If anyone knows of any agencies hiring RN's with less than 1 year experience I would definitely appreciate any info. Let me know,
any travel agencies requiring less than one year experience?
Hi there! Most travel agencies require that you have at least one to two years of nursing experience.
I too am looking for travel nurse agencies that will accept a friend of mine who has less than a year of experience out of nursing school. The company I normally work with (Access Nurses) is no help here.
I have not come across any agencies that will take a nurse with less than 1 yr. experience. That is the MINIMUM amt. of experience that you should have to be a safe, confident, & competent traveler. As a traveler you will be given MAYBE 1-2 days of orientation, and then be expected to "hit the ground running." During your first year or so you are still learning- traveling is not the time to be learning the ropes, honing your assessment skills, etc. You need to be able to function independently as a nurse. Almost every experienced nurse will tell you that you will learn more in your first 1-2 years on the job than you did in nursing school. I think it would be very irresponsible for a company to send a nurse on a travel assignment with less than 1 yr. experience. Just my 2 cents....
Even if you can find an agency that will take you with less than a year of experience it will not be to your advantage to sign up with them. Most companies ask for a year or two of experience because they expect that whenever you go on your assignment you will be able to get right into the job with VERY limited orientation. The hospital is paying premium rates for your services so they are expecting to get a nurse who is experienced and will be able to function independently with little or no orientation.
The problem with being a travel nurse with only a few months of experience is that you will often find that you dont yet know enough to do travel work. You are still learning how to be a nurse, and you will have many questions. Unfortunately, there will not always be anyone around to hold your hand and show you what to do or how to do it. This is not to offend you but to get you to understand that you will be putting yourself in a risky situation because you may be assigned to take care of patients that require more nursing experience than you have, and you can easily become overwhelmned if no one is around to help you---which is very dangerous for both you and the patient. Very easy way to lose the license that you worked so very hard for! I recommend that you finish out your year, take on the more difficult assignments and learn as much as you can. Once you get that experience then you will be ready to travel.
The problem with being a travel nurse with only a few months of experience is that you will often find that you dont yet know enough to do travel work. You are still learning how to be a nurse, and you will have many questions. Unfortunately, there will not always be anyone around to hold your hand and show you what to do or how to do it. This is not to offend you but to get you to understand that you will be putting yourself in a risky situation because you may be assigned to take care of patients that require more nursing experience than you have, and you can easily become overwhelmned if no one is around to help you---which is very dangerous for both you and the patient. Very easy way to lose the license that you worked so very hard for! I recommend that you finish out your year, take on the more difficult assignments and learn as much as you can. Once you get that experience then you will be ready to travel.
I agree with the other responses that it is not a good idea to start travel nursing with less than a years experience. I am on my first travel assignment and have been a nurse for 3 years. We got 1 day to learn the charting system and 1 shift to orient to the floor. We are expected to know everything else and many of the staff are less than willing to help you out. Some its because they are rude and dont want to help and others because they simply dont have time. I don't think its really the number of years, but until you feel confident with your skills you shouldnt do travel nursing.
It's not the agencies who require the 1-2 years, it's the hospitals. I have heard, though, that a hospital in Louisiana (Monroe I think?) works with nurses with less than one year.