Traveling nurses surge amid shortage
By Julie Schmit
USA Today
Amy Morrison has turned the national nursing shortage to her advantage.
The 32-year-old nurse hung up her Ohio scrubs six years ago and hit the road. She's one of an estimated 20,000 U.S. "traveling nurses" who move from hospital to hospital on assignments typically lasting 13 weeks. Travel nurses help hospitals fill workforce gaps and, in some cases, keep hospital units open.
Morrison's traveled for six years, working in such places as Hawai'i, Alaska, New York and California. She's made 25 percent more than if she'd stayed in Ohio, she estimates, and the former farm girl has seen the country on someone else's dime. "It's a great life," she says.
The travel-nurse industry, which suffered with the economy in recent years as staff nurses sought overtime and hospitals balked at travel-nurse costs, is on the rebound. Thousands of jobs are open, staffing companies say. Demand for travel nurses at No. 1 AMN Healthcare Services is up 50 percent since the start of the year, CEO Susan Nowakowski says. Rival Cross Country Healthcare says its orders are at 30-month highs. And recruitment is so competitive that one company, Access Nurses, is launching a travel-nurse reality show, "13 Weeks," at www.nursetv.com.
"Our objective is to let young people know travel nursing is a viable career, and you can have an exciting lifestyle," says Access CEO Alan Braynin. "We have nurses who ski in winters and surf in summers."
The travel-nurse concept largely originated to serve "snowbirds" moving from northern to southern states in winters. Several trends point to long-term growth, says Barry Asin, with research firm Staffing Industry Analysts. Baby boomers are aging, requiring more healthcare. Schools aren't graduating nurses fast enough. California recently mandated a 1-to-5 nurse-patient ratio for the bulk of hospital beds, up from 1-to-6. The U.S. government expects the national nurse shortage to hit 800,000 by 2020.
Nationwide, travelers staff about 1 percent of nursing jobs, says Joseph Boshart, CEO of Cross Country.
Hospitals say they have mixed feelings about the travel-nurse industry. The nurses provide continuity for weeks at a time compared with per-diem nurses. Yet travel nurses typically cost hospitals 20 percent more than a nurse employee, even when benefits are factored in, says Carol Bradley, chief nursing officer for California for Tenet Health System, with 18 California hospitals.
While travel nurses may be highly skilled, they may also be less familiar with a hospital's procedures and doctors, says Deborah Burger, president of the California Nurses Association. "Travelers might not be as familiar with equipment, the hospital layout, who to call. ... Minutes can make a huge difference," she says.
Travel nurses are usually employed by staffing companies. Salaries vary by experience, location and specialty, but generally run $22 to $35 an hour. That means a nurse working 40-hour weeks 50 weeks a year would make $44,000 to $70,000. A travel nurse may push $100,000 a year, with overtime, Braynin says.
Most staffing companies also offer medical, 401(k) benefits and pay travel, housing and food costs. The nurses tend to be younger or empty nesters with a yearning for travel and better pay, says Ralph Friedmann, CEO of staffing firm InteliStaf Healthcare.
Scott Smiley, 40, a 10-year nurse, spent the last three as a traveler for World Health Alternatives. His home is in Soso, Miss., but he's worked in Wisconsin, South Dakota, Louisiana and California. He works seven days and then travels home for seven days. His wife works locally as a nurse, and they have two daughters, ages 15 and 6.
"I travel, make twice as much and work half the time," he says.
