Choosing between travel nursing agencies can feel like the most confusing and overwhelming thing when starting out as a travel nurse. There are SO many out there (hundreds, though exactly how many is debated) and they all have different advantages and disadvantages. Some things to consider when evaluating different agencies include:

• personal testimonies from other travel nurses
• how big the agency is (try to get a sense for their reach around the country)
• their benefits (travel reimbursement, 401K contribution, licensing or continued education support)
• the agents (have you found an agent you would like to work with?)
• the average pay for the contracts they offer/have available

There’s so much more to add to this list, but ultimately what’s important is that you feel comfortable and confident in your decision. If things don’t seem to be working out how you expected or wanted them to, you can always start working with another agency.

agent over agency

When it comes to choosing an agency, there’s a well-known adage in the travel nursing world that choosing the right agent is more important than choosing the right agency. The idea is that each agency has it’s positives and negatives, but if you have a great agent who is willing to truly listen to you and advocate for you, you’ll get the best that the agency has to offer. As a travel nurse, you’ll be working closely with your agent throughout each of your contracts. They’re your go-to person for any questions that you have before, during, and after a contract.

In our experience, it does make a substantial difference to have a recruiter who gets invested and actively listens to what your desires and goals are. That said, we’ve also noticed that there are significant differences between agencies when it comes to the reach or volume of contracts they have access to. There are also differences between agencies in what kinds of benefits they offer that set some agencies apart. It’s a give and take, but we definitely wouldn’t dismiss the importance of choosing an agency that is right for you, as well as an agent.

why we decided to change agencies

I don’t normally talk much about which agency(ies) Dan works with, but I wanted to share a bit about our experience in case it’s helpful to someone. When he started out travel nursing, Dan had a hard time breaking into the industry, so he started out looking for contracts with multiple different agencies. He had eleven months of experience in a specialty which is just below what is typically required. We were still particular about which agencies he worked with, but at that time we were looking to get a contract fast. Some of the agencies he looked to work with at this time were Travel Nurse Across America, MAS Medical Staffing, Fusion Medical Staffing, Triage Staffing, Host Healthcare, and Jackson Nurse Professionals.

Jackson Nurse Professionals

After a couple of months, he ended up getting a contract and signing on to work with Jackson Nurse Professionals. It’s relatively well-known, slightly small in the world of travel nursing agencies, but it seemed like a good fit for us. Dan got connected with an agent that he really liked, and I guess in a sense we chose agent over agency a bit as his agent was a big part of our decision to keep working with that particular agency.

We ran into some issues with Dan’s first contract that were quickly addressed by his agent, and by higher up in the agency, but that made us start to question how trusting we should be of travel nursing agencies. There were some big lawsuits going on at the time where large agencies (namely Aya) were being sued for fraud after having taken advantage of travel nurses by lying to them about their pay being reduced mid-contract. This is essentially what happened to Dan (the hospital lowered his pay – twice), and we wondered if what the agency was telling us happened was the truth, or if it was a similar scheme.

At this point, we still don’t know, but hope that it wasn’t. All in all, we had a good experience with Jackson and appreciated their help breaking into the industry.

Host Healthcare

Thankfully, after that first contract, nothing like that happened again. We stuck with Jackson and were happy with how things were going, but as Dan met more travel nurses we started hearing about some of the benefits that other agencies had to offer. One agency that Dan had been talking with for quite a while was Host Healthcare. We’d heard great things from other travel nurses about them and found that they seemed to have a bit of a wider reach when it came to contracts, as well as slightly more competitive pay. We were becoming a bit more selective and hoping to have Dan stick to day shift, so a wider reach seemed like it would help us with this goal.

Ultimately, we decided to start working with Host, but also came to realize that many travel nurses work with multiple agencies at once. When it came time to start looking for Dan’s next contract, we communicated to both agencies that we were looking for contracts with both of them and would just see what came up. Both agents took it in stride and helped us look for our next contract. In the end, Host came up with a contract that fit what we were looking for first, so Dan has officially made the switch to working with them, at least for this next contract.

can you work with more than one agency?

the name of the game

As we were still pretty new to the game, we honestly felt bad at the idea of not committing to an agency and worse about the idea of working with multiple at once. When Dan was just starting out and we needed a contract fast because of our particular situation, it felt like a bit more of a necessity to work with multiple agencies. Once we had signed on with Jackson, it felt like a betrayal of some sorts to start working with another agency. We had to remind ourselves that it’s just the nature of travel nursing and that it’s important to look out for your own best interests especially while working as essentially a contracted employee.

Dan and I both met more travel nurses as time went on and heard more about how many (if not most) work with multiple agencies, whether switching between them or working with multiple at once. Dan’s agents from both Jackson and Host were extremely kind and understanding when we told them that we were working with another agent as well. It can feel awkward, but they know that it’s the reality of travel nursing and that it’s nothing personal.

loyalty does have it’s benefits

That said, I think it’s important to point out that there are benefits for sticking with one travel nurse agency. It depends on the agency, but often there is a minimum time requirement for receiving certain benefits such as a 401K employer match. For example, with Jackson, the requirement (currently) is that you work with them for six months before they start making contributions. Now that Dan has accepted his next contract with Host, this puts that in jeopardy a bit. For Jackson in particular, as long as Dan returns/accepts a contract with them within a year, his six month requirement is not reset. Policies like this will really depend on your specific agency. It’s also a lot of work to onboard with a new agency, so committing to working with one can be easier in many ways.

---

All that to say, it’s a personal decision which agency or agencies you work with as a travel nurse. There’s no right or wrong answer, and there’s no universal best or worst agency out there. A lot of it depends on you as the travel nurse: what kind of contracts you want, who you get as an agent, where you want to go, etc. While it’s important to be educated on the different agencies out there, don’t put too much pressure on yourself to find the perfect fit immediately, or even ever. It may not be out there. There’s always the next contract if you want to change agencies, which you always have the freedom to do. At this point, we would recommend both Jackson and Host (though we’re just beginning to work with Host), though we know we may try other agencies down the line.

what travel nursing agencies have you worked with?