Travel Tips
Every state in the US has different processing time for Nurse licenses to be issued for that state. Some have reciprocal agreements with others states which is called the Compact. Others have what is called a walk through status which means that you can walk in the nursing board door in that state and they have to issue you the license that day. Others have temporary licensed that can we issued in 7-30 days. Certain states like NJ, NY, MA and others have long processing times and can be as long as 4 months. Many Travelers who wish to go to another state may want to look into the licensing processing times so that they can plan accordingly. For example, we have many Travelers who want to go to NYC so they start the process early. Check with your recruiter or call the state licensing board for estimated turnaround times. FYI: If you work in a Compact state you must have a permanent residence in that state in order to use that Compact license in other participating states.

Travel Facts
The average Traveler pay rate for a Registered Nurse in the US is $28-$35 per hour with free housing with a lot of agencies. Florida, Texas and the Southern US have the lowest rate while California and Wyoming have the highest. California has a law which states that nurses working over 8 hours are required to get time and a half after 8 hours. One would think the cities throughout the US would pay the highest due to the cost of living but in fact, due to the high housing expenses and large amount of population to draw from, large cities pay just average. For example, NYC is about $30-$32 per hour with private housing right in Manhattan. It is an exciting assignment and that is why people go.

President's Message
Smaller agencies pay more. We see it time and time again that the large public companies do not pay their Travelers as much as the smaller agencies and we hear it often that the smaller agencies treat their Travelers better. If you are working with a large Travel company it is a good idea to shop around. Most Travelers have relationships with 3-5 agencies.

Location Spotlight
Colorado- What a beautiful state! Colorado has one of the fastest growing populations in the United States. 3/4th of the state is very mountainous and the other quarter is flatlands. If you have never seen the rocky mountains it is a sight to be seen but be prepared...the weather in Colorado can change very quickly. We are seeing a lot of Travelers being used in Colorado and rates are going up.