time travel assignment week 2

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Everything you need to know before accepting a travel nursing assignment.

Travel nurses and allied professionals go where the wind takes them. Or rather, where there is a shortage or immediate need for their skills. Travel nursing was created to address shortages of registered nurses in various parts of the country. There is always demand for qualified nurses anywhere you go, but there’s not always enough personnel to meet the demand. This is even more true in times of a medical crisis. 

Because travel nursing and allied pro assignments are run as-needed, the length of time and the kind of work you can expect to do as a travel nurse will vary from post to post. You might find yourself filling in for a nurse on parental leave for 6 months on one job. Then turn around and help an overloaded ER for a week on your next assignment. What you need to take with you and how you prepare for each job will change with each assignment. In this article, we’ll go over need-to-know information to help you prepare for your next adventure as a travel nurse.

How Does Travel Nursing Work?

Before we jump in, let’s talk about what it takes to be a travel nurse. The basic qualifications to become a travel nurse are the same as standard nursing. Travel nurses must hold an associates or bachelor’s degree in nursing, be certified in BLS and ACLS, and hold an LVN or RN certification. Here at Medely we also require a minimum of one to two years working in the specialty of the specific assignment. 

The most common length of travel nursing and allied pro assignments is around 13 weeks, although shifts can vary from 1 week to upwards of 26, depending on the need and your preferences. Many agencies, including Medely, allow travel nurses to search for assignments with specific time parameters. Getting travel assignments with Medely works essentially the same as any other job-hunting platform. Positions are posted by the facilities, allowing you to browse potential assignments. Urgent needs may be highlighted or promoted. Nurses and allied pros can apply for your ideal position with the click of a button, which will kick off an interview and approval process. Once the facility approves your application and you sign your contract, you’re off on your adventure!

But before you hop on a plane, there are a few things to get in order: 

• Housing – Staying in a hotel gets old fast. The good news is, there’s better options.
• Pet/Plant Sitting – Do you have plants or animals that will need care, either with you or while you’re away?
• License – Travel nurses have to be licensed in the state they are working in. Make sure your license and other credentials are up-to-date for the state your assignment is in.?
• Travel – How are you getting to your new assignment? Does your agency offer reimbursement? (Medely does)
• Expenses – What is the cost of living in the new city? How much does your agency cover? (again, Medely has you covered with the maximum tax-free stipends available for your assignment)

In the next section, we’ll talk more about specific needs and top tips to follow, no matter the length of your assignment. 

Nursing and Allied Pro Assignments by Length

1 week travel nursing assignment.

Shorter assignments, including week-long jobs, typically fall under the “rapid-response” category. This means nurses working these fast-turnaround positions will need to be ready to go in as little as two days. 

These assignments are easy to pack for but the planning and financial aspect can be rough. Last-minute plane tickets get expensive fast. However most agencies reimburse travel costs, especially for rapid-response assignments. 

Housing can also be a little tricky, but you might be able to get away with staying in a hotel for such a short duration. 

If you have children or pets that need to stay home, longer assignments might be a better fit for you. 

As with all short-term assignments, be prepared for a potential extension.

2 Week Travel Nursing Assignment

These assignments are rare. But if you’ve been bit by the travel bug and only have a small window of availability, you ask your agency to keep an eye out for these short assignments. 

As with 1 week assignments, you might need to be ready to move fast as facilities will typically need you to start right away. We recommend finding housing through a travel-nursing specific website, for a more affordable and more amenity-filled home away from home during your stay.

3 Week Travel Nursing Assignment

The biggest considerations as nursing assignments lengthen are housing-related. It’s easy enough to pack everything you need for short-term assignments, but you want to start thinking about practical concerns as your job extends. Look for affordable, comfortable housing with proximity to your place of work, laundry facilities, and grocery stores or restaurants. 

4-6 Week Travel Nursing Assignment

One month is the magic number for many nursing assignments. In fact, it’s the minimum length of assignment  Medely offers. Additionally, many travel nurse housing sites also have a four week minimum. 

Four week and longer assignments typically have time between application and orientation, giving you some breathing room when it comes to planning housing and travel. We recommend looking for locations you think you’ll enjoy when considering these longer assignments.

8+ Week Travel Nursing Assignment

Nurses on tour! Home and home-away-from-home begin to blend together when you’re working in a new location for this long. But they are often easier to budget and plan for and you can take your time in figuring out next steps. Longer assignments are often a good bet for travel nurses with families and animals.  The assignment length means you have the time to make the necessary arrangements for your loved ones. 

Last Thoughts: Travel Nurse Assignments

What you need for your next travel assignment will vary by length. There’s a world of difference between a 1-week stay and a 2 month job. But by planning and preparing ahead of time, you’ll be ready to go no matter what. 

Not sure what to pack? Medely has the answers. Check out our post: The Nomad’s Packing Guide for Travel Nurses .

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Two 13-week travel assignments, at once - feasible?

Specialties Travel

Published Jul 24, 2019

If I have a fixed schedule for the entire 13-weeks, guaranteed by the nurse manager and the director, 36 hours, 3 days a week...and another facility could take me in on a similar schedule but on the alternate days, would it be possible to do two assignments, with 2 different agencies?

Anyone ever done it?

• + Add a Comment

1 Article; 5,779 Posts

Nope, and it is nutty for several reasons. First, you are better off financially and sanity wise to take rapid response type of jobs where you can work seven days a week if you want. Overtime instead of 72 or 84 hours of straight time. Second, the logistics would be crazy. Schedules are seldom truly fixed for travelers, and all contracts allow changes. Finding two travel assignments that offer fixed and compatible schedules would be, umm, challenging. Third, many contracts have specific language requiring that it be your only job. Fourth, travelers who are working away from home have tax advantages. Your second contract would have to be fully taxed, reducing your take home pay. No double dipping.

Even if you find such compatible contracts, illness on your part or a staff member that requires you to step in may get you terminated from both jobs. If you must do something this bizarre, better to work in an area that has a lot of local agency per diem to fill in your days off. Those shift commitments are easy to cancel. That is doable, and I do meet travelers with so much excess energy that they do just this. Often they take several back to back contracts in the same area, because it would be a pain to sign up for per diem in a new area every three months. But generally, per diem will pay less than your total hourly compensation for travel contracts so it seems nutty to me. I've never been tempted to work more and take a pay cut (yes, your gross pay will still be more).

OK. Two question. Why would the 2nd contract be fully taxed if home is still working away from home? How do you find per diem agencies?

Why can't you double dip? Would it be legal to collect two person's welfare checks? The why is irrelevant anyway, it is the law. The workaround is to travel with an unrelated traveler and split things. If you are married, collecting two housing stipends would be disallowed in an audit because you already share housing.

How to find per diem agencies? Google. Yellow pages if they still exist. Ask around the hospital where you are working. Typically you need a large urban area. Los Angeles, the Bay area, Chicago, DC/VA/Baltimore all have healthy per diem that I know of personally.

Thanks NedRN. By why i meant "what's there reason behind it", not a "how come" complain. Thanks for explaining. Googling for information on this part of the law, but I can't find anything. I am sure I'm phrasing it wrong. Any idea how I should word it?

Are per diem agencies the the same as regular 13-week assignment agencies? Or are they agencies that specialize in per diem?

Seriously? Common sense will tell you you can't double dip. The underlying laws and regulations are complex. You can do a few hours of reading about them on PanTravelers and TravelTax. Irrelevant anyway as you will not be able to work two concurrent assignments.

But let me break it down a little here. The housing stipend is actually a "reimbursement" for an expense. If you take two reimbursements for the same exact expense... get the picture?

Agencies can do both. But you want a national agency for travel, and a local agency for per diem. The same agency for both will not employ you for both because of overtime laws, they would lose money on paying you 40 hours of overtime when they can only bill flat time.

3 minutes ago, NedRN said: Seriously? Common sense will tell you you can't double dip.

Wow. It's unfortunate that your knowledge is buried under that character.

WanderingWilder, ASN

Stipends are tax free because it pays for housing, the second stipend wouldn't be paying for your housing (since the housing is already paid for by the first stipend) which is why it isn't tax free.

9 hours ago, Sunnysandy said: Wow. It's unfortunate that your knowledge is buried under that character.

I take it you haven't traveled before based on your questions, repeated after I answered them thoroughly. I was nice (not sure why you would be offended at "common sense" and double dipping) and helpful and you have a surprise coming your way if you have never traveled before. You don't get coddled (typically) like you might be used to as a staff nurse, or even on this rather well behaved (typically) forum. It's harsh out here and expectations of travelers are high. Are you really ready? Even the internet has you ruffled. A single snide comment to anyone on a travel assignment can lead to termination.

On 7/26/2019 at 2:56 AM, WanderingWilder said: Stipends are tax free because it pays for housing, the second stipend wouldn't be paying for your housing (since the housing is already paid for by the first stipend) which is why it isn't tax free.

Aha! Got it now! Awesome! Thanks!

Would the 2nd assignment being a traveling distance from the first one make a difference?

If you have a tax home you haven't abandoned and are working away from home on business, and the nature of the job requires that you have local accommodation to rest between shifts (or other considerations like callback time), then that accommodation is tax deductible. There is no limit on how many such accommodations you might have (picture a sales person with multiple cities to visit), but they don't normally overlap.

In the almost impossible scenario where you take two concurrent travel assignments in which you cannot commute from one to the other, and you don't simply stay at hotels for the nights needed in the two locations, you might be able to justify having two apartments if the cost is less than the hotel rooms, but not if it is more. That is the only way you might be able to justify having two housing stipends and not paying tax on either. But your out of pocket will be significantly higher, erasing any benefits (the costs will be higher than the taxes would have been).

You do have to keep and hold housing receipts to prove in an audit that you do have duplicated costs at the remote site and your tax home.

Besides housing, the other major benefit of travel is tax free per diems (known as M&IE by the IRS). As the name suggests, these are paid daily like housing and are significant. Under no circumstances could these overlap between two concurrent assignments, again making this whole discussion an exercise in futility.

You do know you have to keep up a permanent residence as well? If not, this whole thing is moot as all compensation is taxable, not even tax free housing once.

RN/WI, ADN, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN

Why ?! It’s not possible and even if it was it would be illegal. But first of all you would make more working one and collecting overtime for more hours you would stick into the second job. Did you decide to travel?