Hooray for travel nurses—those intrepid registered nurses who accept short-term, long-distance nursing assignments on demand. These bold souls are helping to alleviate healthcare staffing shortages nationwide. For hospitals that can’t seem to recruit enough RNs—or recruit them fast enough—employing travel nurses is a smart interim solution.
However, just as the demand for staff nurses is growing (according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 203,000 RN openings go unfilled each year), so is the demand for travel nurses. For many hospitals, it’s yet another healthcare recruiting challenge, since top travel nurses have their pick of plum assignments.
Fortunately, there are steps that hospitals can take to attract experienced travel nurses. It starts by understanding their how their world works—and what draws them to this nomadic lifestyle.
Since the pandemic, travel nursing has become increasingly popular, both with RNs and healthcare organizations.
Sweeping talent shortages—particularly in areas with high patient demand and in rural regions—have led more hospitals to rely on travel nurses in order to maintain adequate staffing levels. At the same time, a growing number of overworked RNs view travel nursing as a way to escape looming burnout without leaving a profession they love.
In fact, there are more than 1,733,500 travel nurses currently working in the U.S.
While some healthcare employers are using specialized staffing agencies to find travel nurses, others are recruiting directly. And although the standard assignment is 13 weeks, contracts may be shorter or longer. It’s a fluid, flexible arrangement, and that’s part of the appeal.
It takes a certain type of person to become a travel nurse. Many are driven by a love of adventure, choosing assignments based on location. Some seek popular vacation spots like Hawaii and California; others are drawn to iconic cities like New York and Miami.
Still, others are driven not by location, but by compensation, actively seeking out the highest-paying gigs. And, without question, travel nursing pays well. The average salary for travel nurses is $126,384, compared to $93,042 for staff nurses. In addition, travel nurses receive cash stipends to cover their housing, mileage, meals and relocation expenses.
But here’s the challenge for most healthcare employers: what if your facility isn’t located in a dream destination? And what if you can’t afford to pay top-dollar wages?
Don’t worry, you can still compete. You just need to be more strategic about it.