The Benefits of Travel Nursing just got a little bit better

My Alma Mater, Favorite Nurses, sent me a notice that they are now matching funds in the 401k they operate for nurses who work for them. This is a welcome announcement. The trend for better benefits by travel agencies just goes to show that this is becoming a permanent job. While the assignments may vary in length the practice of working exclusively as a travel nurse is IMO growing. There are some obvious advantages to travel nursing. You can vote quickly with your feet if the place you are working is awful. A 13 week assignment is over before the nastiness can really ramp up. Not to mention some of the other travel nurse benefits such as paid housing, travel allowances, bonuses, 401k and medical plans that most travel nurse agencies are offering. Plus the ability to see parts of the country and enjoy such varied hobbies as hiking, camping, skiing and even theme parks. It would be awesome to do a 13 week assignment in Orlando Florida and spend at least 2-3 week-ends fully exploring Disney World.

The nursing shortage is helping to fuel this trend but I think that nurses are also getting smarter about the value of benefits. I have created a web page where I break down the value of benefits at my website The Travel Nurse.com. A conservative estimate places the value of benefits at around $20,000 per year for the average nurse. The evaluation is done for registered nurse benefits so it will vary a little if you are an LPN, LVN or other healthcare professional. But check it out at http://www.the-travel-nurse.com/salarybenefits.html