Reality: two years exp. minimum needed to travel; comments welcome

[rloufek]

After doing what I thought was a tremendous amount of research, I decided to try travel nursing after one year experience as an RN at a large, magnet, teaching hospital ranked very high in the nation. I actually hated it there, plus the new building is toxic, so leaving was in my plans no matter what. I also decided I didn't like that city.

After interviewing two other travel agencies I settled on a third that got good reviews, and with a recruiter I really like. Fortunately I have a free place to live for as long as I want, lots of savings, and wanted some time off to study for the GRE for graduate school. I am 47 so I have a lot of life experience, and I have great nursing references.

On all the various sites they say that one year of experience is required. Nowhere in all my research did I find mention of the fact that, in reality, the facilities want atleast two years of experience in a specific area, and consider that the bare minimum. They really want several years experience. Knowing that, I would have left UCLA (oops) anyway but would not have wasted my time trying travel nursing.

This morning I had an interview with a prescreener named "Kathy" who works for Nurse Finders. She does these traveler prescreen interviews for facilities prior to the real interview. This one was for Kaiser in San Rafael. I wasn't keen on having to work at Kaiser since I know too much about them, but I know I can't be picky without more experience. "Kathy" knew beforehand that I only had one year experience. She was never going to pass me onto the facility for interview because of that, but apparently wanted to get her two cents in with me.

First she tells me about all her years of experience as a nurse and how good she was, then she asks how long my preceptorship (or orientation) was. She then said that those two months "don't count" as far as experience goes, so I really only have ten months experience. She then read off some quotes from my references, which were glowing. Then she said, "I know that you will do very well in the interview and most likely be accepted, but I have no intention of passing you on to them. You don't have enough experience."

What was super weird about her was that she then proceeded to tell me what I should do with my life and nursing career. I managed to stay professional, but ended up hanging up on her when she would not stop talking and telling me what to do (go to work for the local hospital where I am living right now, which is a really bad one and not even nationally accredited anymore.)

I called my recruiter immediately to tell her about it, and she was wonderful. I could get a permanent job right now if I want, and there are alot available in a city in which I would like to live. But I really want to try travel nursing. I think the varied experience at different facilities in different parts of the country will help me be a great manager, after I finish my MSN. My recruiter has promised to be more careful to make sure they really will accept only one year experience before making me interview, and I have promised to give her some more time to find me something.

My point is this: during the next couple of weeks that I have decided to give my recruiter to come up with an assignment before actively seeking a permanent position, I would greatly appreciate hearing from anyone about this issue. Did any of you have only one year of experience when you started traveling? Should I stick it out or am I wasting both my time and my recruiter's time? Despite enjoying the time off and making good use of it, I don't want a huge gap on my resume.

The other reason I wanted to do this post is to warn any potential travelers out there who have less than two years experience in a specific area (med/surg, ICU, ER, whatever.) Since I never ran across this information in my extensive research, and I read hundreds of discussion postings on several travel nursing sites, I want to make sure that others like me know about this. Thanks for listening! This site is awesome.

[Kdog]

Yes, usually 2 years..some want more
Nurse Managers (at the facility where a Travel RN wants to work)needs nurses with some experience that a 1 year nurse does not have.

[DavidRN]

I am a bit surprised at the response you have received thus far in your attempts to travel. I started traveling in 1995 with about a year and a half experience and never had any problems. My second assignment was at a facility with a large ICU and some high acuity patients. Again, no problems despite a relatively short time as a traveler.

My first question might be with your choice of travel companies. If you are with a smaller company, they might not have the variety of positions you need. Some of the largest companies in the industry might not be the companies I would recommed staying with throughout your career, but they will get you started and once you have two or three assignments under your belt, you can shop the different travel companies.

I would not put too much stock in what the pre-screener said. If she was such a wonderful nurse, why is she not working at the bedside anymore? Besides that, if she knows that the hospital would probably hire you, then why would she decline to even give them that option? It seems counterproductive to me.

My suggestion is join up with a few more agencies. I am currently on file with over a half dozen agencies that meet all my needs for whatever contract I desire (strike work, fast response, 8-week assignments, etc.). Be upfront with them and tell them you just want to get some experience. I'm honest with my recruiters to the point of telling them I have other angencies looking for what I need and the first one who finds it wins. I do wrap that in a more diplomatic language though ;-)

Sign up with a few of the larger travel companies and keep trying.

[AmandaWIRN]

I agree with the above post- try a different company, and stay away from Nurse Finders! They are horrible..... If you'd like to contact my recruiter with RN Network, send me a PM and I'll give you his contact info...

[WaddRN]

I also saw the one year of experience required and quit my horrible job in Knoxville, TN to begin traveling. So I have 13 months of experience and finally with the 3rd agency they found me a job in Seattle. I haven't started the job yet because to get the license there it takes 8 weeks. I got my license online just haven't received it in the mail and will start in a few weeks. Hope you've found something!

[onetraveler]

I am a bit surprised at the response you have received thus far in your attempts to travel. I started traveling in 1995 with about a year and a half experience and never had any problems. My second assignment was at a facility with a large ICU and some high acuity patients. Again, no problems despite a relatively short time as a traveler.

My first question might be with your choice of travel companies. If you are with a smaller company, they might not have the variety of positions you need. Some of the largest companies in the industry might not be the companies I would recommed staying with throughout your career, but they will get you started and once you have two or three assignments under your belt, you can shop the different travel companies.

I would not put too much stock in what the pre-screener said. If she was such a wonderful nurse, why is she not working at the bedside anymore? Besides that, if she knows that the hospital would probably hire you, then why would she decline to even give them that option? It seems counterproductive to me.

My suggestion is join up with a few more agencies. I am currently on file with over a half dozen agencies that meet all my needs for whatever contract I desire (strike work, fast response, 8-week assignments, etc.). Be upfront with them and tell them you just want to get some experience. I'm honest with my recruiters to the point of telling them I have other angencies looking for what I need and the first one who finds it wins. I do wrap that in a more diplomatic language though ;-)

Sign up with a few of the larger travel companies and keep trying.

1995 is a long way from 2008. Pt acuity has gone waaaaaay up and nursing responsibilities have followed that trend along with the loss of nurses. i.e the nursing shortage. Without getting into the dynamics of that or the why it's a fact.

Most of the websites of Travel Nursing companies aren't kept up-to-date. Sometimes I still see jobs listed from 2007. Granted the job may still exist but do I want it? So they haven't followed suit with changing the requirements to 2 or more years either.

Is the OP ready to hit the ground running without any orientation? Is she ( I didn't look) ready to be in charge on nights without any back up? The present position I'm in as charge showed me where the med keys are kept and where the bathroom was. Will she be able to adjust to another computer system or even a new one the staff doesn't know how to use.

The Travel nurse companies are actually doing her a favor and saving themselves too, they aren't that ulturistic, by not putting her into a situation she won't enjoy or be able to handle. Maybe she could handle it but they can't be sure.

Just as with everything else rules have to be made for the worst case senario. Hospitals have come to realize that more experiences bodes well. Technology has grown so over the years that what you were doing one year ago may be ancient history now.

I left M/S 8 years ago with 15 years of experience. I wouldn't even attempt to go back as a traveler. Thank goodness no reputable (sp) company would take me.

Just MHO

P.S. Don't get excited when someone wants to refer you. They might just be more interested in the $500 than how the assignment will fit you.

[maryk650]

Keep trying. There are agencies out there that only require 1 year, esp. if you have experience. Try Medical Solutions. Be glad to give you or anyone else interested a referral.

[rloufek]

Thank you all so much for your replies to my post. As far as the nursefinders pre-screener: my impression was that she has mental problems. I plan to avoid anything to do with them throughout my nursing career, as well as Kaiser, for whom she was interviewing.

I did end up having an interview set up through RN Network, but the timing was terrible. My recruiter didn't tell me to expect the call, and I was literally waiting by the phone for a call from an interviewer for a permanent, local position when she called. I had to get her off the line fast. So RN Network DID finally send something my way, but I had to turn it down. By that time, two months had passed since I first contacted them...way too long. Wouldn't any normal person come to think that there was never going to be a travel job?

I had also signed up with Across America, but frankly, that recruiter was a nut. She would go on and on about how great I was and how she wanted to find me the "right" position, talking about religion and the universe, blah, blah. Again, I had been waiting for two months with no interviews. She was the one who set me up to speak with that nasty nursefinders pre-screener. This recruiter would act manic, then be out of contact for two weeks at a time. I would not recommend Across America. However, I had limited experience with them, so other recruiters may be okay.

Based upon what some of you have said, if a good, permanent position doesn't come up within a couple weeks then I might call a couple of the much larger travel agencies to see what they can do for me. That one local interviewer never called, despite the HR manager's enthusiastic response to my application, great references, and resume. I don't know what's up. She said she would set up another interview; that was two weeks ago. I really do have an impressive first year combined with student resume, and great nursing references. So much for the nursing shortage. Some of you are right: I could work with a larger agency for a while to gain experience, then switch to another agency if they are not treating me well with pay, etc.

Thank you, all, for your comments. You are not just advising me, you are also advising all those other new nurses who want to try travel nursing and who read these forums.

[rloufek]

1995 is a long way from 2008. Pt acuity has gone waaaaaay up and nursing responsibilities have followed that trend along with the loss of nurses. i.e the nursing shortage. Without getting into the dynamics of that or the why it's a fact.

Most of the websites of Travel Nursing companies aren't kept up-to-date. Sometimes I still see jobs listed from 2007. Granted the job may still exist but do I want it? So they haven't followed suit with changing the requirements to 2 or more years either.

Is the OP ready to hit the ground running without any orientation? Is she ( I didn't look) ready to be in charge on nights without any back up? The present position I'm in as charge showed me where the med keys are kept and where the bathroom was. Will she be able to adjust to another computer system or even a new one the staff doesn't know how to use.

The Travel nurse companies are actually doing her a favor and saving themselves too, they aren't that ulturistic, by not putting her into a situation she won't enjoy or be able to handle. Maybe she could handle it but they can't be sure.

Just as with everything else rules have to be made for the worst case senario. Hospitals have come to realize that more experiences bodes well. Technology has grown so over the years that what you were doing one year ago may be ancient history now.

I left M/S 8 years ago with 15 years of experience. I wouldn't even attempt to go back as a traveler. Thank goodness no reputable (sp) company would take me.

Just MHO

P.S. Don't get excited when someone wants to refer you. They might just be more interested in the $500 than how the assignment will fit you.

With all due respect, you are making a lot of incorrect assumptions. I apologize ahead of time if I sound a little annoyed during this post. The travel nurse agencies are NOT doing me or anyone a favor by not placing me. During my first year as a nurse I worked at the #3 hospital in the nation. I worked with nurses who had 20-30 years experience, and frankly, after a few months I became as good or even better than many of them. That is not self-delusion. I actually saved one of their patients from getting IV potassium as a bolus: the senior nurse (a charge nurse) had attached the IVPB to the port AFTER the pump. I was in the room to help her move the patient up in bed and noticed the super fast rate of the drip when the patient starting complaining of her IV burning. I stopped it immediately, of course. This is only one example. I have extremely good references from there; they were very sorry to see me leave.

I am 47-years-old, and have a lot of life and work experience that I bring to nursing. I was an LAPD police officer during the LA riots in 1992. I can handle just about anything. I have also been a supervisor and trained new employees in another profession.

I have read "From Novice to Expert" and met the author. Her research is talking about the average nurse/person when she says that it takes 2-3 years to become proficient as a nurse, and to truly think like one. There are those who become proficient much faster, and those who never get there.

I know all about the nursing shortage. I was on the Board of Directors of the National Student Nurses Association, as well as before that on the board of my state student nurses association, and the president of my school chapter. I probably know more about the nursing profession than most seasoned nurses. I attended the recent American Nurses Association House of Delegates, and plan to go to Durban, South Africa for the 2009 ICN conference.

I also read as much as I could about travel nursing before trying it. Nowhere did anyone say that you need more than one year of experience; you didn't post it anywhere, did you? And of course I know that travelers get a bonus if they refer someone who then completes an assignment. Why wouldn't I know this? Everyone wants to make a buck anyway they can. I won't "get too excited" when yet another traveler tries to get me to call up her recruiter. I am too old to "get too excited" about anything.

The purpose of my original posting was to inform other new nurses about my experience, so that they would add it to whatever else they might read about travel nursing and make an informed decision before trying it. How about we keep that intent here? If I am reading your posting correctly, you have left nursing and feel incompetent to travel. So what you said applied to yourself. Please do not assume that either myself or others are not competent or even exceptional nurses, no matter how little time we have been in the profession. I sincerely hope that your new career is going well.

[onetraveler]

With all due respect, you are making a lot of incorrect assumptions. I apologize ahead of time if I sound a little annoyed during this post. The travel nurse agencies are NOT doing me or anyone a favor by not placing me. During my first year as a nurse I worked at the #3 hospital in the nation. I worked with nurses who had 20-30 years experience, and frankly, after a few months I became as good or even better than many of them. That is not self-delusion. I actually saved one of their patients from getting IV potassium as a bolus: the senior nurse (a charge nurse) had attached the IVPB to the port AFTER the pump. I was in the room to help her move the patient up in bed and noticed the super fast rate of the drip when the patient starting complaining of her IV burning. I stopped it immediately, of course. This is only one example. I have extremely good references from there; they were very sorry to see me leave.

I am 47-years-old, and have a lot of life and work experience that I bring to nursing. I was an LAPD police officer during the LA riots in 1992. I can handle just about anything. I have also been a supervisor and trained new employees in another profession.

I have read "From Novice to Expert" and met the author. Her research is talking about the average nurse/person when she says that it takes 2-3 years to become proficient as a nurse, and to truly think like one. There are those who become proficient much faster, and those who never get there.

I know all about the nursing shortage. I was on the Board of Directors of the National Student Nurses Association, as well as before that on the board of my state student nurses association, and the president of my school chapter. I probably know more about the nursing profession than most seasoned nurses. I attended the recent American Nurses Association House of Delegates, and plan to go to Durban, South Africa for the 2009 ICN conference.

I also read as much as I could about travel nursing before trying it. Nowhere did anyone say that you need more than one year of experience; you didn't post it anywhere, did you? And of course I know that travelers get a bonus if they refer someone who then completes an assignment. Why wouldn't I know this? Everyone wants to make a buck anyway they can. I won't "get too excited" when yet another traveler tries to get me to call up her recruiter. I am too old to "get too excited" about anything.

The purpose of my original posting was to inform other new nurses about my experience, so that they would add it to whatever else they might read about travel nursing and make an informed decision before trying it. How about we keep that intent here? If I am reading your posting correctly, you have left nursing and feel incompetent to travel. So what you said applied to yourself. Please do not assume that either myself or others are not competent or even exceptional nurses, no matter how little time we have been in the profession. I sincerely hope that your new career is going well.

I've hardly left nursing or traveling. With your attitude you're gonna need much more than two years. I'd say about a life time. I've been in the profession for over 28 years and so far I don't know it all,,, probably never will.

You may have been on lots of commitees, gotten sereval awards, and traveled to the moon. None of which equal OJT. None of which equal feet on the ground.

If you are so great at travel nursing why haven't you been placed? Why haven't people just been jumping off their chairs to hire you. I'm sure your endevours precede you. Didn't your NM call every other NM in every state and tell them you saved a life. How much K was in the bag. I've given it many times without a running IV. So??????

Run out and get a job with 1 year of experience I've a feeling the rules have never applied to you.

Good luck. BTW I've been traveling for 6 1/2 years. How many days have you been traveling now?