Tag: nurse staffing

Financial freedom or independence is something that nobody wants to forego. However, at times this aspect can make or break employments. For the people applying for nurse staffing, jobs, compensation, pay rates and other financial benefits are something which is of consequence and should be discussed in order to ensure that there are no problems later. Of course, the healthcare recruitment agency such as MSG Staffing will also take care of such issues and ensure that complete transparency is maintained. Here are a few financial considerations that a person needs to keep in his or her mind before replying in affirmative for a position for a travelling nurse. 

Aspects to look out for
In the case of a travel nurse employment, the compensation and the entire range of benefits is quite lucrative. Sometimes, it may even surpass the financial benefits of a person who is a permanent staff at the medical facility. In other words, people in this profession tend to receive their normal pay according to the number of hours worked and are also entitled to overtime pay, medical benefits apart from choosing the house to work as well. In some cases, travelling nurses receive bonuses at the end of every week depending on the criticality of the assignment and the number of hours worked. However, there are many other medical facilities and establishments, which do not pay weekly, but hand out a sizeable amount at the end of the tenure of the travelling nursing staff at the hospital. Travel nursing jobs are thus very lucrative and the demand for such nurses is quite high. Medical establishments are willing to spend as long as they are able to get the desired work quality from a person. There are many medical hospitals, which either provide accommodation or an equivalent amount of allowance so that travel nurses can get a suitable accommodation somewhere nearby to the medical facility.

Salaries and other monetary benefits tend to form a major reason for taking up employment away from home as a travel nurse. Travel nursing jobs are highly lucrative and a major part of this aspect is the financial remuneration. This is also one of the major reasons for the people to take up jobs. Staffing companies like MSG Staffing tend to look into this matter quite closely and makes sure that each person gets a near perfect fit according to his or her desire of a dream-nursing job.

Travel nursing job is the best suited for the people who want a nursing career which would allow them to travel and explore new places. The travel nursing job helps you to choose the place of work and the type of nurse job, you are looking forward to.

Assignment duration

MSG Staffing helps you to choose from a wide range of long and short term nursing assignments. There is no standard length of the assignments. The nurse job can last even for 26 weeks or as short as 8 weeks.

Assignment location

The assignment location is based on your choice. It also determines the duration. You have the freedom to choose new jobs that would pay you better, with the help of reputed agencies like MSG Staffing.

Other requirements

Every state needs a license for their nurse staffing. Most of the travel agencies would help you get the license before your start date. The processing time is 8 weeks. In terms of educational qualification, there is absolutely no difference between travel nurse employment and normal nurse. Each company would require a minimum experience limit for a nurse to work as a travel nurse. Most of the companies have a pre-requisite of 18 months experience.

Future of traveling nurse job

Is there a future in the travel nurse employment? According to a survey, there would be a shortage of million nurses by 2020. This is due to the reason that the majority of the nurses are of the age above 46 and more than half of the nurse population have reached the retirement phase. Thus, many hospitals around the country would need traveling nurses, to satisfy their nurse staffing needs. Hence, the career of traveling nurse is stable and the demand would be increasing in the near future.

How to choose the right company?

There are a lot of agencies that claim to provide the best employment opportunities in nursing field. However, not all the companies are what they claim to be. Surf through internet, read their testimonial and ask in the complaint forums about the best company. Do not fall for the wrong agency. This would lead to loss of money and waste of time. You should also compare the charges of two different agencies.

If an agency is charging very low or very high than the industry average, you need to think twice before registering. Learn about the hospital and its credibility, before signing any contract. Read all the documents and ask as many questions as possible to join the right hospital.

  Hiring experienced nurses is priceless.

  When staffing your facility it is very important to make sure you have a good nurse to patient ratio, as studies have shown much better patient outcomes with appropriate ratios. This is an issue that bringing in Travel Nurses can help address, keeping your facility fully staffed and avoiding nurse burnout. But beyond simple numbers of staff, it is also important to consider the length and quality of your nurse staff’s experience.

  A recent Health Leaders Media Article discussed a study done by Patricia A. Hickey, PhD, MBA, RN, FAAN, Vice President of Cardiovascular and Critical Care Services at Boston Children’s Hospital, which links clinical experience and pediatric patient outcomes. The study was published in the December 2013 Journal of Nursing Administration, and concluded that, “A cut point of 20% RNs or greater with 2 years’ clinical experience or less was determined to significantly affect inpatient mortality.” Data for the study was collected from 38 children’s hospitals.

  In a nutshell, the study confirmed that while nurse staffing numbers matter greatly, the experience and education levels of the staff also factor in. So, while some hospital administrations may view older/more experienced nurses as simply more expensive, Hickey tells HLM that actually they are “priceless” when it comes to achieving proper patient care. Hickey went on to tell HLM:

 “There is nothing more expensive than turnover… [the hiring process] is far more expensive than the salary that you’re going to pay to a senior nurse, and all nurse leaders know that. I think we now, for the first time, have illustrated why nurses deserve the salaries that they get – because they are saving lives and they are rescuing patients from bad outcomes.”

  But Hickey certainly doesn’t mean for her study to cast out brand new nurses; of course nurses must gain experience somehow and all experienced nurses were once new. She advises an active period of support and mentoring for them, meanwhile allowing them to make up no more than 20 percent of a unit’s staff.

  The industry standard for Travel Nurses is 2 year clinical experience before they can travel – which, according to Hickey’s study – bodes very well for facilities that staff with Travel Nurses!   

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