around that is through Highway Hypodermics Top Ten Travel Nursing Companies list. It is a yearly list compiled through the rankings submitted by travel nurses who rank and nominate travel nursing agencies based on a wide variety of criteria like how honest the recruiter was and how much effort they made to find them a job to how well the company handles the pay process.

So if one of your New Year’s resolutions is to find a new travel nursing company, then this list may come in handy.

When your recruiter calls you, you will want to take the chance to verify the information about the travel nursing job and verify the details of the contract. At this point you should have already discussed the position details, benefits and pay thoroughly with your travel nurse recruiter (see Ultimate Travel Nurse Checklist #15) and have no surprises about it, but this is still your chance to follow-up and make sure that everything you have discussed is still accurate. You will need to verify the following pieces of information about your travel nursing job are in alignment with what you have been told:

• Name and location of the assignment
• Unit you’ll be working in
• Assignment start and end dates
• Shift and hours you are being hired to work
• Assignment pay rate (with any overtime and holiday rates included)
• Travel money to be paid at the start or end of your assignment
• Any other bonuses to be paid by the facility or travel nursing company
• Any deducted amounts from your pay for any health, dental, vision, or other company benefit plans
• Special pay rates (i.e. on-call or charge pay)
• Whether the travel nursing company is providing housing or what the monthly amount is to be paid for a housing allowance
• Any scheduling requirements you need to be aware of

Hopefully you are not being submitted for a travel nursing job you don’t plan on taking, so if after going over all the job and contract details everything matches up, you will need to let them know that you have officially accepted the assignment and sign the travel nursing contract. The travel nursing contract will probably be faxed or emailed to you and need returned as soon as possible so the hospital can confirm that the you are indeed taking the job and they can close it.

However in the instance that you did not get offered the travel nursing job the part of the process of getting submitted to a travel nursing job will have to start over at least partially. But the key is not to get discouraged. The next installment of the Ultimate Travel Nursing Checklist will lay out some tips to help you with that.

Finding the right travel nursing recruiter is something you can either let happen by accident or you take a proactive approach and ask the right kind of questions to make sure you find the best recruiter for your personality.

The relationship you have with your recruiter needs to be one based on trust and respect, so make sure you take the time to learn as much as you can about them before you enter a travel nursing job. It also definitely helps the success of your travel nursing job if you like your recruiter too. Travel nurses can come to rely on their recruiters for a lot during the course of an assignment, so it is not a relationship to be taken too lightly. That’s why I came up with this list of questions you can ask when you are talking to new recruiters to get to know them better:

1. How long have you been working in the travel nursing industry?
2. How many years have you been recruiting?
3. Are you going to be my recruiter the whole time I work with your company?
4. How many travel nurses do you work with right now?
5. What is the max number of travel nurses you are allowed to work with?
6. What is the standard travel nurse to recruiter ratio at your travel nursing company?
7. Tell me something about your background? Where did you go to school? Where did you grow up? Etc.
8. How many times a week will I talk to you?
9. How are you going to contact me? Email? Phone? Text? Etc.
10. What sets you apart from other recruiters?
11. How do your help your travel nurses succeed?
12. What made you want to work for this travel nurse company?
13. What is it about this company that you like? Dislike? Is there anything you would change? 
14. What’s your favorite color?

What about you? Are there any questions you have used to qualify or get to know your recruiter better?

Despite the mostly positive aspects of travel nursing, you will run into all kinds of personalities in your travels. While most staff members will be friendly and inviting, there will be instances when others have issues. Those issues might not even have anything to do with you, but you may still find yourself on the receiving end of their hostility. The sad truth is that many times, you might not find much that you can do about it as a traveler.

If you feel you are being mistreated as a traveler, the first person to speak to is your recruiter. It might seem logical to address the issue head-on with the person with whom you are having difficulty, but things can snowball quickly and I like the idea of having someone in my corner if the “fit hits the shan”.

Plus, when you speak with your recruiter, they can help you formulate a plan for addressing the situation. If you have a good recruiter, they are there to help you in these instances whether it be helping to develop a game plan, or even just listening to you vent. They can also be a barometer for the problem that you might be having; maybe you are overreacting a bit to the situation. We are ALL guilty of this from time to time and if you have a recruiter you trust, they can help set you straight if the issue is really not that big a deal. However, if they too feel that a resolution is needed, then you have validated your feelings and also hopefully gained an ally in getting the situation resolved.

When addressing an issue, work the chain of command. This means that you start at the bottom and work your way up the chain link by link. First, address the person with whom you have the issue. If that doesn’t work, who is their supervisor? If you don’t find resolution there, move up another link to their supervisor, and so on. If the issue is important enough, you could very well end up speaking with someone in administration that has a hand in running the entire hospital. However, this would be far up the chain and not the place where you should start.

I would say that it is seldom that confronting someone about the issue will be enough to warrant a change, but who knows, maybe you caught them on a bad day and it is something that can be resolved with a simple discussion. In my experience, it often requires moving up a link or two in the chain of command before anything is accomplished.

You must also remember that while conflict resolution should work the same for everyone, you might find resistance along the way if you are a traveler. Do you really think the same rules apply for a regular staff member as they do for a temporary employee that might only be there for thirteen weeks? They should, but most of us know that is not the way the “real” world functions.

In my book on travel nursing, I talk about the life of a traveler and how you sometimes need to keep your head down and “fly under the radar” while on assignment. When hospitals can let a traveler go at the drop of a hat, you really do need to choose your battles.

Travel nursing is all about adapting to your situation and occasionally that situation might not be all that ideal. You should NEVER stay in a situation where you are asked to practice nursing unsafely or feel physically “bullied”. However, some of the less drastic conditions might need to be endured until the end of your contract. Nursing is not always about figuring out how to deal with patients, it can be about figuring out how to interact with the people with whom you work and those in power that abuse that privilege.

Whatever the situation, get your recruiter in the loop. If it does come down to having to leave your assignment, you don’t want the situation to be a complete surprise to your travel company. You also want to understand all the consequences should you have to break your contract.

In my next post, we’ll take a look at some of those consequences and what happens if your contract is terminated.

I eventually settled into a routine. I would cook breakfast, clean the house, exercise, play at the pool, talk on the phone, read, and search for ways to fill the hours until Brandon got home at midnight.

It was fun in its own way, but I couldn’t handle it for long. Friends and family encouraged me to explore and sight-see on my own; but really, exploring and sightseeing is just more vacationing, and I needed a break from vacation.

So how do you fight off the boredom while on the road with your travel nurse? Here are a few tips that have helped me get past the boredom and actually start enjoying my new “career.”

• See it as your job too. There are a lot of ways that you can help your partner. Make it your job to research the assignments, look for apartments, plan your driving routes, and schedule sightseeing. Volunteer to keep up with your partner’s paperwork and deadlines.
• Develop a working relationship with your partner’s recruiter, so that you can handle some of the phone calls. Doing some of the grunt work will not only keep you occupied, it will give your partner some of that vacation time you’ve been enjoying.
• Continue pursuing your own dreams. It’s easy to fall into the trap of seeing this as your partner’s time to advance his/her career, but it can be a great time for you to work on your goals as well. Take a class at the community college, or sign up for a distance learning program. Keep learning and building a skill set that will help you in your own career.
• Use this time to do the things you’ve never had time to do before. We all have books we’ve always wanted to read or sports we’ve always wanted to try. If you’ve always wanted to get a black belt in karate, then this is the time to go for it.

Traveling with your partner can either be mind-numbingly boring, or the greatest adventure of your life. I’ve seen spouses burn out after one thirteen week assignment, simply because they were bored. Don’t fall into the same trap—this time can be incredibly rewarding. It just takes a little creativity.

Courtney
Adventures in Travel Nursing

Travel Nursing Questions List 3: About the travel nursing company

• How long has the travel nursing company been around?
• How big is your company?
• What do you feel your company has to offer that is above and beyond any other?
• What sets you apart?
• Are there nurses who can give references?
• Is someone always available to take my call?
• Can I see a blank contract?
• What makes your company better than all the other travel nursing companies out there?
• Is my travel nursing job guaranteed by written contract?
• How much will I be paid on my travel nursing assignment?
• Can you explain your mileage reimbursement policy for travel nursing assignments?
• Does the travel nursing company provide help with licensing and my other credentialing needs?
• Is there someone at the travel nursing company to talk to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?
• Who do I talk to if my recruiter isn’t around?
• Will I only have one recruiter my entire time with the travel nursing company?
• If I want to go perm find out if there is a clause in your contract to prevent you from being hired as a perm employee?
• What are the details of the clause if there is one?
• When did your company first start up?
• What, if anything do you see is an area in which your company could work on?

If you ask these questions of the travel nursing company you are considering up front you may be able to avoid some surprises during the travel nursing assignment. Do you have any standard questions you ask that I did not mention?

You may even want to consider letting travel nursing recruiters and companies you trust and have a good relationship with submit you to open positions as they come up and before they talk to you. Right now travel nursing jobs are being filled that fast. If you do this make sure you discuss a few basics with your travel nursing recruiter first. Make sure you are on the same page when it comes to travel nursing pay, the shifts you want to work, and any other non-negotiables you have.

These simple tips should help you get through this unique time for travel nursing. Oh and here are some other tips for getting a travel nursing job from my last post on the state of the travel nursing industry in 2009. Do you have any other suggestions?

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.

However, if you are in a situation where you are working with a new company, it is a little more difficult to guarantee which Recruiter you end up with. Often when you call in you will be forwarded to a Recruiter who you have never met before. She will try to strike up a relationship with you. It is important that you feel comfortable. Often a Recruiter is the face of the company to travel nurses like you so one bad experience may turn you off to a particular company. That is why in this situation it is best to do some research. Spend some time online in nursing forums and nurse social networking sites asking for the names of good Recruiters and good travel nursing companies. Ask around at the hospital too. Most likely your hospital has travelers in it who can fill you in on rn travel companies and nurse recruiters for the good or bad.

Another thing to keep in mind is to find out, when you first start talking to a company, whether or not you will have the same Recruiter for your entire career with that company or if they will move you from Recruiter to Recruiter depending on where you are working. This is defintely a situation you want to avoid, otherwise you will have to build a new relationship with each travel nursing assignment and in travel nursing the nurse/recruiter relationship is too valuable to need to be rebuilt with every change of region.

Once you are finally on the phone with the Recruiter, this is your chance to interview them. Pull out your checklist of items that you have pre-written (see Travel nursing checklist items #3, 4 and 5). Ask a lot of questions. Ask them until you feel comfortable. Find out how much they know about your specialty because your needs may be completely different than someone who has a different nursing specialty. Try to spend some extra time trying to get to know them on a personal level. It will help if any tough situations arise knowing you have a friend on your side.

Remember this is probably the most important part of the travel nursing process so take the time to make sure it is done right. For the rest of the Ultimate Travel Nursing Checklist click here.

The relationship you have with your Recruiter, or Placement Specialist, or whatever the company you are working with calls them, will be one of the most, if not the most important relationship you will have during your travel nursing career. That’s why it is important that you find one that you not only get along with, but can also trust. Your recruiter will be your source of information throughout your assignment. They should work with you, you should not feel like you work for them (even though technically you do), it should feel more like a partnership where the two of you work together to achieve your career goals.

You may have decided to be a travel nurse for a variety of reasons, but whatever your reason is make sure you let your recruiter know, that is the only way they will be able to truly help you. Whether it is to get out of a stressful situation, expand your horizons by exploring a new specialty or just to get out and have an adventure the more your recruiter knows about your situation the better.

Ultimately, because the Recruiter plays such a large part in your travel nursing life you want to feel like they are more than just a business associate, they should feel like a friend. Someone who checks in on you to see how you are you doing, someone you can call when you need someone to talk to, someone who can offer some advice and once in awhile make you smile after a long day on your feet. If there are issues you want a Recruiter who will go to bat for you.

Remember, in the next post I will tell you some tips for landing that perfect recruiter. For the rest of the Ultimate Travel Nursing Checklist click here.

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