Travel nursing, explained

What a travel contract actually is

A travel assignment is a fixed-term contract — most commonly 13 weeks — where you are employed by a staffing agency rather than the hospital, and placed at a facility that needs cover. The headline rate is usually well above the local staff rate, because the facility is paying for speed and flexibility rather than for a permanent hire.

How the pay is structured, and why the headline number misleads

A travel package is normally split into a taxable hourly wage plus non-taxable stipends for housing and meals. Recruiters often quote the blended weekly total, which is not comparable to a staff hourly rate. Two things follow from that, and both matter:

• The stipends are only tax-free if you genuinely maintain a tax home and are duplicating expenses while away from it. If you do not, the money is still paid but is taxable, and the liability is yours, not the agency's. This is the single most common way travel nurses get an unwelcome surprise, and it is worth an hour with an accountant who has seen it before.
• Benefits, pension contributions and paid leave are usually thinner than a staff post. Compare the whole package, not the weekly figure.

Licensure

The Nurse Licensure Compact lets a nurse whose primary residence is in a compact state practise in other compact states on one multistate license. Non-compact states require their own license, which takes time and money you should confirm before accepting a start date. Our state licensing pages set out what each state requires.

What to ask before you sign

• What is the taxable hourly rate, separately from the stipends?
• What happens to your pay if the facility cancels or reduces your hours?
• Is there a cancellation penalty, and does it apply if the facility cancels?
• Who pays for licensure, certifications and travel, and is any of it clawed back if you leave early?
• Is the guaranteed number of hours in the written contract, or only in the conversation?

Is it worth it?

For some nurses it plainly is — the pay is higher and the flexibility is real. But you are trading job security, benefits and familiarity for it, you will be the newest person on an unfamiliar unit every few months, and cancelled contracts do happen. It suits people with the financial headroom to absorb a gap between assignments better than people who need every week to land.

Agencies with open referral programs

Both agencies below publish that you do not have to be a travel nurse yourself to refer someone. The figures are quoted from each agency's own program page on the date shown — they are what the agency states, not amounts GovHealthJobs has verified or can guarantee, and the terms are set by the agency and can change without notice.

Referral bounties are typically paid only once the referred nurse completes a qualifying period, so most referrals never pay out. Treat any figure above as a ceiling, not an expectation.