travel nurse review of hospitals

6 Travel Nurse Rating Websites You Should Know About

Travel nurses face a unique set of circumstances when it comes to things like employment conditions and working with travel nursing companies. Therefore, when they want to get the lowdown on such things, they’re best served by relying on feedback from other travel nurses. As a result, a host of websites provide rating and review features dedicated to travel nurses . In this article, we’ll take a look at 6 travel nurse rating websites you should know about.

General Rating And Review Services For Travel Nurses

Of course, there are tons of popular rating and review websites that cover every category under the sun. Travel nurses can certainly rely on these websites for information on general matters. For example, if you’re looking for information on restaurants, night life, local attractions, or other general categories, then you’ll probably be better served by well established rating services like Yelp, Google, TripAdvisor and amazing apps like Localeur and Trover.

These services are highly trafficked. As a result, you’ll benefit from a much larger volume of reviews. You’ll also benefit from expert reviews. After all, locals tend to be the most reliable experts on their own local markets. These well established rating services also offer reviews from travelers of all types, including travel nurses.

The bottom line here is that travelers aren’t really facing a unique set of circumstances when it comes to general categories. It’s not as though your taste buds change when you become a travel nurse ( or do they 🙂 ) such that only another travel nurse can provide useful restaurant recommendations.

However, when it comes to things like hospitals and travel nursing companies, travel nurses most definitely face a unique set of circumstances. For example, just because a hospital takes great care of its permanent staff, doesn’t necessarily mean that they take great care of their travel staff. The hospital might provide inadequate orientations for their travel nurses or fail to treat travelers as valued team members. And the opposite is true as well. Travelers may be welcomed and revered by stressed out permanent staff members inclined to treat travelers like family.

When it comes to travel nursing companies, travel nurses want to make sure they are not considering reviews from a company’s internal staff. Just because an agency treats their recruiters amazingly well, doesn’t necessarily mean that they treat their travelers well.

As a result, well established employer rating websites like GlassDoor and Indeed are not as useful for travel nurses as they are for the general population. These websites don’t filter by the type of employee who is placing the review, so the overall rating doesn’t coincide with a traveler’s unique circumstances.

Specific Rating And Review Services For Travel Nurses

Luckily for travel nurses, there are a host of websites that help fill this void. However, it’s important to discuss several key differences between the general rating and review services and services specifically for travel nurses. First, the specific services have a much smaller number of reviews. This is due to the fact that travel nursing is such a small industry. At any given time, there are as few as 10,000 travel nurses and as many as 50,000 travel nurses. So, even at it’s peak, travel nursing doesn’t have enough participants to support a huge number of reviews.

Second, many of the services on this list are operated by travel nursing companies or other entities engaged directly in the recruitment process . There is absolutely nothing wrong with this. However, it’s important to note because such companies will sometimes utilize a user’s contact information for recruitment purposes.

Finally, there is no foolproof method for ensuring that reviews are submitted by only travel nurses. You might be wondering who else would post reviews on a travel nursing website. Well, travel nursing companies and recruiters have been caught submitting fake reviews to some of these sites in the past in an effort to bolster their ratings. Some of these sites go to more trouble than others to prevent this from happening and we’ll point that out where we can. Let’s take a look at the websites!

Highway Hypodermics

Highway Hypodermics is owned and operated by Kay Slane, an active travel nurse who started the website in 2003. Kay is also the author of a book called Highway Hypodermics under the pen-name Epstein Larue. We consider this book a must read for all those interested or engaged in travel nursing. You can get your copy here .

Highway Hypodermics provides visitors with forms to rate travel nursing companies and hospitals . Each form includes 20 questions on topics of specific interest to travel nurses. When a form is submitted, it is reviewed and the data is entered into tables. The tables include each organization that has been reviewed and a running tally of their average scores. The reviewers remain anonymous and their personal information is kept private.

Visitors can review the tables and select the specific agency or hospital to view the organization’s average overall score. The tables also display the average scores for each question. This is great because users can pick and choose based on the factors that are most important to them.

Finally, Highway Hypodermics has a rule that a user’s negative reviews will only be counted if the user has submitted at least one positive review. This ensures that the service doesn’t become an exercise in bashing.

Travel Nursing Central

Travel Nursing Central (TNC) was started by a travel nurse “in the early 2000s”. It was purchased by Medical Solutions , one of the nation’s largest travel nursing agencies, in 2014.

TNC also provides visitors with forms for ranking travel nursing companies and hospitals . The system works quite similar to Highway Hypodermics. However, the questions for each type of organization are quite different than those asked by Highway Hypodermics. Additionally, TNC displays the written reviews that are submitted with the forms. So, visitors are able to view the average scores for each organization as well as the written reviews listed out below the scores on the organization’s individual page.

While TNC is owned by Medical Solutions, they have a pretty strict privacy policy that prevents them from sharing personal contact information with third parties. They also post the reviews anonymously.

TNC might be the website with the most travel nursing reviews. As of December, 2016, they have 5,371 reviews posted for 220 travel nursing companies. And they have 2,679 reviews posted for 1,132 hospitals.

Travel Nursing Blogs

TravelNursingBlogs.com might be the single largest blog specifically devoted to travel nursing. Like Travel Nursing Central, the website is owned and operated by Medical Solutions.

Travel Nursing Blogs has a “Ratings” option and a “Review” option for travel nursing companies only. The Rating option is very basic. The page displays a table with all the companies listed in alphabetical order. Under each company, there are Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down icons. Visitors simply click on one of the icons and the click is recorded on a running counter next to the icon.

The simplicity of this system is certainly nice, but there are issues that visitors should be aware of. First, it would be quite simple for an agency’s representatives to submit ratings. Second, visitors can submit multiple ratings for the same company by clearing their browser’s cache after submitting each rating. That said, Travel Nursing Blogs does review the site for suspicious behavior and will reset an agency’s ratings to zero if they suspect foul play. Interestingly, 76 of the 90 companies listed on the site have more down votes than up votes.

The Review option is a little more detailed. Reviewers are asked to enter some basic personal information including their name and email address. Reviewers then rate the company from one to five stars and enter a written review.

Again, the simplicity of the system is a positive. However, the system is a bit cumbersome when doing company research. First, visitors must locate the company on the main review page and then select the company to go to its individual page. The company may or may not have reviews. In other words, there isn’t a quick and easy way to get an overall synopsis.

How To Evaluate Travel Nursing Pay

Travel Nurse Source

TravelNurseSource.com is a lead generation service at its core. As such, the website makes it easy for those interested in travel nursing to transmit their contact information and basic details about their work experience to travel nursing agencies. The website also includes tons of other useful tools including ratings and reviews for agencies, recruiters and hospitals.

To find or submit reviews for agencies, simply visit the website’s Agencies Page . Once there, you can scroll through the entire list of agencies, or you can filter the results according to the benefits the website tracks. For example, you can choose to view only agencies that are JCAHO certified and provide health insurance if those attributes are important to you.

The Agencies Page displays a brief overview of each agency including the agency’s average rating which is displayed as a number of circles from one to five. You can select a specific agency to view the agency’s full profile. There you will find previously submitted reviews, the option to submit your own review and tons of other useful information.

Finding and submitting reviews for recruiters is quite similar. Simply visit the website’s Recruiters Page . By default, the page displays a random list of 6 recruiters. From there, you can either scroll through the website’s 500 plus recruiter profiles, or filter your search by agency, number of reviews and other useful search filters. Select a specific recruiter to visit their profile, view previously submitted reviews or submit a new review. You can also find recruiters that work for a specific agency by visiting the agency’s profile.

It’s important to note that the agencies and recruiters listed on Travel Nurse Source are an extension of the website’s client profile pages. They are meant to help promote transparency and allow visitors to learn about the agency and their recruiters prior to applying for a job through Travel Nurse Source’s job board. This means companies must be clients of Travel Nurse Source to be listed on the site. If a client leaves the service, then their company and recruiter profiles are taken down.

TravelNurseSource’s Hospital Directory is quite useful. From the main page, you can filter search results by state or by zip code and the system will return a list of all the hospitals in the area. Each hospital profile includes basic information about the hospital as well as information about the city and county. The profile also includes previously submitted reviews and the option to submit your own review.

The process of submitting reviews is the same for each topic. Simply select “Write a Review” at the bottom of the page and enter your review. Submissions require a name, email address, title, and written review. Travel Nurse Source ensures 100% privacy on the information collected by their review forms. So, you can rest assured that this information will not be released to agencies or anyone else. They will only use the contact information should they feel the need to get more information about the review.

Travel Nursing Exchange

TravelNursingExchange.com was launched in 2014 by a travel nurse named Stasha Crawford. Stasha also has a website called TravelNurseHelp.com that was started in 2012. Travel Nursing Exchange has job postings, a blog, a pay calculator and hospital reviews . Travel Nurse Help has a blog and travel nursing company reviews .

These websites might be the least trafficked websites on this list. They’re good websites, but they’re a testament to how to difficult it is to thrive in such a small market. There are very few reviews on either site and the review features seem to be a bit buggy. That said, if you’re looking for information on a specific company or hospital, then it might be worth your time to give these sites a quick review to see if they can help.

 The Gypsy Nurse

TheGypsyNurse.com was started by Candy Treft in 2012 and sold to private investors with ties to a travel nursing company in 2016 . Originally, the website was a blog packed with useful information on all aspects of travel nursing. The new owners brought with them a new website packed with features including ratings and reviews for just about everything. As of December, 2016, they are in the process of combining the new website and the old website into one robust platform.

The new website provides users with 6 different categories to enter ratings and reviews. The Agency category let’s you review Agencies and Recruiters. The City category let’s you review by Activity, Attraction, Hotel, and Restaurant. The Facility, Housing, RV Parks and Can’t Find categories let you place reviews for those specific items.

The review form for every item appears to be the same. It asks for the name, address, start date, end date, comment, and star rating from 1 to 5 stars. There’s also a field for uploading images. The form’s name and address fields offer drop-down menus for convenience.

All-in-all, the rating and review features on The Gypsy Nurse look to be pretty promising. However, at the outset, it’s wise for visitors to temper their expectations. The site is brand new, so you won’t benefit from previously submitted reviews; there aren’t any. So, if you like the concept, then be sure to leave a review to help things along.

Additionally, you should expect the site to be buggy at the outset. For example, we had a difficult time selecting the Address field in the review forms and some pages failed to load. We’re sure they’ll get these issues fixed; these things take a while to perfect.

Finally, it’s important to point out that it’s currently unclear how the website will use its members’ personal information. When new members join, they must check a box indicating they agree to the “Authorization / Release of Applicant Information”. The form links to a “Statement of Terms for Release”. The Privacy Policy contained therein states, “Periodically, we may make our member information available to carefully screened companies we believe offer products or services, which may be of interest to our members.”

Travel Nurse Rating and Review Websites

Given the relatively small size of the travel nursing market, there are quite a few websites offering ratings and reviews. The first websites to provide these features were Highway Hypodermics and Travel Nursing Central. They offer visitors a much larger volume of reviews upon which to form an opinion. Additionally, their reviews are much more detailed given that they each require a response to 20 questions of specific importance to travel nurses.

The newer websites offer modern interfaces and a more digitized process. However, they have far fewer reviews and their reviews don’t require as much detail. It will be interesting to see how these services fare in the coming years.

As always, we hope you found this article useful. We’d love to hear about your experiences with travel nurse rating and review websites or answer any question you might have on the topic. Please post them in BluePipes Forums .

Related posts:

• Travel Nursing Companies – Their relationships with hospitals matter, Part 1 It’s useful for travel nurses to be informed about hospital-agency...
• Securing a Travel Nursing Job – Your Submission Profile Part 2: The Skills Checklist What is a Travel Nursing Skills Checklist A skills checklist...
• Travel Nursing Assignment Reporting Instructions Travel nurses should receive reporting instructions for a travel nursing...

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• I worked in the 6 Dally/4 River department(s) in the hospital. My coworkers were very friendly and helpful. I never once went above the stated 1:5 nurse to patient ratio on med/surf and onc. Almost always short staffed, you can work as much overtime as you’d like. Scheduling is awful. I never got my schedule more than a week beforehand. I worked nights and routinely had to swap shifts with other nurses to avoid working 1 on/1 off/1 on/2 off sort of schedules. I was told I was needed as an oncology nurse but management has so many travelers to juggle they didn’t realize I was chemo certified (I reminded them a few times)and didn’t get me checked off to give chemo until week 7 of my contract. Overall I really enjoyed the hospital and extended once, I would have stayed longer if the scheduling was better. 03/14/2018
• I worked in the 5 Dally and Obs department(s) in the hospital. I second the review of 2.19.17 and don't have much to add to it. The staffing clerk was a little cold and actually originally scheduled me a night shift on the very last day of my contract when I was supposed to check out of my apartment the following day. A very nice charge nurse changed the schedule for me. Administration and management was very nice, open, and welcoming to suggestions. This was my first travel assignment and a good one. 10/06/2017
• I worked in the Emergency department(s) in the hospital. . 02/19/2017
• I worked in the PCU/5 Dally department(s) in the hospital. Very traveler friendly, lots of other travelers were there when I started. By the time I left there were fewer. Lots of new nurse grads on the unit, not many with >2 yrs experience, especially on nights. ANMs are friendly, helpful, supportive. Rarely interacted w/director, but interactions were professional. Scheduler has been known to make last minute changes to traveler schedules, whether they are available to work or not. Contracted days off were honored. Block scheduling not guaranteed. Ratios 3-4:1. Sicker "ICU-light" PCU patients would be placed in a 3:1 run about 50-75% of the time. PTCAs on nights did excellent work for the most part. Excellent teamwork. Never felt abandoned by my co workers, everyone is willing to jump in and help. No relief/break nurses. Breaks on nights are not always easy to get and coworkers on days said it was worse. Rapid Response/STAT nurse available as resource. No IV team at night. Place own IVs. Most MDs were respectful, any that were not were reported to House Sup and documented. Floated occasionally to CCU (took PCU level of care patients) and had 4:1 runs there, also Zone 3 of ED (hospital boarders, usually PCU). Use Epic EMR. Tele monitor techs. Bedside monitoring on all PCU patients (or tele box if ambulatory). COPD, CHF, GIB, PNA, sepsis, sepsis, sepsis, ARDS, EtOH w/d, polysubs w/d. Adult population. Decent palliative care team. No uniform, any color scrubs will do. Downtown Puyallup is a quaint town, small town feel (did not experience the Seattle Freeze here, people are friendly). Lots of coffee drive-thru huts, tons of froyo, be sure to go to Pho Puyallup! Get the Vietnamese iced coffee. 02/19/2017
• I worked in the emergency department(s) in the hospital. They are union. A union nurse was caring for 1 of my FOUR critical patients and she messed up. The level 2 patient was turned back over to me because she had to go cover breaks, even though I was totally overwhelmed. The warming blanket she placed on my patient was blowing cold air, thus dropping her temperature. This was found upon transfer about 30 minutes later. The next morning they sent me home and cancelled my contract stating I didn't ask for help when I needed it. I lost 4-5K in pay and had to borrow from my mother to pay my bills. I will never work with multicare again! 12/04/2016
• I worked in the 5 Dally PCU department(s) in the hospital. I recently extended at Good Sam on 5 Dally PCU, and I am very impressed compared to other places I have been. PCTs have a low patient ratio (Avg 8 patients on nights). I have never went over 4 patients as an RN. There is a surplus of medical equipment on this floor, I have never had to spend unnecessary time looking for equipment. I am not micromanaged here, I am treated like the independent licensed professional that I am. There is also a lot of support here. Most nights, there is a flex nurse devoted to floating around the unit and helping out. The charge nurse is also out of staffing. There is also a "STAT nurse" that floats the hospital and helps watch critical patients. Overall, I would highly recommend Good Samaritan to travelers. I have had a very pleasant experience here overall. 08/28/2016
• I worked in the 6 Med surg department(s) in the hospital. Terrible nurse managers, very poorly staffed, and bad nurse ration 6:1 on day shift. Staff is very catty. 05/11/2016
• I worked in the PCU/5Dally department(s) in the hospital. Where do I start? I was sooo disappointed with this hospital bc it had received such good reviews. And my recruiter said "all my nurses love it there!" I think other units of the hospital may be much better as I know other travelers in other units often extend or even become perm staff. ICU travelers get floated to this unit all the time bc ICU perm staff will pick up extra shifts and travelers are 1st to float so 1-2 days a week/3 they are floated. Don't count on getting your breaks here. The ICU travelers and float pool RNs will tell you the same, one of many reasons they hate being pulled to PCU. It's a good day when you get to have your lunch, a great day when you can manage a lunch and a break. Per their union, all staff is supposed to get a lunch and 3 breaks (ha!). Ratios are 4:1 and pt's are VERY ill. The unit will take many ICU level pts just bc there are no ICU beds. "Stable" ventilated pts are here, lots of them. It's a 40 bed unit and a zoo. The unit manager could not care less you are there. She smiles a lot but it is not genuine. You are a warm body filling a hole. When I asked the scheduler for a specific day off, she said "You're a traveler. Travelers don't get requests." Wow. So a traveler = not a human being I guess. New nurses to get into the residency program have to commit to 1.5 years. So they stick it out and then run when there time is up. It's a 280 bed hospital filled with 70-80 travelers. I was so full of anxiety the 1st 6 weeks I was almost vomiting before work. It's calmed down some, but I will still be SO happy to be done this week. What is the silver lining here is the staff is very friendly and helpful as are most of the charge nurses. And the unit is newly updated and beautiful. And there's a Starbucks in the lobby lol. The PCT's have low ratios, 4-6 apiece generally which helps, but RN's will constantly bust their @ss here. There is a "flex" nurse most times, and they are a good help. They are an extra pair of hands nurse w/o a pt ass't that runs around to help with meds, IV sticks, trouble shooting, etc. Docs are very friendly and want nursing's input on pt care which is nice. Though I am still absolutely stunned when I hear of a nurse extending here. I really wanted to like it. 03/26/2016
• I worked in the ICU department(s) in the hospital. This hospital does NOT need ICU staff. This hospital has plentiful ICU staff was is completely deficient in step-down (PCU, CCU) staff. If you are hired to work ICU be prepared to rarely see that unit or have ICU patients. Be prepared to repeatedly be floated to a lower level in which you will have the worst assignments. There will be very few people to help you when floated and there are one to none other ICU level nurses there for you to reference if you do take care of ICU patients there. You will have patients, multiple, going bad, that are of ICU status without proper ICU status recognition and they will attempt to still give you admissions on top of these 2-3 other patients. Its unsafe. And, you stand alone when you stand for your self, your license and the safety of these patients. The charge nurses will be little no help. You will literally have to refuse to take another patient. On the odd chance you have ICU patients on the PCU floor, the pyxis is not adequately stocked with ICU level meds; i.e., Diprivan, levophed, etc. 03/26/2016
• I worked in the Emergency Room department(s) in the hospital. The ER is 3-4:1. You are guaranteed your lunch and occasionally a 15 min break. The staff is super friendly. They are starting to work travelers into triage. Great 1st assignment. Mt Rainier is just down the road. 10/15/2015
• I worked in the Labor and Delivery department(s) in the hospital. This was an excellent choice as my first travel assignment. The staff was super friendly and helpful. They love travelers at this hospital and on this unit. The manager of the unit started as a traveler on the unit. I wasn't thrilled about they way my scheduling was done but there are worse things. They used Epic and Centricity for fetal monitoring. The hospital system itself is well known in WA and has a very good reputation. 09/22/2015
• I worked in the ER department(s) in the hospital. I loved Good Sam's ER. They use EPIC. They generally have a 3:1 nurse to patient ratio with an ER tech for about every nine to twelve patients and usually a float nurse that takes up the patients that have to be monitored and escorted by RN. Only twice on my 13 week assignment did I have to take four patients and they were incredibly apologetic (which I found hilarious as four is your bare minimum in most ERs). A lot of travelers I know just kept re-upping because it's a sweet gig. 07/19/2015
• I worked in the CCU department(s) in the hospital. This is my second contract at Good Sam. I wrote the first and only review of this hospital so far. I'm still very pleased with my contract at Good Sam. Since I had recently worked at this hospital I did not have to go through orientation. I worked in CCU instead of the Float Pool - great staff & charge nurses 7p-7a. This hospital uses EPIC, which is a plus! All good here as far as Im concerned. This time I was able to stay at Rainier View RV Park, nice quiet park in Graham, WA. 04/09/2015
• I worked in the Float Pool department(s) in the hospital. Nice hospital, enjoyed working there. Staffed & stocked well. Nurse - Patient ratio is good. Friendly to travlers, you don't get dumped on. Local area is pretty easy to get around and you are very close to some of the most beautiful land in the USA. Traveled with hubby and stayed in our RV, summer 2014 :) 08/28/2014

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Helpful or hurtful? The ‘double-edged sword’ of travel nursing.

Rural hospitals are struggling with staffing shortages as more of their nurses leave for better-paying travel nurse roles—but some experts warn that hospitals' reliance on travel nurses may be a "double-edged sword."

The nursing shortage particularly strains rural hospitals

Hospitals around the country have seen a shortage of health care workers, particularly nurses, as Covid-19 case rates and hospitalizations continue to rise. Earlier this month, the American Nurses Association (ANA) sent a letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra asking him to declare the current nursing shortage a national crisis and work to address it.

However, while hospitals nationwide are struggling with the current staff shortage, rural hospitals have been hit the hardest.

Around 60 million Americans who live in rural areas rely on small, local hospitals for medical care, and the pandemic has further exacerbated the staffing shortages these hospitals have long struggled with, NBC News reports.

"If you lose one or two nurses, that makes a difference," said Audrey Snyder, president of the advocacy group Rural Nurse Organization and a faculty member at the University of North Carolina Greensboro School of Nursing . "These hospitals are small hospitals and they don't have a large nurse workforce."

According to the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research , a record number of rural hospitals closed last year after continuous low patient volume and high numbers of uninsured patients and patients with government-funded insurance plans. And Brock Slabach, COO of the National Rural Health Association , said another 216 rural hospitals are at high risk of closure.

"The rural hospital workforce has always been a challenge," Slabach said. "What Covid was uniquely suited to do was take advantage of every fracture and widen it significantly and make it even harder to cope with demands being placed on them."

Many staff nurses leave for travel jobs

A recent surge in demand for travel nurses has made long-running staffing shortages at rural hospitals even worse, NBC News reports.

Aya Healthcare , a medical staffing firm, said demand for travel nurses has increased 284% from the same time last year. And Kathy Kohnke, SVP of client relations at Fastaff Travel Nursing , said there are now more than 40,000 positions for travel nurses available on any given day. According to Modern Healthcare, 90% of hospital executives hired travel nurses to bolster their teams during the pandemic, compared with less than 60% in 2019.

In particular, many rural nurses are leaving for travel nurse positions that can pay up to 10 times more than their current salaries, NBC News reports.

According to data from the hiring website ZipRecruiter , nurses at rural hospitals are paid an average of $70,000 a year, or just over $1,200 a week. However, some staffing agencies, such as Nomad Health and White Grove Placement , are offering travel nurse positions that pay over $5,000 a week. And the health care hiring site Vivian has listed several travel nurse assignments that pay up to $9,562 a week.

Compared with rural hospitals, larger, better-funded health systems can pay travel nurses these higher rates, often in addition to a stipend for housing and travel expenses, Modern Healthcare reports.

"The travel nursing situation has essentially created a bidding war between hospitals," Phillip Coule, VP and CMO at Augusta University Health System , said. "A nurse can leave a facility, go on a 'travel contract' for a facility across the street, and earn more than double what they were making, while still living at home."

Separately, Susan Salka, CEO of the staffing company AMN Healthcare , said, "The delta virus is causing even more competition for scarce talent, and our clients are citing problems not only with permanent hiring but also with retention."

Salka added that demand is not exclusively due to surges in Covid-19 patients—it has been complicated by "leaves of absence, clinician fatigue, rising patient volumes and operating room backlog," which is "unlikely to change anytime soon," she said.

Relying on travel nurses may be a 'double-edged sword'

According to Modern Healthcare , this increased reliance on travel nurses may also lead to problems among hospitals' regular nursing staff.

"The good part of travel nursing is that when there's a natural disaster or there are very irregular levels of demand, hospitals can use travel nurses to sort of patch up the gaps," Patricia Pittman, a professor of health policy and management at the School of Public Health at George Washington University , said. "The bad side of travel nursing is that it becomes an excuse to not invest in your regular nursing staff. It's a double-edged sword."

According to Pittman, many staff nurses are being driven away due to frustrations stemming from working conditions and staff shortages, along with pay disparities between staff and travel nurses.

Kelly Rivera-Craine, a business agent for Teamster Local 332 and an RN at Ascension Genesys Hospital in Michigan, said offering bonuses to travel nurses but not staff members—who have remained loyal to their employers throughout the pandemic and amid staffing shortages— is a "slap in the face."

Rivera-Craine also said travel nurses may disrupt clinical care and workflow at hospitals since they typically don't receive as much training as their staff counterparts and don't stay at hospitals long enough to build relationships with patients.

Separately, Coule agreed with Rivera-Craine's assessment, saying, "When you go substituting team members, it certainly has the potential of impacting the quality of care… The potential for error, for communication issues will most likely go up."

And according to Matt Calzia, a nurse practice consultant with the Oregon Nurses Association , the reliance on travel nurses is only worsening the already existent staffing shortages in rural and underserved areas, most of which have fewer resources and are home to marginalized communities with poor access to care.

"You're perpetuating the disparities within the healthcare system overall," Calzia said. "We are taking nurses from areas that really need nurses, but don't pay as well, and moving them into areas that might pay better, who also really need nurses."

According to Pittman, as hiring travel nurses becomes more unaffordable for some hospitals, many are now realizing it was a mistake to furlough nurses early in the pandemic instead of investing in them as crucial workers.

"The silver lining of this crisis is that it is forcing nurse leaders and hospital leaders to take the nurse staffing situation much more seriously," Pittman said. (Miranda, NBC News , 9/15; Masson, Becker's Hospital Review , 9/16; Devereaux, Modern Healthcare , 9/16)

There’s a bidding war for nurses—how do organizations compete? See our 3 takeaways.

These articles highlight an unfortunate hard truth: the nursing workforce is not immune to the labor shortages and economic forces affecting nearly every industry in the wake of the pandemic. With demand for direct patient care jobs increasingly outpacing supply, the competition for nurses is fierce. Lucrative travel opportunities are exacerbating existing staffing shortages and impacting care quality. Here are three takeaways for health care organizations thinking about the boom in travel nursing:

Even though premium labor is costly, short-term reliance on premium labor to fill vacancies is necessary to maintain safe staffing and ensure the stability of the practice environment. However, be thoughtful about how you incorporate travel nurses into your workforce. Constantly communicate the necessity of agency labor to full-time staff—travel nurses are there to reduce their workload and serve as a temporary fix. Emphasize that your organization aims to convert agency labor to full-time staff. 

Financial incentives to join staffing agencies have significantly increased during the pandemic—expect some of your staff to take advantage of this opportunity. Consider allowing staff to leave for a travel contract but maintain their employment status and return to your organization when their contract ends. Establish a program to ensure returning travelers and other nurses at your organization can work together effectively in a positive practice environment.  

• Allow staff to scratch their travel itch through opportunities to flex internally.

Nurses are asking for flexibility to alter their schedules, and sometimes, location, to better meet their individual needs. To meet nurses’ needs and compete with agency labor, some health systems are creating internal travel agencies to flex staff across regions. If your system has sufficient scale, consider developing an in-house travel staffing resource pool that competes with traditional agencies on compensation. Offering this type of flexibility helps reduce your reliance on contract labor, helps retain staff interested in travel opportunities, and ensures nurses working in your health system are familiar with system protocols and culture.

While a reliance on travel nurses will help keep your hospitals running today, this band-aid solution is unsustainable and will not stabilize your nursing workforce in the long-term.

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Posted on September 20, 2021

Updated on September 29, 2023

Weekly review: Will Biden's vaccine requirements survive in court? Here's what legal experts think.

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The Best Traveling Nurse Services to Work for in 2024

The travel nursing agencies we recommend for your next short-term post

Traveling nurses often find working in different parts of the country, or even the world, exhilarating and fulfilling. Many agencies focus on matching registered nurses (RNs) with short-term working opportunities in a variety of healthcare specialties and settings across the United States and internationally. Healthcare facilities in the U.S. rely on travel nurses to meet the demand for nurses, which is expected to soar by 275,000 between 2020 and 2030.

"Being able to explore other healthcare systems and connect with other providers can help give a travel nurse new experiences and perspectives," says Rachel Norton , BSN, RN, a clinician support manager at Vivian Health , a national travel nurse hiring marketplace.  We reviewed more than 20 agencies and studied hundreds of reviews to create this list of the best travel nursing agencies. We considered factors such as company quality, customer service scores, company reputation, wage ranges, housing options, and benefits.

• Best Overall: Triage Staffing
• Best for Sick Pay: Aya Healthcare
• Best for Education: Travel Nurse Across America
• Best Customer Service: Axis Medical Staffing
• Best Track Record: FlexCare Medical Staffing
• Best Newcomer: Advantis Medical
• Best for Benefits: RN Network
• Best Recruiters: Host Healthcare
• Best for Recent Graduates: Fusion Medical Staff
• Best Job Board: TotalMed
• Our Top Picks

Triage Staffing

Aya Healthcare

Travel Nurse Across America

Axis Medical Staffing

FlexCare Medical Staffing

Advantis Medical

Host Healthcare

• Fusion Medical Staff
• See More (7)

Final Verdict

• Compare Providers
• Guide to Choosing

Best Overall : Triage Staffing

• Pay: Hourly wage paid weekly, overtime, bonuses, per diem
• Housing: Tax-free stipend or company-secured housing for 13 weeks
• Benefits: Health coverage, dental and vision coverage, life insurance, 401(k) with company match, vacation, education reimbursement
• Contracts nationwide: Yes

Triage Staffing tops our list because it provides a higher hourly wage and more frequent bonuses than its competitors. Additionally, the agency offers extensive perks, like tuition reimbursement and 401(k) on the first day.

Contracts available in all 50 states

Insurance available on first day

Paid by direct deposit each week

Dedicated support team available 24/7

Reports of poor weekend support for billing issues

Must have 2 years experience for most positions

Triage Staffing , founded in 2006, is considered by industry professionals as one of the most well-rounded travel nurse agencies among the companies listed here and in general. The company was recognized in 2023 by Inc. Magazine and Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA).

The company, which currently has about 1,500 employees, is based in Omaha, Nebraska, and has an impressive rating on Glassdoor .

Triage Staffing specializes in helping nurses and healthcare professionals find 13-week assignments across the U.S. The company strives for transparency and "to build relationships deeper than simple business transactions." Those who are hired are paid weekly (based on an hourly wage) via direct deposit.

The benefits package includes a wage, overtime, bonuses, per diems, and a housing stipend. Triage will also help its travel nurses find housing, if that's their preference. Health insurance is provided by Blue Cross Blue Shield, and those hired get dental insurance, vacation time, and a 401(k) plan.

Best for Sick Pay : Aya Healthcare

• Pay: Hourly wage, overtime, bonuses, per diem, stipends when called off
• Housing: Tax-free stipend or company-secured housing
• Benefits: Health, dental, and vision coverage; life insurance; 401(k) with company match; sick pay; wellness and fitness programs; employee assistance programs; tuition reimbursement; loan forgiveness options

Of the many benefits Aya Healthcare offers, one makes it stand out from other agencies: providing sick pay should you become ill during an assignment. You can rest assured knowing if you get sick, Aya will support you through recovery.

Benefits include sick pay (after 90 days)

Offers local and nationwide travel assignments

Requires only 1 year of experience

Insurance coverage for you and your dependents from day 1

Complaints about communication during recruitment

Large agency size might be challenging

401k eligibility begins after 4 consecutive months of work or 1 year after hiring

Aya Healthcare is one of the most talked-about travel nursing agencies around, literally. A 2017 independent study analyzed the frequency of top travel nursing companies mentioned by users on social media sites. The study concluded Aya Healthcare is the most frequently referenced in user comments.

Aya Healthcare is also one of the only travel nursing agencies that have sick pay, which begins accruing on the first day of an assignment. Nurses can earn one hour for every 30 hours worked, but it can't be used until after at least 90 days after their start date.

In addition to its rare sick pay policy, the company boasts comprehensive benefits. Travel nurses working for Aya Healthcare can start contributing to a company-matched 401k plan after four consecutive months of work for the agency, or one year after their hiring date. It also promises to cover or reimburse nurses for the cost of licensure and help them navigate and expedite the process in the states where they are assigned. Aya Healthcare offers discounts, wellness, and nutrition plans in addition to its medical, vision, and dental benefits, which are available to nurses (and their spouses and children) from their first day with the company.

Aya Healthcare has a strong online presence, including a blog and active social media accounts on nearly every contemporary platform. Its website proudly displays several company awards and accolades, including the Joint Commission's Golden Seal of Approval. The agency has placed thousands of travel nurses and allied workers nationwide and offers a program for  travel nursing from Canada .

Best for Education : Travel Nurse Across America

• Pay: Hourly wage paid weekly, overtime, bonuses, per diem (guaranteed)
• Benefits: Health, dental, and vision coverage; liability insurance; 401(k) with company match; sick pay; travel reimbursement; free continuing education; mental health resources; employee assistance program; chaplain assistance program

Travel Nurse Across America (TNAA) offers comprehensive benefits; however, its continuing education programs are what really sets the agency apart. Thanks to a partnership with Aspen University, the agency helps you earn your BSN with tuition reimbursement upon completion.

RN to BSN tuition reimbursement

RN specialty exam/recertification reimbursements

Insurance coverage available on first day

Offers free mental health resources

Per diem guarantee

Unable to see pay rates on the site

Large agency size might feel less supportive

Travel Nurse Across America (TNAA) had the highest average score when analyzing the top 10 travel nurse agency lists across several well-known sites.

Founded in 1999 in North Little Rock, Arkansas, this company was present on three "Top 10" lists in 2019, a notable feat that speaks to its history of satisfaction. According to BluePipes, TNAA was among the top 10 travel nursing agencies, one of the biggest (in terms of company size) on its 2022 list.  

TNAA uses a full-team approach to assist travelers, with specialty staff equipped to handle a variety of needs, including housing experts and clinical leadership, This agency also offers a wide array of benefits, such as low census pay, tuition reimbursement, and paid licensure fees prior to travel. Overtime is included in the payment for any extra hours worked and in every state, paid sick leave starts to accrue from day one.

TNAA also partnered with Aspen University, so individuals can get their Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 12 months. Upon completion, TNAA will even reimburse tuition expenses. It also offers reimbursements for recertification fees to certain eligible nurses.

Best Customer Service : Axis Medical Staffing

• Benefits: Health, dental, and vision coverage; 401(k) with company match; state license reimbursement; transportation stipends; continuing education

With around-the-clock support 365 days a year, Axis Medical Staffing has one of the best customer service reputations in the industry. It offers a wide array of benefits, including healthcare coverage and company-matched 401(k) plans.

Dedicated support team available 24/7/365

Wide variety of specialty contracts

Offers company matching 401(k) with immediate vesting

Can submit questions to real travel nurses

Provides quick email responses

Pays for housing and assists in securing it

Not transparent about pay rates

Doesn't include paid sick leave in benefits

User reviews for Axis remain the highest on this list. Formed in Seattle, Washington, in 2004, Axis provides several coveted benefits, including payment of paid personalized housing options (with pet deposit costs covered by the agency), as well as immediate vesting in its company-matched 401(k) plan.

This agency regularly features a new  Traveler of the Month nurse on its blog. Additionally, the Axis website has a page dedicated to Ask an Axis Travel Nurse , which features an easy submission form where a nurse can answer all your questions.

This encouraging way of connecting can provide novice or even seasoned travelers with a trusted source in the form of a nursing peer who has traveled with this specific agency several times, instead of hosting an impersonal message board. Axis also offers a live chat feature that's easily accessible on the homepage. These features earned Axis the top spot on BluePipes Best Travel Nursing Companies list in 2022.

Axis promises reimbursements and benefits similar to other companies, but it is not immediately clear from the company's website whether it offers paid sick leave.

Best Track Record : FlexCare Medical Staffing

• Benefits: Health coverage, dental and vision coverage, 401(k) with company match, state license reimbursement, transportation stipends, meals and incidentals stipend, rental car, travel reimbursement, continuing education, license reimbursement

Boasting more than 50 industry awards, including BluePipes’s 2022 Best Travel Nursing Companies list, FlexCare Medical Staffing has a track record of exceeding expectations and fulfilling its promises to traveling nurses.

Award-winning, highly reputable agency

Single point of contact for all your needs

Outstanding benefits

Features a referral program

Have to make an account to view wages

BluePipes refers to FlexCare Medical Staffing as the "most decorated travel nursing agency of all time," with more than 1,727 reviews reported. This agency obtained a gold finish on Travel Nursing Central’s 2019 list of top travel nursing companies and has consistently placed since 2014. FlexCare has also been on the Highway Hypodermics list since 2011.

FlexCare’s website touts its  Premier Traveler Access program, offering prospective travel nurses the opportunity to unlock and view pay ranges for a wide variety of open jobs, in addition to personalized alerts via text and email. This agency explains its mission to support travelers by providing a single recruiter who is able to meet every need (termed “S1NGLEPOINT” on the website) and help simplify the entire process.

This one point of contact can advocate for the traveler, assist in searching for jobs and housing, provide a transparent and competitive salary rate, as well as ensure timely payment.

Best Newcomer : Advantis Medical

• Benefits: Health coverage, dental and vision coverage, 401(k) without company match, transportation stipends, partial license reimbursement

Advantis Medical has a nurse care team available to help you every step of the way—from setting up your profile and walking you through the onboarding process to helping you find your next assignment—making it an excellent choice for those just starting out.

Excellent reviews from its travel clinicians

Quick response times from trained care team

Has a great reputation in the industry

Site offers several communication methods

Site lacks information on benefits package

No company match for 401(k)

Founded in 2018 as a subsidiary of Advantis Global, Advantis Medical's user reviews are limited in number but are glowing regarding people's experiences with the company.

Advantis Medical recruits travel nurses and places them in top institutions across the United States. The agency offers client connections with hospitals, outpatient clinics, same-day ambulatory surgical centers, as well as skilled nursing facilities.

Advantis Medical’s specialization opportunities include placements in divisions like medical-surgical (M/S), emergency department (ED), intensive care unit (ICU), labor & delivery (L&D), and more. Its benefits include highly competitive compensation packages, direct deposit available from day one, assistance with housing options, health insurance (medical, dental, vision), and a 401(k) option.

The agency also has payment incentives for referrals. To make the process as seamless as possible, Advantis Medical has a one-minute application form which could not be any easier, especially for a traveling nurse who is always on the go.

Best for Benefits : RN Network

• Benefits: Health, dental, and vision coverage; life insurance; employee assistance program; Sanvello membership; Talkspace membership; Teladoc access; credentialing assistance; continuing education; traditional and Roth 401(k); travel reimbursement; loyalty program

RN Network provides a comprehensive benefits package that includes day-one health insurance and 401(k) options, plus additional perks like access to virtual therapy and medical care.

24/7 clinical support

Transparent about pay rate

Provides access to virtual therapy and medical care

Weekly pay via direct deposit

Completion, extension, and referral bonuses

No paid time off

Complaints of lower-paying contracts

Founded in 1998, RN Network has over two decades of experience in the travel nursing industry. Its experience shows in the company's user reviews, many of which highlight its great communication, support, and benefits.

The agency provides an impressive benefits package that includes day-one health insurance with a zero-premium option, as well as a 401(k) with company match, both traditional and Roth options. RN Network also offers access to Talkspace, Teladoc, and Sanvello's mental health app—ensuring its healthcare professionals have the mental health resources they need while on assignment.

Available contracts and pay rates are transparent on their user-friendly website, which can be a rarity in the industry. The company hires RNs, LPNs/LVNs, PCTs, and surgical techs for a variety of specialties throughout the country. Only one year of clinical experience is required, and the company offers a comprehensive onboarding program to help simplify the transition.

Best Recruiters : Host Healthcare

• Pay: Hourly wage paid weekly, plus overtime, bonuses, per diem, COVID quarantine pay
• Benefits: Health, dental, and vision coverage, life insurance; 401(k) with company match; travel reimbursement

Host Healthcare recruiters are some of the best in the business, according to clinician reviews. With exceptional customer service , the company strives to make the job hunt and placement process as smooth as possible for its candidates.

Excellent customer service

Straightforward job hunt and placement process

Offers a variety of housing options, including pet-friendly

24/7 support via multiple channels

COVID-19 quarantine pay available

Can’t view facility or pay without an account

Site lacks information on reimbursement offers

Founded in 2012, Host Healthcare is a travel healthcare staffing agency that works with some of the nation's top facilities. The company has earned multiple awards over the years, including being named one of the Top Travel Nursing Companies by BluePipes.

What sets Host Healthcare apart from other agencies are its recruiters, who are consistently praised by clinicians for their exceptional customer service. In reviews, nurses rave about their recruiters being responsive, receptive, and thorough in their onboarding and placement processes. The company also offers a variety of housing options, including pet-friendly ones, to ensure you have a comfortable place to call home while on assignment.

In addition to its comprehensive benefits package, which includes health insurance, dental, and vision coverage, Host Healthcare also offers a 401(k) with company match and COVID-19 quarantine pay. If your facility quarantines you due to possible COVID-19 exposure, the company will compensate you for the duration of your time off work.

One drawback is that the company requires users to sign up for an account before viewing facilities and estimated weekly pay . However, it hires across multiple specialties and licensure types, including nursing professionals, therapy professionals, and other allied health professionals.

Best for Recent Graduates : Fusion Medical Staff

• Pay: Hourly wage paid weekly, plus overtime, per diem, and bonuses
• Benefits: Health coverage, dental and vision coverage, life insurance, 401(k) with company match, short-term disability, travel and transportation per diem

Fusion Medical offers competitive pay, comprehensive benefits, and transparent information about opportunities, and welcomes new graduates to sign up.

Transparent information for each job posting

Nationwide network

Attentive recruiters

Competitive pay and benefits

Open to new graduates

Per diem reimbursements may be less convenient for expenses like travel

Past complaints from LGBTQIA employees

Fusion Medical Staffing urges applicants to "choose your own adventure." With thousands of travel nursing positions across the U.S. available on its website, Fusion will definitely give you a lot to choose from.

Founded in 2009 in Omaha, Nebraska, Fusion doubled its size by 2016. The company racked up awards from Inc., People, and Staffing Industry Analysts for being among the best places to work and is rated 4.7 out of 5 on Indeed.com .

Assignments through Fusion Medical typically run 13 to 26 weeks and are available across a broad spectrum of nursing specialties. We particularly like how transparent the pay, terms, and benefits for each opportunity are on Fusion's website.

But what really makes the company stand out is its recruitment. Fusion offers 24/7 support and many of its travel nurses rave about their attentive recruiters. Fusion has a new graduate traveling medical job program recruiting nurses who have just finished training. Most travel nursing agencies require at least two years of experience, so Fusion may be a great choice if you're about to finish school and eager to see the country or aren't sure of where you want to call home yet.

Of note: Some LGBTQIA+ travelers and employees have complained of inclusivity issues and unsupportive leadership. In 2021, the company published a blog post about forming an oversight group dedicated to LGBTQIA+ inclusivity and support and alluded to its efforts to "grow" and "learn."

Best Job Board : TotalMed

• Pay: Hourly wage paid weekly, plus overtime, bonuses, and guaranteed hours
• Housing: Company-provided housing or stipend
• Benefits: Health insurance, dental and vision coverage, life insurance, 401(k) with company match, short-term disability up to 12 weeks plus up to 60% of monthly earnings

TotalMed is one of the biggest agencies in the business and has the job board to match. The company is known for making it easy for travel nurses to quickly find a new post in any state.

Large, well-connected agency with huge job board

Solid day-one benefits

Flexible housing options

Pay guaranteed

Generous short-term disability policy

Some nurses complain of long onboarding process

Pay is competitive, but perhaps not the highest of any agency

Focus on placing nurses in areas of urgent need

Few travel nursing agencies have a job board as full as TotalMed 's. The company leverages its wide network of partner hospital systems to offer nurses a plethora of assignments to choose from.

TotalMed prides itself on placing nurses and other medical workers in new postings quickly and prioritizes assigning workers to places urgently in need of additional staff. It offers a standard array of benefits, plus a pay guarantee and a generous short-term disability policy that covers up to 12 weeks of injury or illness with up to 60% of your pay.

Some travel nurses have complained of a protracted onboarding process, but once the initial paperwork is out of the way, most seem very happy with the company's efficiency and the quality of its recruiters. Its pay may not always be the highest of any agency, but travel nurses working with TotalMed still enjoy the benefit of payment guarantees and the confidence that a new job will almost always be available, and fast. TotalMed also goes a long way to smooth out the transition process by organizing and covering the cost of any licensing and certifications its travel nurses may need, as well as offering reimbursement for pesky costs like new scrubs.

Even though some agencies on our list require account registration to access pay rates, each one offers competitive benefits and wages. Triage Staffing is our choice for best overall travel nursing agency because of its positive reviews, superior customer service, and competitive wages. Day one 401(k) and tuition reimbursement are just a few ways it provides long-term support for travelers. 

Compare the Best Travel Nursing Agencies

Guide to choosing the best travel nursing agencies.

Travel nursing agencies are  staffing agencies  that place registered nurses and healthcare professionals in hospitals and clinics with short-term staffing needs. They often send individuals to national or international locations where there are nursing shortages.

Here are a few tips for choosing the best travel nursing agency to meet your needs.

Is a Travel Nursing Agency Right for You?

There are many advantages to working with a travel nursing agency in addition to the obvious benefit of being able to travel and explore new places. Some of the other advantages of working with a travel nursing agency include:

• Competitive pay: Travel nursing agencies offer competitive pay rates that are often higher than what you would make as a staff nurse and recruiters can help you find lucrative positions.
• Benefits : Health insurance, retirement plans, and other benefits are typically included in a travel nursing agency's compensation package.
• Housing: Travel nursing agencies often provide housing or help nurses find housing in their assignment location.
• Specialty assignments based on nursing field: Agencies can help place you in an assignment that matches your specialty, interests, and skills . Some facilities accept travelers into new specialties or a float pool that covers multiple units, as long as they have prior travel nursing experience. This is an added bonus for those who wish to explore new areas of nursing.
• Flexibility: Agencies offer a variety of assignment lengths and locations, so you can choose an assignment that fits your lifestyle.
• Perks and discounts : Free or reduced-cost continuing education courses, travel expenses, gym memberships, completion bonuses, and other perks are often available through travel nursing agencies.

How to Choose a Travel Nurse Agency

Consider the following when choosing a travel nursing agency:

• Average pay rates: Pay rate varies by agency, location, and assignment. Travel nurses often work with multiple agencies at the same time to find the best assignments and pay rates.
• Benefits package: Make sure the agency's benefits are comprehensive and meet your needs. Benefits may include health coverage , dental, vision, life insurance, short-term disability, 401K, vacation time, and education reimbursement.
• Housing options: Determine if the agency provides housing or assists with finding housing. Some nurses prefer to find their own housing, while others prefer the convenience of having the agency secure housing for them.
• Reputation: Check out online reviews and ratings to get an idea of the agency's reputation. Talking to other travel nurses who have worked with the agency is also a good way to get first-hand information.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which travel nurses are most in demand.

Staffing agencies report that demand is high for critical care and medical-surgical nurses. Emergency room staff and labor and delivery staff are also in great demand.

Do Travel Nursing Agencies Pay for Housing?

Your agency will either have housing available for you or will reimburse you for your housing expenses. If you choose to secure your own housing, most agencies will give you a stipend to help offset the cost of rent and utilities. Talk with your agency recruiter about your housing options and what will work best for you.

How Long Are Travel Nursing Assignments?

Some travel nursing opportunities can be as short as eight weeks, while others can last for up to six months at a time. There are often options and offers to extend assignments, too.

What Experience Do You Need to Be Recruited by a Travel Nursing Agency?

Most agencies require new travelers to have recent experience as a nurse—meaning you can't become a travel nurse right out of nursing school. A year or two of experience is commonly required. A qualified nurse may also need more experience to work in the intensive care unit (ICU) or another specialty area.

Can Travel Nurses Choose Where They Work?

Yes, and that's generally a benefit of the job. Some agencies work to assign candidates throughout the United States, while others place travel nurses internationally. Before deciding to work with an agency, it makes sense to find out where they place travel nurses if you have a specific placement location in mind.

Methodology

We reviewed more than 20 agencies and studied hundreds of reviews from travel nurses around the country to identify the best travel nursing agencies. We then analyzed company quality and customer service scores across multiple sources to determine which companies are most reputable. Wages, housing options, and benefits were also a top priority. We reviewed the range of assignments, as well as the quantity and quality of each agency's listings in all 50 states.

VERYWELL Health / Design by Amelia Manley

U.S. Department of Labor. U.S. Department of Labor announces $80M funding opportunity to help train, expand, diversify nursing workforce, address shortage of nurses .

Healthcare Research & Analytics. Social listening: Evaluation of travel nurse companies: Analysis of travel nurse sentiment towards travel nurse companies .

BluePipes. Best Travel Nursing Companies 2022 .

Make all the right career moves!

Don't miss out on your adventure., learn more about travel nursing.

Highest-Paying Travel Nurse Assignments | Salary & Location

Travel Nursing in Oklahoma | Top Paying Specialties & Cities 2023

Travel Nursing in Kansas | Top Paying Specialties & Cities 2023

8 Best Places For Travel Nursing In The Summer

Travel Nurses and Patient Care: Their Impact on Patient Outcomes and How Hospitals Can Help Them Succeed

• Hospitals are using more travel nurses to fill staffing gaps.
• Travel nurses typically cost more financially than staff nurses.
• The use of travel nurses is sometimes associated with worse patient outcomes based on limited research.

Travel nurses help fill gaps in hospital staffing, but there are questions about their impact on patient outcomes. Hospitals have consistently relied on travel nurses for decades to fill temporary nursing shortages — and that number is only growing – so healthcare providers must understand the potential impact on patient care.

A recently published systematic review concluded that the relationship between travel nurses and patient outcomes is unclear. The use of travel nurses may be associated with some adverse events in patient care, but these events may be due to hospital staffing and work environment issues.

The review found limited or no impact on patient falls, the number of medication errors, or patient satisfaction but a consistent correlation with hospital-acquired pressure ulcers, the severity of medication errors, and the incidence of nosocomial infections (healthcare-associated infections).

Discover how hospitals can better accommodate travel nurses to reduce the effect on patient outcomes.

What Is a Travel Nurse?

Travel nurses take on shorter-term assignments at hospitals, often traveling out of town or state to fill staffing gaps. While many of them work to fill the role of a specific staff member absent for vacation, parental leave, illness, or other reasons, employers also use travel nurses to alleviate nursing shortages.

Travel nurses generally earn higher salaries than staff nurses because of the additional stress of travel, being away from home, and lack of benefits. Travel nurses must adapt readily to new situations, procedures, and colleagues. Registered nurses can become travel nurses as independent agents or through a travel nurse agency.

The total hours worked by travel nurses as a percentage of the total hours worked by hospital nurses grew from 4% in January 2019 to 23% in January 2022, according to the American Hospital Association .

How Does Patient Care Differ Between Traditional and Travel Nurses?

According to the review, staffing levels did show a consistent correlation with travel nurses and worse patient outcomes. This finding is unsurprising since hospitals employ travel nurses to address low staffing levels. There is also a strong and consistent evidence-based association between nursing staff levels and patient outcomes, according to a qualitative study.

Staffing levels were the key variable affecting patient outcomes, according to the systematic review. Some patient outcomes did not show a consistent correlation with the use of permanent/traditional nurses rather than travel nurses. The outcomes that did not show an association include:

• Patient falls
• Number of medication errors
• Patient satisfaction

However, some negative outcomes did show a consistent correlation with the use of travel nurses. These include:

• Hospital-acquired pressure ulcers
• Severity of medication errors
• Nosocomial infections (healthcare-associated infections)

Because the research on patient outcomes and travel nursing is still limited, the systematic review included only 21 articles. Many reviewed articles tracked only one or two patient outcomes, and sometimes, studies of the same outcome found different results. For example, some studies found better outcomes for some variables with greater use of travel nurses. More research is needed to further understand the relationship between the use of travel nurses and patient outcomes.

How Can Hospitals Better Accommodate Travel Nurses?

The review also examined how hospital structures, patient risk factors, and travel nurse experience levels impacted patient outcomes. Ultimately, the work environment strongly correlated to patient care.

The study did not find that the type of unit (such as critical care) had a consistent correlation with outcomes and the use of travel nurses. Similarly, patient risk factors and travel nurse experience levels did not show a relationship between travel nursing use and patient outcomes.

The work environment had the strongest impact on overall patient outcomes. Some, though not all, of the studies in the systematic review, indicated that work environment may be the underlying factor that determines whether travel nurse use is associated with adverse patient outcomes.

Some of the factors associated with a positive work environment include but are not limited to:

• Appropriate level of challenges
• Career advancement
• Collaborative work environment
• Control over work environment
• Manager support
• A non-punitive environment
• Nurse input into error prevention
• Job satisfaction
• Patient-centric culture
• Perception of being valued by leadership
• Support for education and development
• Workplace civility

Hospital work environments and staffing levels may have an association with greater use of travel nurses. If permanent staff find staffing levels inadequate or the work environment unsupportive, they may be more likely to leave. Negative work environments can fuel the nursing shortage, which may lead to greater use of travel nurses. Where adverse outcomes seem to be associated with travel nurses, it is entirely possible that the work environment and staffing levels are the underlying causes.

AHA Senate Statement on Examining Health Care Workforce Shortages: Where Do We Go From Here?” (2023). AHA

Blume K, et al. (2021). Staffing levels and nursing‐sensitive patient outcomes: Umbrella review and qualitative study . NIH

Kieft R, et al. (2014). How nurses and their work environment affect patient experiences of the quality of care: a qualitative study . NIH

Krupp A, et al. Intensive Care Unit Utilization Following Major Surgery and the Nurse Work Environment . AACN

Vander Weerdt C, et al. (2023). Travel nurses and patient outcomes: A systematic review . NursingCenter

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Travel Nursing: Price Gouging or Supply and Demand?

I have been in the literature the past few weeks reading about moral distress, moral injury, compassion fatigue, and burnout of nurses. The focus lately has been on the crisis in nursing during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, I and others believe the crisis started much before the pandemic. The pandemic has just stretched the limits and shown what was bubbling underneath the surface. Dall'Ora et al 1 conducted a review focused on burnout in nursing. In summary, they found that adverse job characteristics, such as high workload, low staffing levels, long shifts, and low control over the work environment were associated with nursing burnout. They also stated that the association between turnover and burnout needs more research, but it is not hard to see the tie-in. And it is especially interesting to know that the studies used in the review were conducted before the stress of the Covid-19 pandemic.

I also have been reading these past few weeks about travel nursing. It seems that many nurses are choosing to forgo their regular jobs and move to travel nursing. Travel nursing requires that a nurse sign up with a travel agency and work short-term, usually 13-week contracts. If the hospital or other healthcare agency still needs a nurse and the nurse has enjoyed working at the facility, the contract can be extended. The benefits of travel nursing include picking a geographic area that a nurse would like to see, higher pay—much higher pay than the typical staff nurse makes, and most importantly, control of your own workplace environment. If you are working in a facility with a toxic environment, you can wave bye as you leave after 13 weeks. What is the downside to travel nursing? Some nurses like more stability or perhaps, because of family obligations, cannot travel. Some nurses prefer to work where there is more familiarity with policies and procedures. In some facilities who have travel nurses working side by side with their staff, there are tensions over the pay differential. The demand for travel nurses has increased exponentially; 2 it increased by 35% in 2020 and is expected to have increased by 40% more in 2021. 3

There is an ongoing discussion now about “price-gouging.” Price gouging refers to retailers and others taking “advantage of spikes in demand by charging exorbitant prices for necessities, often after a natural disaster or other state of emergency.” 4 , (para 1) Legislators have asked the White House Covid-19 team to look into whether travel nurse agencies are price gouging during the pandemic, and some states are trying to cap travel agency salaries. 5 Is it price gouging or supply and demand? Nurses in great numbers are retiring, leaving nursing, and changing positions. Hospitals believe the travel agencies are price-gouging. Others believe that the price of a travel nurse relates to supply and demand. 3 One point of agreement is that something must be done to facilitate addressing fundamental problems with healthcare staffing. 3 Significantly, outcomes of poor staffing related to burnout results in poor patient safety, poor quality of care, and adverse events. 1 Is the answer to cap the salaries for travel nurses thus reducing the supply? Or is the answer to work hard at the root problem which is pointing to workplace environment?

I have been in meetings where some nurse leaders believe that nurses are moving to travel nursing only for the money. Is money the only motivator? It does not appear to be so. In a review of 91 papers on nursing burnout, pay was not found to be an associated factor if you assume that burnout may be a factor in the move to travel nursing. 1 The problem is that we do not have the data to know why nurses become travel nurses. We do not even know how many perianesthesia nurses have left work in a PACU or Day Surgery Unit to travel. When I searched CINAHL and PubMed, there are various articles about becoming a travel nurse, very little peer-reviewed papers published before the pandemic, and no research related to travel nursing during the pandemic. So anecdotally, I asked a nurse to tell me three major priorities as to why she had left her position in an intensive care unit to travel. Her answers were: 1) Flexibility of schedule—13-week assignments with a potential for breaks in between; 2) Poor pay and poor treatment as a full-time employee; 3) Opportunity to see new places. This nurse went further to say that if hospitals are not going to prioritize retaining their most experienced staff, then people like her are going to look elsewhere to make nursing more tolerable. She went even further to state that travel nursing is used as an excuse to deflect from poor leadership or undervalued nursing. And if you think she is the only one with those thoughts, check out #nursetwitter.

I believe that many nurses leave to travel to control the working environment, to control their schedules. What is the root of the problem? Lack of resources to provide a safe environment (eg, personal protective gear, N-95 masks), no consistent communication from leaders, no significant effort to retain experienced staff, and high nurse/patient ratios. Those are just a few of important issues. No one is asking to leave the unit understaffed while they attend resiliency training or attend a pizza party. 6 As Udod et al 7 state: “…nurses need more than psychological support to allay their concerns: They need food, rest, and a sense of safety.” Focusing on individual nurse resiliency puts the responsibility on the nurse and not on how the organization can support nurse efforts. 7

What are some concrete strategies that can be done? One suggested strategy is to appropriate money so that the National Health Care Workforce Commission, established in 2010, can meet. The finances to begin the commission's work became politicized and was never funded, so the commission never met. The first Chair-designee was Dr. Peter Beurhaus who is the expert in all things related to the nursing workforce. 8 Another strategy is to improve working conditions with nurse to patient ratios. California's law regarding nurse/patient ratio has reduced nurse injuries by one third 9 and increased patient safety and nurse retention. 10 Transformational leadership is effective in terms of maintaining consistent communication and effective role modeling. 6 An emphasis on retention of experienced nurses is also needed. The days of showing nurses who burnout to the door knowing that other newer nurses who require less salary are right around the corner is over. We have an acute nursing shortage driven in part by the issues that were boiling under the surface and by the stress of the pandemic. Nurses need to be paid in a manner that shows their value. I have wondered often if hospitals had increased salaries and had clear, consistent communication if many of the nurses who left to travel would still be there. We need policymakers to assist in allocating funding for the provision of essential personal protective equipment for frontline nurses and ensuring a safe workplace for nurses by legislating appropriate health and safety measures. 11 We also need the help of policymakers to appropriate funding for increasing enrollment at nursing schools and funding for the increased space and staff that will require. However, at the same time, we cannot keep tossing our new graduate nurses out into toxic workplace environments which is why improvement in the workplace is a priority.

The bottom line is that we cannot continue with the healthcare system as it currently exists. National nursing organizations that are not 501(c)3 need to become involved at the policy level. Those of us who do belong to non-profit organizations like ASPAN can still become involved at the individual level. If you are in an area that uses travel nurses to staff your unit, how would you staff if salaries were capped and no one came….supply and demand. If you are in leadership how many staff members can you keep by supporting a safe environment and increased pay. I am interested to hear your opinions ( [email protected] ).

The ideas or opinions expressed in this editorial are those solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of ASPAN, the Journal, or the Publisher.

Conflict of interest: None to report.

Many travel nurses opt for temporary assignments because of the autonomy and opportunities − not just the big boost in pay

Assistant Professor of Communication Studies, University of Houston-Downtown

Disclosure statement

Ivan Gan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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Travel nurses take short-term contracts that can require long commutes or temporarily living away from home. Time and again, they have to get used to new co-workers, new protocols and new workplaces.

So why would staff nurses quit their stable jobs to become travel nurses?

Well, for one, they get bigger paychecks . But U.S. nurses have other rationales besides making more money, according to a study I conducted .

To do this research, I interviewed 27 registered nurses based in different places.

Many of the people I interviewed disclosed that they left permanent positions to combat burnout. Although they welcomed the bump in pay, travel nursing also gave them the autonomy to decide when and where to work. That autonomy allowed them to pursue personal and professional interests that were meaningful to them, and it made some of the other hassles, such as long commutes, worth it.

On top of earning more money, travel nursing “gives you an opportunity to explore different areas,” said a nurse I’ll call Cynthia, because research rules require anonymity. “When you actually live there for three months, it gives you a chance to really immerse yourself in the area and really get to know not just the touristy stuff, but really hang out with the locals and really be exposed to that area.”

Other study participants said they enjoyed the novelty and educational opportunities.

“You don’t get bored or stuck in a routine,” Michelle said. “You’re always trying to learn new policies at the new hospital that you’re in, learning about the new doctors, nursing staff, new ways of doing things, where things are located. That helps keep me from feeling burned out so quickly.”

Said Patricia: “I want to see how other operating rooms across the country do things and how they do things differently. I do learn a lot of things going from place to place.”

Why it matters

A growing number of U.S. nurses were obtaining temporary assignments before the COVID-19 pandemic began.

But travel nursing became much more widespread in 2020, when hospitals were scrambling to keep their staffing levels high enough as millions of Americans were becoming infected with the coronavirus, straining capacity in many communities.

While compensation varies widely, the median pay of registered nurses in 2022 was US$81,220 , about 35% less than the $110,000 that registered nurses who traveled earned .

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, travel nurses could earn an even bigger premium . Many were paid twice as much as staff nurses.

Once the number of Americans with severe symptoms fell, that premium declined too . But there are still over 1.7 million travel nurses in the U.S. Hiring them is one of the main ways that hospitals cope with a long-term shortage of nurses .

But nurses with permanent jobs can get aggravated by this arrangement when they learn how much more travel nurses earn for doing the same work, as I found through another research project .

What other research is being done

Research supports a widely reported trend: More Americans have temporary jobs and freelance employment than in the past.

While travel nurses can help hospitals, nursing homes and doctors’ offices meet staffing needs, there are signs that patients don’t always fare as well with their care.

And a Canadian study found that when hospitals let staff nurses work part time and offer other alternative arrangements, their retention rates may rise .

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Legal & Regulatory Issues

Iowa nurse charged in patient's death.

A licensed practical nurse is facing criminal charges in the death of an 87-year-old man at an Iowa nursing home, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported March 22.

Becky Sue Manning was arrested March 21 and charged with felony wanton neglect of a resident at Fonda (Iowa) Specialty Care. The resident had recently undergone a tracheostomy, so staff kept a suctioning machine in his room to unclog his airway as needed. 

Prosecutors allege the man died on Feb. 19, 2023, after Ms. Manning failed to suction his airway despite repeated requests from several colleagues. At the time, Ms. Manning was working as a temporary contract employee at the facility.

The man's death prompted a state investigation, and the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals fined the nursing home $10,000. This fine was lowered to $6,500 after the nursing home opted not to appeal.

Care Initiatives of West Des Moines, which operates the nursing home, told the Iowa Capital Dispatch that it does not admit to any statements, findings or conclusions in the state inspection report.

"In service to our nonprofit mission and core value of improvement, Care Initiatives is committed to continuously improving quality in everything we do," a company spokesperson told Becker's March 25. "We take our responsibility to care for our residents and their families seriously and work to ensure we are able to provide all necessary care and services. As part of our commitment to quality, Care Initiatives continues to work to reduce the need for temporary third-party staffing agency workers, which had been utilized due to workforce shortages in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are also continually working to ensure our team members are trained and educated to provide the quality care expected for our residents."

Ms. Manning was released from jail March 22 on a $10,000 bond and has yet to enter a plea. The Iowa Capital Dispatch could not immediately reach her attorney for comment. 

Editor's note: This article was updated March 25 at 5:30 p.m. CT.

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Resource Location: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mglQaSaTaBsRUeHp10RfO5BcjJMaFnl3/view?usp=drive_link

On Monday, April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will cross North America. The eclipse will travel across portions of Mexico, the central and eastern United States, and southeastern Canada. According to NASA, a solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun at just the right time, with the Moon creating a shadow on a portion of the Earth’s surface. If you have plans to view the solar eclipse or if you live in an area that will experience a total solar eclipse, it’s important that you plan ahead and review these safety tips. This document is intended to assist hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, dialysis centers, and all other health care providers plan for the upcoming total solar eclipse. In preparation, please take the time to review this document and share this information with your patients/ residents, facilities, and staff.