August 2, 2007 Are More Nurses Traveling today then there was 3 years ago and why?   YES! The number of Nurses Traveling has increased significantly this year. Why? One of the reasons is because the Hospitals have embraced the strategy of using Travelers. In a recent survey almost 70% of all Nursing Executives said that they have, or are currently using Travelers, significantly, within the last year.     What does this mean to the Traveler? It means that there will be more opportunities for you to choose from with a variety of staffing companies. Hospitals seem to be embracing Travelers as part of their staffing mix and we are seeing hospitals agreeing that the quality of care with Travelers is better then with per diem staff because of the consistency of care. It also means you will have less, if any, gaps between assignments.     The staffing shortages Hospitals continue to have to address the nursing shortages by using Travelers to either get them through a recruiting ramp up time, an increased census or because of new operations. The US continues to have a migration population and some states need nurses at only certain times of the year while others don't need as many. There is an overall shortage of course but the Traveling Nurse does help address some of the issues.     Will Hospitals ever cut back on Travelers? We have seen that hospitals go through cycles with Travelers. Hospitals do view Travelers as more expensive then their existing staff. This is very debatable and there is evidence to suggest that Travelers cost less then Hospitals think when one looks into benefits, salary increases of existing staff, vacation time, and productivity. In 2003-2005 the amount of Travelers went down significantly due to the economy, the census and the general widespread cutback. So yes...There will be a time when Traveling usage will go down...but it always comes back up. It is believed that there are up to 40,000 Travelers on billing at any time throughout the US.         HEALTHCAREseeker.com, A JCAHO Travel Nursing certified company, places Travelers into positions in all 50 states. We are the #1 fastest growing company in our industry according to Staffing Industry Analysts. We know that Travelers have their choices in the firms they work with. We will differentiate ourselves to Travelers by being more flexible, by paying more and by being the industry standard for service/ innovation/ information. www.healthcareseeker.com