NURSES Etc STAFFING reposted this
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This is the best personal and professional synopsis of the 2020-2024 travel nursing market I have seen. 👀 Well said, Andrew. I appreciate your candor.
Travelers are constantly asking: "𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗱?" Yes, I believe it is. It's dead for those that expect anything near Covid rates. What I see is the travel healthcare profession evolving, and that makes a lot of people uncomfortable. I traveled pre-covid and during covid. I've seen many sides of travel - staff, traveler, and recruiter. Pre- Covid: I started traveling at $1,500 - $1,600/week, as a stepdown traveler. During-Covid: My highest check was $12,000/week (w/ a boat load of OT). While it was awesome to make $12,000/week, let's face it, making $500,000+/year as a registered nurse is not reasonable or possible long term. Here's the reality: Covid rates warped expectations of what travel healthcare should be. 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗻𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀. But there are signs of positive change: I'm starting to encounter more people that I'd consider "True Travelers" The people that see the value beyond $$$. When I traveled, it was about much more: • Growing professionally across different health systems • Building a nationwide network • Experiencing new cities and cultures • Gaining exposure to diverse patient populations • Creating flexibility in my career As a recruiter now, I find it more gratifying to work with travelers that see that. The money game is exhausting and so transactional, it takes the joy out of travel healthcare recruitment. We're going to see 2 things in the next year: - Covid travelers go back to staff because they can no longer tolerate these "egregiously insulting, low rates" - A new generation of travelers that have expectations in alignment with the current state of travel healthcare. Both good news for recruiters. The travelers who succeed in today's market understand something crucial: It's a career path that offers professional growth, personal freedom, and yes — still very competitive pay compared to staff. I still see rates of $2,500 - $3,000/week, which is still phenomenal compared to staff. That's why I don't buy the claims about duplicating expenses and inflation, making these "low" rates unacceptable. Probably a good idea to consider a financial manager, if we're unable to make $120,000 annually work (especially when a very large percentage of that is tax-free). TLDR: Traveling isn't dead. It's returning to where it belongs. Agreed?