Travel nursing contracts were originally used to meet seasonal shortages. Areas with temporary increases in population, such as California, Texas, or Florida during peak tourist season, need to supplement their core full time staff. Since the early days, there are many more facilities using the model of contract nurses to fill staffing shortages.

Temporary staffing is an efficient way for hospitals to staff themselves without taking on long-term overhead. Today there is a shortage of nurses as well as many other health care specialists almost everywhere in the United States. Often times this short staffing can mean a loss of revenue and more likely a stressed out permanent staff. Contract help in the form of traveling nurses is generally more expensive in the short term but it does meet the short term need of health care providers.

It is expected that the nursing shortage will continue to grow as the baby boom generation starts to pressure an already overburdened health care system. There will, most likely be a need for travelers for the next 20 or 30 years, even if the shortage is reduced. There will still be seasonal needs, and many regions of the country will always have temporary needs.

As the intermediary between a traveler and the health care service provider, a health care staffing agency will be the employer of the traveling nurse. The agency will bill the hospital for services provided The agency will pay the traveling nurse, and provide the agreed upon benefits.

To provide a little industry jargon: the term often used for a traveling, contract health professional is ‘traveler’. This term may apply to a respiratory therapist, surgical technologist, or RN.

‘Travelers’ are contract employees of the staffing agency that places them in the health care facility. They are different from per diem nurses which are employees of the hospital or car facility. The traveling nurse will have assignments of varying length. Most expenses of a traveling nurse are paid by the agency often including housing, travel, licensure costs, and car rental. Traveling nurses may get allowances for meals, parking and car rental. Benefits for traveling nurses are generally very comparable to those of full time employees including 401K, health, and dental insurance.

If you are thinking about opportunities in th travel nurse industry, you should seek an agency that will meet your needs an goals for geographic assignment as well as benefits and pay. When you have selected the agency you want to work with you will have to go through an interview process, possibly provide results of recent physical exam, take tests related to competancy, and possibly take a drug screen test. If your first proposed assignment is in a state where you are not licensed to nurse – you will need to pursue license immediately – often with the help of the agency.

Travel nursing is an exciting possibility for experienced nurses. It takes a certain type of personality to enjoy the possibilities of travel nursing. You must be able to embrace change on a consistent basis, enjoy variety in management and environment. The benefits can also extend to opportunities to participate in other nursing specialties, exploring new locations, and changing environments.