What Benefits and Perks Do Travel Nurses Expect When Hired?

The Support That Gets Travel Nurses to You

Travel nurses are a crucial cog in ensuring your healthcare facility is functioning properly. They provide great skills at short notice, without the need to add them to your permanent payroll. Is there a catch?

The use of travel nurses is certainly being implemented by hospitals up and down the United States. According to SimpliFi’s research, the number of travel nurse jobs in 2018 and 2019 increased by 44%. Since then, the coronavirus has ramped up the use of travel nurses even higher.

In this article, we look at why travel nurses are a great staffing solution, and what they’ll expect in return.

The Benefits of Using Travel nurses

With millions of Americans accessing healthcare through the Affordable Care Act, the use of travel nurses is at an all-time high. Briefly summarized, they provide:

  • Coverage in skills shortages, ensuring your staff aren’t burned out or quality of care hampered
  • Cost-effectiveness, avoiding financial damage through over- or under-employing
  • Skills, often in hard-to-fill positions or departments that suffer high turnover

Travel nurses step in as and when you anticipate a void. Let’s look at what sways them to the life of travel nursing.

Support with Housing

A housing stipend is a highly attractive and convenient perk that draws staff nurses into the world of travel nursing. Housing support can be provided in two ways:

  • Agency-provided stipend – where accommodation is provided on an agency’s terms, usually on a leased property
  • Tax-free housing stipend – a sum of money offered to the travel nurse to cover the housing cost while on an assignment

Many travel nurses prefer the tax-free stipend, giving them control over their housing choice.

Health Insurance

Providing cover for travel nurses gives them peace of mind that while they’re on an assignment, they’re covered. Additionally, travel nurses are busy people, traveling from one assignment to another. With health insurance taken care of on their behalf, it’s one less thing to worry about.

401(K)

Money management is key to travel nurses, so having a 401(K) already in place ensures they are supported with this. A good specialist staffing agency will cover this for them, so that when they’re paid, they have one less financial burden they need to calculate for.

Support

Travel nursing can be a lonely game. Support and guidance are crucial. Here at LoyalSource, we provide 24-hour assistance from our team, so that wherever our travel nurses are in the country and whatever concerns they have, advice and support is available to them.

Travel Reimbursement

Travel nurses are expected to pay the initial cost of their travel fees, but a winning advantage is that this is reimbursed to them. This encourages travel nurses to leave their local area and bring their skills to you.

With a skills shortage imminent – more than 1.1 million nurses will be needed by 2022, according to The ANA – covering the cost of travel allows you to reach out to a wider pool of nursing skills for your team.

License Reimbursement

Travel nurses need licenses to work in different states. Previously, this would have prevented travel nurses from venturing further afield to avoid being lumped with licensing fees. Reimbursement of costs solves this issue. Highly experienced and skilled travel nurses will have a catalog of licenses to reach the best assignments.

Being Paid Routinely

With assignments lasting between 13 and 26 weeks, and no employee benefits such as sick pay, travel nurses must be careful with money management and budgeting. Being paid on time is essential for them to achieve this.

Let LoyalSource Take Care of Travel Nurse Perks

While the benefits of using travel nurses is clear, providing all these perks to cast a wide-reaching skills net sounds a little like expensive hard work. But it can all be taken care of.

Partner with a specialist staffing agency like LoyalSource. We have exceptional travel nurses on our books, with the skills you need, and the perks lined up. It’s a cost-effective strategy that ensures you can focus on providing the high levels of care your patients expect, while we ensure your staffing requirements are met with highly skilled and qualified travel nurses to support your healthcare staff.

Get in touch today to learn more about the LoyalSource advantage.

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