The concept of travel nursing refers to nurses who are called for a short period to a hospital due to a temporary lack of staff. In other words, when there is a shortage of nurses in a hospital, usually because it is peak season, nurses move to that location to work with higher pay and economic or social incentives to make up for the shortage.
When there are travel nursing jobs in the city where a nurse lives and they pick them up, it is known as local travel nursing. It is generally understood that nurses come from far away, but it is not necessary to travel far from home to meet the hospital's needs. Therefore, it is possible to do local travel nursing close to home without having to go far away from family and loved ones. To have a better understanding of what to expect working PRN RN jobs, find out what type of RN-to-patient staffing ratios you can expect in all states.
The requirements for local travel nursing are similar to those for a registered nurse (RN). RN certification is required to work as a local travel nurse, and generally, there will be better offers because of the nurses' experience and any specialties they may have. For example, an RN who has a thing in intensive unit care will be able to work as a local travel nurse in intensive unit care. This is true for all specialties, such as neonatology, geriatrics, cardiac nursing, etc. The US Bureau of Labor and Statistics predicts that the need for local travel nurses will increase by 9% between 2020 and 2030 due to the growing number of patients in the healthcare system and the retirement of many healthcare personnel.
In general, the hourly pay of local travel nurses is higher than that of RNs, for many reasons: hospitals that need nurses need them urgently, so they pay more. Another reason is that the hourly pay is higher for local travel nurses, who are hired as self-contracted 1099 workers. Often, transportation stipends are offered, depending on the distance the nurse's work, which can be anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour and a half from home (a 60-90 mile radius at most is average).
Some of the advantages of choosing to be a local travel nurse in your state are:
- Nurses won't have to quit their regular jobs; they can work overtime as local travel nurses close to home.
- Nurses can be close to their families and spend quality time with them; they do not need to travel far from home to the job.
- The salary is higher per hour, which is an excellent salary supplement. Nurses will be hired as 1099 freelancers, meaning they will have higher pay and the benefits of choosing their hours in their chosen jobs.
- Nurses do not need to change their training to choose jobs close to home, as they will still be registered nurses when they become local travel nurses, and all of their certifications will still be valid.
- It is closer than being a travel nurse in another state; there is no need to rent another place to live or to move a lot of things in the medium or long term.
Some areas pay better for local travel nursing, so if nurses want a better chance of finding higher-paying jobs, having these specialties is advantageous:
- Labor and delivery nurses
- Emergency room nurses
- Surgery recovery nurses
- Intensive care nurses
- Operating room nurses
How to Pick up PRN Nursing Jobs Close to Home?
There are many ways to get local travel nursing shifts close to where the nurses are. One of the easiest ways to do this all over the country is through the Nursa app, which helps nurses create an account that connects them to all the places looking for PRN (which stands for pro re nata) shifts. The PRN shifts they choose near their location are precisely local shifts, with higher pay, and with the local travel nurse features that are so important for employees to supplement and vary their jobs.
The good news is that it is a straightforward decision, and it does not necessarily require a radical change of job, but they can try the PRN shifts offered by the Nursa team and decide which of the two modalities they like best. Local travel nursing and PRN shifts are an excellent way to change scenery, try new spaces, and have broader work options close to where nurses live.
Check out the most popular ways to stay hydrated on the job in our post about the best water bottles for nurses.
