Did you know there is a subset of health care professionals with super powers? The super commuters! These brave souls take on a ninety-minute or longer commute to and from work every day. And it pays off – super commuters make about 20% more than traditional (less than ninety minutes) commuters. If you’re willing to take on a long commute, great! But how about just moving temporarily to where you are needed for an interim (often 13-week) assignment? This can be just as lucrative, but with more flexibility. Our travel nurses and interim consultants do it all the time and they love it.
Experienced, qualified travel nurses and interim executives are in high demand, and are compensated well. In addition, housing and travel costs are typically covered, health insurance is often included, and many of these assignments come with a living stipend and/or a tax-free signing bonus. Some employers will even cover the costs of certifications or CEUs. Traveling healthcare professionals are needed in rural, suburban, and city hospital settings in almost every specialty.
Jobs in big cities tend to offer higher salaries, but also come with more housing and commuting headaches and a higher cost of living, while those outside the city may offer less money, but have less hassle and cost, too. For interim professionals a good benefits package (including tax-free signing bonuses) can often more than make up for a low salary offer. Travel nurses and interims decide where to go next based on their own interests and goals, the location, and the compensation. The composition of these may change from assignment to assignment.
Our interim professionals and travel nurses love the flexibility and variety the interim lifestyle provides. They can take an assignment in Miami in the winter and Portland in the summer. They can work in a research hospital for one assignment, then an independent private practice for the next. “Bored” is a word we rarely hear them utter. This lifestyle allows them to see the country, work in different settings and specialties to expand their skill sets, and meet (and learn from) new co-workers every few months. Our interims create a vast network of peers across the country.
Travel nurses typically take 13-week assignments, and, similarly, interim consultants take placements that last a few months, or until a particular project is finished. They have the satisfaction of knowing they’ve helped out an organization in need, but they move on to a new assignment before they can get caught up in office politics or find the job too monotonous. Being “burned out” is not a common complaint among this group.
Experienced interim professionals become comfortable with traveling alone, quickly adapting to new situations, and learning on the fly. Their experience makes them self-actualized, independent, confident people that are assets to the healthcare industry. Want to be one? Give us a call: 877-699-STAT.