Specializing in staffing medical facilities with nurses and other medical professionals, travel nurse agencies provide a vital service. As the American population continues to age and the healthcare system deals with extraordinary situations like the COVID-19 pandemic, medical staffing agencies help ensure that competent personnel are on site in sufficient numbers.
If you’re considering joining the ranks of traveling nurses, an excellent way to start is by running a search for nursing agencies near me. Which, of course, will likely lead you to wonder how to evaluate nursing agencies near me. One such way is to explore Wanderly. Let’s take a look at how you can do this.
Understanding the Role of Nursing Agencies
You’ll encounter a number of different organizations when searching “nursing agencies near me.” The key thing to understand is that their primary role is to place medical professionals on a temporary basis in facilities all over the country.
These medical staffing agencies help medical facilities to fill their open staff positions on a temporary basis. The agency vets the people they place, as well as the facilities in which they place them, to ensure the best possible fits.
Agencies are typically responsible for ensuring you’re paid, providing stipends for housing, and delivering insurance—including life, medical and dental. Some also offer 401(k) plans with matching funds, along with education reimbursement and employee assistance programs.
Identifying Your Needs
The more the recruiters at medical staffing agencies know about you, the better they can ensure your experiences are positive. With this in mind, it’s helpful to be clear about your needs and expectations. Aside from the highest possible compensation, numbered among your concerns may be stipends for food and housing costs while working on an assignment. The provision of clinical support can be useful as well.
Retirement plans, bonuses, and professional liability insurance may also be important to you. Other considerations include help meeting licensing requirements, the provision of continuing education opportunities and the accrual of benefits. Whatever your specific concerns may be, it’s important to research an agency you’re considering to see how it addresses these factors.
Researching Nursing Agencies Near Me
Running an Internet search for “nursing agencies near me” will usually return a substantial list of organizations in the field. Before choosing one with which to work, it’s important to make sure the needs you identified in the above paragraph can be met.
You can start your journey from online platforms like ours – Wanderly. It is the platform that you can use to find your ideal agency. You can search through agencies on our platform and connect with agency team members through their profiles on Wanderly.
Before you sign with an agency, you can speak directly with one or more of its recruiters to ask specific questions regarding your needs—whatever they may be.
Key Factors to Evaluate
One of the primary benefits of working as a traveling medical professional is the opportunity it affords to live and work in different places. Depending upon the importance of that aspect of the work to you, agencies with a broad range of assignments over vast geographical areas will be more likely to have openings in places you want to be.
Another important consideration is whether you’ll have one specific recruiter with which to work. A single person can get to know you, your preferences, and your concerns, which can save time when you’re looking for assignments.
How stipends are handled is another question you’ll want answered to your satisfaction. Amounts can vary from assignment to assignment, as well as from region to region. Talking to people who have worked with an agency for a while can provide insights into the reputation of those “nursing agencies near me” you’ll find as well.
Explore Wanderly to Connect with the Best Nursing Agencies
Perhaps the most important choice you’ll make when you decide to work as a travel nurse is the agency with which you work. They all have different areas in which they stand out from one another. Your deciding factor should be how closely their policies, benefits, and philosophies match your needs and considerations.
As you embark upon your professional career, Wanderly can help you secure the best traveling medical professional assignments available. Applying the latest technologies, such as big data and machine learning, we bring travel healthcare professionals and agencies together. We aim to elevate the healthcare staffing industry with our transparent marketplace.
Wanderly is the place where you can find your suitable agency. You can search for agencies on our site and connect with agency team members through their profiles. Before you sign up with an agency, you can chat personally with one or more of its recruiters to ask specific questions about your requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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How do I know if a nursing agency is legitimate?
Talk to other travel nurses to see how an agency you’re considering is perceived. Always review contracts carefully before signing. You want to be sure the terms and conditions meet industry standards and legal requirements. Do not share personal information until you’re certain the organization is on the up and up.
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How do travel nurse agencies make money?
Generally, they take a percentage of the amount they charge facilities before paying the nurses they represent. Like most agency arrangements, they charge their clients (the nurses) for the provision of services.
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How do I choose a travel nursing agency?
Among the key considerations are the quality of the company and its reputation, how much it pays the people who actually do the work, the housing options it provides, and the nature of its benefits package.