jobless/homeless

This is my first travel assignment ever and I am feeling like a terrible, incompetent nurse thanks to Aureus. They informed me that my contract with the hospital was terminated so I asked what happened and they told me what the manager had said to them. I told my recruiter can I have documentation in writing so that I can defend myself well I am still waiting for the fax or e-mail. Aureus has left me out in the cold they didn't defend me or give me a chance to defend myself. They said I am responsible for paying my own way home and as far as finding another position for me that wasn't even discuss. My recruiter is nasty and I think we as nurses need to stick together against companies like this.

Aureus did exactly the same thing to me a year ago! Cancelled my contract after an OJI, then wouldn't pay me the going-home $$$. I had finished my first 13 weeks and started my 2nd. I had to rely on friends and family to bring me home. Take care and please keep us informed.

From the reading a number of different posts on this forum, this issue seems to be occuring more and more. I'm wondering if the nurses who are having these experiences are new travelers? Well, whether you are a new traveler or not, it is important to always protect yourself when going on ANY travel assignment. Anything at all can happen---and I do mean ANYTHING. You can get sick, you can get into an accident, your contract can be canceled, you may have any other type of emergency situation that could lead to your not being able to work and to going back home. Therefore, do not leave home without a credit card or enough cash in your pocket in case you need to pay your way back.

The language in almost every agency contract is very one-sided (in favor of the agency), and its your responsibility to read everything and negotiate changes to anything in it that you don't feel comfortable with. Otherwise, you may find yourself holding the short end of the stick, in which case it would be your own fault. Every travel contract is a business arrangement, and when it comes to business NO assumptions whatsoever should be made. If its not written in the contract it doesn't exist. And if there are things that you don't agree with don't just sign the contract anyway and hope that nothing bad happens. We all know Murphy's Law.

I'm sorry you had this experience. But if that recruiter is going to be nasty to you then you're better off not having anything to do with their company anyway. Write this off as a learning experience, and exclude it from your resume. If you decide to travel again apply to more than just one company next time, so that if one contract falls through for any reason you can call the other company, and maybe they'll be able to get you to into another position quickly. There are many other companies out there.

[B]Anthony,

I apologize for deleting your thread, however forum rules state that recruiting is only allowed in the nurses talk to recruiters (at their request) or the recruiters talk to nurses forums.

I hope you understand...

--Aaron
[/B]

Thank you all for your support. Auerus needs to be reported for what they are getting away with. I am in the process of negotiating a contract with a different travel company and I hope it all works out well for me.

Thank you.

Aaron

My appologies to you and the members here... I am pretty hyper about recruiting and while well intentioned, the approrpiate chat rooms and respectful feeling here is what makes this one of my favorite healthcare communities online.

I appreciate the ground rules that make it a great site and will abide with respect.

Take care
Anthony Pierce
Strategic Alliance

Tsoti & gigi_rn_bsn,
I am sorry to hear about your misfortunes while traveling although not shocked by the actions of that particular agency. The only way I see to protect each other is to share information. Why not post a review in the appropriate section of this forum so that everyone can use your experience in evaluating offers? I have posted one on that company and suggest you do the same. Maybe if we all relay our experiences some of these agencies will think twice about abusing their staff. I look forward to reading your review.

Gee, Aureus must have a twin company called Integrated Nursing Alliance (how ironic that the staff from INA all came from Aureus). INA did the same thing to me. My assignment got cancelled and they got me another job in my hometown but refused to pay for my travel back home and put me in a very nasty Extended Care facility after I got back to town. I had to borrow money from family to get home. They also stole money from me by cashing a check I had sent and asked them not to cash until a particular date, but they cashed it anyway and my account bounced for over $300. My recruiter was very unprofessional, as well as his boss. I came home, worked through my orientation and worked one night on the floor. I got a call at 4pm the next day my contract had been terminated for MANY MANY STUPID reasons, and the company refused to give me my check. Stated they needed to use it to pay for the 2 wks I was in the nasty trashy Extended Stay. You really have to pay attention to your contract and also, I have found it very hard to trust ANY recruiters at ANY companies.

Donna- why did you have to send THEM a check? That seems odd.

I guess because I was stupid or was outsmarted by a conning recruiter. The company fronted me $600 to travel to a position since I did not have any cash. So I told them I would pay them back over the next month for the money I owed them so I sent them signed and DATED $100 checks. And they screwed me over not once but over and over again. I just hope that Integrated Nursing Alliance or whatever they call themselves now NEVER have that opportunity to do that to anyone else. It is just so hard to trust any companies or recruiters anymore, unless you KNOW a nurse or nurses who have worked for that company before.

Donna

My god... :eek::eek:I have had a terrible experience that resembles the ones posted here! Thank GOD I have plenty of money to return home. Calling all travel nurses out there: has anyone else had a bad experience with Supplemental Healthcare? I have been out in Colorado since June. This was my first travel experience. A new staff nurse in the hospital where I was working knew she was in trouble for not hanging calcium gluconate on her shift with a pt. that had a critical Ca+ level. A very rude doctor reamed me out for what this nurse had not done on day shift to such a degree that the onlooking nurses in the nurses station wrote him up for his behavior. The next day I got a call from my company stating my contract at the hospital had been cancelled as a result of this doctor falsely claiming I hung the wrong maintenence fluid on a pt. Without investigating the alleged incident further, Supplemental Healthcare terminated me! I have chosen to remain in the extended stay for a bit using my subsidy to pay for it. I have been researching various travel companies and their reputations. Also, I have been reading postings of other nurses to see if anyone has experienced what I have. So far, I have responses from 2 companies who are interested. However, it is very hard to trust companies if they are not even going to investigate complaints against us. This essentialy means that the hospitals can say whatever they want about us and none of us are safe in travel nursing. And, it is so difficult to know you are terminated from the hospital and your company on the basis of false reports and retaliation! Calling ALL travel nurses out there--- share your experiences regarding Supplemental Healthcare. What REALLY is their reputation among the nurses out there in the industry? I have heard many negative things about Aureus from people I have actually met out here on assignment. So, I was not surprised to hear your story. I am sorry for the nurses who have been shafted by Aureus as well as Nurse Alliance because I know how bad I am feeling right now.

I have heard some quirky things about Supplemental out here in Colorado from other employees. Although, they were always good to me. It was the New York office (my office) I had major issues with---mainly neglect from my recruiter, lack of support, her lack of ability to answer my questions when I needed support, being rushed off the phone. The individual that terminated me raised her voice at me when all I did was ask what the hospital had said about me. She attempted to avoid telling me three times. Once I stated that I did not want my job back, I just thought it was fair to receive feedback regarding what the hospital had said when I was losing my job as a result, she finally had the decency to tell me. (false report that I hung wrong IVF).

Thank you for your support. Please let me know how you are doing. My God, this is awful! We need to support each other. And yes, these companies need to be reported for what they have done to us! We must stick together. If anyone has any suggestions as to how we are to go about reporting this abuse, and to whom, I am listening. We NEED to do this!!!

Blind Sided in Colorado

OMG...NEVER, EVER, EVER send a company money!!! Oh my goodness, I almost passed out when I read your post! I am new here, sorry, but I was shocked to see that a traveler would even be asked to send money to their company!! They are supposed to pay you...not the other way around! If a company ever asks you to send them money in return for a front, run! Oh my goodness, I still can't get over it!! I hope you have had better luck since then. Always have at least a months salary saved before traveling just in case something happens during and assignment. Travel nursing is very unpredictable at times, unfortunately, and you always have to be prepared. Good luck!

hey there, i've been traveling for 15 years, i have worked for alot of agencys trying to find the so called honest right one. its tough. one of my first ones tho did that to me. they cancelled my assignment. i was traumatized. i had no money for i was new to this and . they sent me 50.00 to get home. there needs to be a stipulation in our contracts. that if the facility cancels we still get paid. or a percentage of our contract monies. hey the recruiters get big bucks on us. the ones of us who dont get sign on or completion bonuses. the recruiters do . thats why we dont. as for best companys so far. on assignment healthcare. i'm getting ready for a new company. millenia healthcare. they seem honest so far. but again i'm a cst not a nurse. but have been traveling forever. anurse introduced me to this forum. i've learned alot from it.

well I am not a new travelr and a very similar experience happened to me. The company has still, after a month refused to pay my return travel expense. The only way I might see that money is if I hire an attorney, still debating if it's worth it. One thing is for sure, after 6 plus years, I will never travel with MSN/Intelistaf again.

Sorry about your situation. Seems to be a very popular scenario these days.