May 5, 2023
In this post I want to address some common questions about what a travel nurse schedule looks like. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions I don’t cover!
In the sense of how many hours a travel nurse works a week, the answer is generally yes. Travel nurses are hired with a contract specifying how many hours they’re contracted to work each week. That said, the contract may also specify that the hospital is able to call off the travel nurse a certain number of times. In this situation, the travel nurse has the chance to try to pick up shifts to make up for the lost hours, but it’s not a guarantee that they’ll be able to.
Make sure you’re aware of your contracted hours as well as your guaranteed hours (a.k.a. the hospital call-off policy). In our experience, Dan has had contracts specifying the hospital could call him off up to one shift per week, though he’s never actually been called off a shift thankfully. Other contracts have been something like up to three or four shifts during the entire contract, or per pay period.
Not typically, though some hospitals have such a great need for nurses that they are particularly generous in this area. When first beginning a travel nurse contract, Dan has often had no control over his schedule; he’s just plugged in where he’s needed for the first scheduling period. From there, he usually gets to request what days he wants to work for the upcoming schedule, but it varies how much the hospitals take that into account.
Dan has had a couple of contracts where he’s largely gotten every shift he’s requested, no more and no less, but also a couple where he’s had little to no control. At his current contract, the hospital has a weekend requirement for him so he’s ended up working almost every Saturday throughout the whole contract. Other than that though, he’s been able to have a good amount of say in what days he wants to work. As a travel nurse, you really have to wait and see how much control you’ll have over your schedule as it varies so much from contract to contract.
Most commonly, travel nurses are contracted to work three 12 hour shifts per week, though this can vary greatly. Depending on the type of nursing you’re doing and the kind of facility you’re working at, you may have the chance to work eight hour shifts. Sometimes, travel nurses are contracted to work more or less than 36 hours. Keep an eye out for the details of the contracts you’re looking at.
As I mentioned above, typically travel nurses work three 12 hour shifts per week, so in that sense they get four days off per week. In the sense of traditional “time off” that you request, it’s a bit more complicated. In general, travel nurses shouldn’t expect to get any time off unless it’s specifically negotiated into their contract before signing. Your travel nurse agent will be sure to ask you about that first thing while you’re looking for contracts.
This depends on the length of contract you get and if you decide to renew that contract or not. Generally, travel nurse contracts are 13 weeks long. Most of the time the hospital or facility you’re working at will ask you about halfway in to your contract if you’d be interested in extending your contract (typically another 13 weeks). All that to say, travel nurses have the option to travel/start new contracts every 13 weeks, but can stay in the same place for up to one year.
The short answer is yes, the long answer is it depends. Some hospitals (or travel nurse agencies) will limit the amount of overtime a travel nurse can work. In Dan’s experience, he’s always had the option to pick up at least one or two overtime shifts during a contract, but it’s hit or miss. He had one contract where he regularly picked up an extra 12 hour shift about every other week, whereas others there was much less opportunity to pick up shifts.
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