Potential Minnesota Nurses Strike In June Spurs Agency Recruitment
While members of the Minnesota Nurses Association continue their negotiations with six hospitals in the Twin Cities region, several travel nurse staffing and strike staffing agencies have been hunting for nurses in anticipation of a potentially large June nursing strike. ActionStaff, Medical Solutions, Huffmaster, Nurse Bridge, Supplemental Health Care, HealthSource Global Staffing, Medical Staffing Network and U.S. Nursing are actively recruiting travel nurses for almost every specialty, according to data gathered from Facebook travel nursing and strike nursing groups. Agencies have advertised proposed pay rates anywhere between $60-$110 hourly, based on specialty, along with various other benefits based on the company, and most are offering Minnesota nurses strike contracts starting in the first week of June. It’s unknown whether a strike will occur, but signs of stress during this year’s ongoing negotiations show tension may be rising between MNA members and hospital representatives. MNA and the hospitals—which include Fairview, Allina Health, Children’s, HealthEast, Methodist and North Memorial Health hospitals—began bargaining sessions for a new three-year contract in late March, according to an MNA press release. Their current contract expires on May 31. Both sides approached the table with clashing objectives, but with optimism that a new contract could be reached to avoid what happened in 2016, when thousands of nurses went on strike twice against Allina, costing the healthcare system $104 million. The two strikes provided a boon for travel nursing and strike staffing agencies, as Allina Health hired 1,500 travel nurses to staff hospitals in the Twin Cities region. Every hospital except Allina wanted to maintain the existing contract and negotiate staff wages, while Allina wanted to remove language that makes it difficult for nurses to transfer to other hospitals in the region, work in other units or to pick up extra shifts, according to a Star Tribune report. MNA declined the initial hospital proposals. Representatives focused on contract revisions that addressed issues with safe staffing and workplace violence. Allina Health reported more than 3,000 violent incidents against nurses in 2018, according to data provided by the healthcare system to MNA. MNA nurses want more of a say in addressing staffing issues at the hospital by having more influence over the creation of staffing grids, which determine the number of nurses needed to provide quality patient care. “Staffing and workplace violence are still daily issues in our hospitals,” Emily Sippola, a nurse negotiating on behalf of Allina nurses said in an MNA press release. “We’re asking hospitals to track and report violent incidents with frontline staff to help create prevention plans to protect nurses and patients.” With most teams nearing the end of their scheduled bargaining meetings this month, progress has been slow when it comes to addressing the key issues, the union said in a Tuesday news release. “Some negotiating committees have made progress on their local proposals, but the only Metro-wide proposal that the hospitals have even countered with contract language are the MNA teams’ workplace violence prevention,” MNA said in the release. “However, the counters that the hospitals have made so far do very little to guarantee nurses that the hospital is committed to investing in new resources and processes to protect nurses and patients from unsafe situations. The MNA teams hope to begin addressing wages and differentials soon.”
Travel Healthcare Jobs: Market Healthy In April As Seasonal Shift Continues
It’s not just the grass that’s growing greener in April—recruiters and industry insiders say the job market is still quite hot following a job-heavy March. Travel nurses and allied healthcare professional are also officially out of their winter contracts and on the hunt for spring and summer positions, meaning competition has picked up significantly and created a healthy, active market for recruiters and agencies. There are plenty of states to choose from this month for job opportunities, but Florida sticks out as the most odd choice, said David Kinslow, a senior client advisor for LiquidAgents Healthcare. Florida is already one of the most popular destinations for travel healthcare professionals, and as such typically has no problems finding travelers to fill needs especially during summer vacation months. The difference this spring is because of Hurricane Michael, Kinslow said. The Category 4 storm devestated several cities in the Florida panhandle and along the coastline, and many of those communities are still recovering. This has caused serious problems when trying to find housing for travelers, but it has also caused a rare increase in job orders with higher bill rates for the state, Kinslow said. “A lot of the facilities in the panhandle are screaming for help and this also why they’re bumping up their bill rates,” Kinslow said. Travel Healthcare Jobs April 2019 Here’s a quick breakdown of the states and travel healthcare job specialties that are most-in-demand now and are expected to stay popular in April, according to data provided by staffing industry sales and recruiting representatives. Arizona RN: Medical-surgical, telemetry, ICU. Limited options in other specialties. Allied: Surgical techs (OR, sterile processing) Other Notes: “A new hospital opening in Phoenix has taken full-time staff away from other hospitals. Also, government facilities (Indian Health Service) are needing more help.” Arkansas RN: Medical-surgical, telemetry, PCU/IMC, ICU Allied: Respiratory therapists Florida RN: Medical-surgical, telemetry, ICU, ER Other Notes: “Bill rates are higher in the Florida panhandle where hospitals need the most help. Georgia RN: Medical-surgical, telemetry, ICU. Limited options in other specialties. Allied: Surgical techs (OR, sterile processing) Other Notes: “Georgia consistently lacks RN staff after the state went compact, so opportunities are regularly available.” Illinois RN: Medical-surgical, telemetry, PCU/IMC, ICU Allied: Respiratory therapists Other Notes: “Bill rates have increased to slightly above the national average now, but may come back down as positions are filled.” Indiana RN: Cath Lab, labor and delivery, PICU, PEDS, ER, ICU, telemetry Other Notes: “Not as many job needs in Indiana compared to March, but still plenty to choose from and jobs move quickly.” Kentucky RN: Medical-surgical, telemetry, PCU/IMC, ICU Allied: Respiratory therapists Maine RN: Medical-surgical, OR, ICU Allied: Surgical techs (Cath Lab, OR) Other Notes: “Maine is still on fire for jobs this month. Bill rates are up by $10 at least. Portland, Maine has multiple needs. A lot of allied as well, specifically Cath Lab techs.” Michigan RN: Medical-surgical, telemetry, ICU Allied: Surgical techs (OR, sterile processing) Other Notes: “Warmer weather is coming in and people are venturing out more, so census is picking up at Michigan hospitals.” Missouri RN: OR, ICU, telemetry most in-demand, but all specialties are available. Allied: Respiratory therapist Other Notes: “Bill rates have increased in April, and the candidate pool is steady. St. Louis, Missouri is specifucally increasing for ICU and telemetry needs at decently high bill rates. Also, any and all ER needs are closing quick—we have the nurses but not many jobs, so they fill quickly.” Nevada RN: Medical-surgical, ER, ICU, NICU, PICU, labor and delivery Allied: Rad techs, respiratory therapists, certified surgical techs Other Notes: “Renown Health alone has 47 positions available, but the competition will start to increase as people love Reno in the summertime. It’s best to start looking now.” New Hampshire RN: OR, CVOR, ER, telemetry. Allied: Rad techs Other Notes: “OR is very hot right now and will take nurses at a high bill rate.” (Around $2,000 weekly gross on average) North Carolina RN: Medical-surgical, ER, ICU, NICU, PICU, labor and delivery Allied: Rad techs, respiratory therapists, certified surgical techs Other Notes: “The state has 150 open jobs currently as many facilities have said they have seen a patient census increase. Competition is steady, but travelers should expect it to increase as we get closer to summer since the spring and summer seasons are so enjoyable in North Carolina.” Oklahoma RN: Medical-surgical, telemetry, ER, OR, ICU Allied: Rad Techs Other Notes: “Job needs are hot when posted. Not a lot of new jobs are posted regularly, but for those that are, calls and interviews will happen ASAP.” South Carolina RN: Medical-surgical, telemetry, ICU, ER Texas RN: Medical-surgical, telemetry, PCU/IMC, ICU Allied: Respiratory therapists Virginia RN: ICU, medical-surgical, telemetry, with a steady increase in ER needs as summer approaches Allied: Surgical assistants, surgical first assistants, certified surgical techs Other notes: “There are lots of needs, jobs are closing fast, and bill rates tend to be higher. We are beginning to see a slow increase in ER needs. Also, we are seeing an increase in allied needs.”
Travel Jobs: Competition Low, Opportunities High In March As Market Moves Into Spring
The travel healthcare job market is affected by a number of economic and environmental factors, but one of the most prevalent forces shifting job demand are the changes in season. As such, the spring season (and March in particular) represents a major transitional period for the market. Travelers are coming off of winter contracts and are looking for new opportunities in northern states that could turn into summer extensions. One could assume this would mean competition for jobs is fierce in March, but Oren Lavi with LiquidAgents Healthcare said the candidate pool is still slim despite the high number of open positions, meaning jobs are staying open for longer and are easier to book. Since the average length of most travel healthcare job contracts lasts 13 weeks, it’s reasonable to think that most travelers would have just finished their winter contracts from December and are now looking for new opportunities at the start of March. However, many travelers avoid working in December because of the holidays and instead wait until January to start a new contract. This means that, while competition is low for now, travelers can expect to see it ramp up towards the end of March and throughout April. “A lot of nurses need to make extension decisions, and once they do, the market will get flooded with available candidates,” Lavi said. Facilities are most committed to finding qualified candidates that are interested in extending through the summer, so travelers who have already found a breezy and adventurous summer vacation destination up north for their next contract are ahead of the curve. Keep an eye on states like Idaho, Maine, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah and Washington to offer enticing pay packages in March, because they may not stick around as we get closer to summer. Travel Healthcare Jobs March 2019 Here’s a quick breakdown of the states and travel healthcare job specialties that are most-in-demand now and are expected to stay popular in March, according to data provided by staffing industry sales and recruiting representatives. Arkansas RN: Medical-surgical, telemetry, step-down/PCU Surgical Tech: OR, Cath Lab Illinois RN: Medical-surgical, telemetry, step-down/PCU Surgical Tech: OR, Cath Lab Other Notes: Crisis bill rates were recently implemented at OSF HealthCare facilities in Illinois Indiana RN: Medical-surgical, telemetry, ER, ICU. Other Notes: Lots of openings in Indiana right now, but facilities are being more picky with candidates, so jobs are not moving as quickly as they did in February. Kentucky RN: Medical-surgical, telemetry, step-down/PCU Surgical Tech: OR, Cath Lab Maine RN: Medical-surgical, telemetry, ER, ICU. Bill rates up by $10 more than usual on average. Other Notes: Maine is on fire—more than 20 medical-surgical and telemetry nurse needs have been posted in the past two weeks. Hospitals are staffing up for summer break. Nevada RN: Telemetry, OR, CVOR, ICU Surgical Tech: OR Non-Certified Surgical Tech: SPT Other Notes: ER needs are on the decline, but OR and ICU needs are picking up speed. Most positions are coming out of Reno. New Hampshire RN: Medical-surgical, telemetry, ER, ICU. Bill rates have remained high since the start of February. Other Notes: New Hampshire remains a hotspot for ICU needs offering premium bill rates. Oklahoma RN: Medical-surgical, telemetry, ER, ICU Other Notes: Not many job postings available, but when jobs open they close very fast. Quick on callbacks and interviews for qualified candidates. Pennsylvania RN: ICU, OR, medical-surgical, telemetry. Surgical Tech: OR Non-Certified Surgical Tech: SPT Other Notes: Bill rates in Pennsylvania are quite high compared to other states in the region, and have steadily increased in preparation for spring. Texas RN: Medical-surgical, telemetry, step-down/PCU Surgical Tech: OR, Cath Lab
Travel Jobs: ‘Hot’ February 2019 Market Means More Location Variety, Fewer Premium Pay Options
As the last month of the busy winter season marches on, one of the main concerns circling around the travel healthcare community in recent weeks is the high amount of low-paying contracts advertised by recruiters or posted by agencies. While there is a kernel of truth in those concerns, recruiters and agency sales representatives say that the answer is not so simple. The travel nurse market is hot on both sides of the fence—healthcare facilities across the country have plenty of urgent needs, and lots of potential candidates are available and looking for work, said Oren Lavi, a director of client advisory for LiquidAgents Healthcare. “The market is hotter than it has been in the last 24 months. The time to jump in is now,” said Oren Lavi, a director of client advisory for LiquidAgents Healthcare. “More jobs means more variety. Hospitals are not going to list premium pay packages unless they see the nurse pool drying up. For now, the candidate pool is consistent so they have no reason to raise rates.” Some exceptions to this trend include northeastern states like Pennslyvania and New Hampshire, and Midwest states like Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan. Similar to our January predictions, cold weather is keeping seasonal travelers away, which mean travelers are more likely to find premium pay packages—$1,800 and up per week before taxes—in these areas. Additionally, most of the northern and Midwest states where bill rates have remained consistently high over the winter also saw a spike in traveler job applications in January, according to StaffDNA job board data. Travel Healthcare Job Market for February 2019 Here’s a quick breakdown of the states and travel healthcare job specialties that are most-in-demand now and are expected to stay popular in February, according to data provided by industry sales and recruiting representatives. Arkansas RN: Medical-surgical, telemetry, step-down/PCU Illinois RN: Medical-surgical, telemetry, ER, labor and delivery Indiana RN: Medical-surgical, telemetry. Much higher needs compared to January, close to 100 open positions as of February 8. Job submittals around Indianapolis close within 24 hours. Kentucky RN: Medical-surgical, telemetry, step-down/PCU Missouri RN: Medical-surgical, telemetry, ER (On the lower end, but needs are increasing). All core specialties in demand in St. Louis. Allied: X-ray/radiology techs New Hampshire RN: Medical-surgical, telemetry. Bill rates much higher than average. Surgical Tech: OR Oklahoma RN: Medical-surgical, telemetry. Job needs are filling very quickly. Pennsylvania RN: ICU, OR, medical-surgical, telemetry Texas RN: Medical-surgical, telemetry, step-down/PCU January 2019 Top Markets Editor’s note: This list is created by analyzing the number of travelers applying for jobs in these individual states and Washington D.C. This data is not necessarily a historical indicator of job volume. Application data comes from the StaffDNA jobs database. Florida Texas California South Carolina Georgia Pennsylvania Tennessee Arizona Michigan North Carolina Indiana Arkansas Kentucky Missouri New Mexico Oklahoma Virginia West Virginia Iowa Nevada Oregon Wisconsin Idaho Maine Colorado Alaska Hawaii Illinois Ohio Washington Alabama Louisiana Massachusetts Connecticut Kansas Mississippi Maryland Minnesota New Hampshire New Jersey Utah Vermont Wyoming Washington D.C. Deleware Montana North Dakota Nebraska New York Rhode Island South Dakota
Missouri Travel Nurse Needs Remain High In Wake Of Slow Flu Season
Missouri travel nurse needs have remained at a significantly high number throughout November and the first week of December, according to current market data. More than 140 travel nurse needs are active in the state, most of which are newer positions located in or around the St. Louis region, said Jennifer Pomietlo, a director of client advisory for LiquidAgents Healthcare. That includes cities like St. Charles, Chesterfield and Columbia. The most-needed specialties include medical-surgical, telemetry, ICU, step-down and OR nurses, with limited openings for other non-core or surgical specialties, Pomietlo said. Allied healthcare travel positions are also fairly limited, but certified surgical tech and rad tech opportunities are available. Contact Allie Evans with LiquidAgents Healthcare for more information about Missouri travel nurse jobs >> Flu is the main driver for hiring in the state, Pomietlo said. Normally, Missouri hospitals will aggressively hire in early fall because the state is one of a handful that typically see high levels of flu activity starting in November, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention records. This year’s flu season is off to a slower start for the state, with “minimal” influenza-like illness activity and sporadic spread, according to CDC data. A total of one death and 1,384 laboratory-positive influenza cases have been reported as of Nov. 24 to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS). More than 300 cases were reported from the eastern region of the state, where St. Louis is located. Missouri hospitals are hiring in December in anticipation of a delayed surge in flu patient census in January and February, Pomietlo said. “They get hit hard by the flu in St. Louis, and it also hangs around longer in Missouri than in other places,” Pomietlo said. In the record-breaking 2017-18 flu season, Missouri reported 133,957 laboratory-confirmed cases of flu and more than 2,000 pneumonia and influenza-associated deaths, according to a DHSS press release. Other things travelers should know about Missouri Missouri is one of the 31 states that are part of the enhanced Nursing Licensure Compact, meaning nurses who have a compact license can work in the state without paying additional licensing fees. Travelers who don’t have a compact license can get a single state license at a low cost. The state board charges $55 for a license by endorsement or $45 by examination. Missouri is also a walk-through state, so nurses can get a temporary license within a day. You can find more Missouri licensing information on the state nursing board website.
Travel Healthcare Market: Openings, Competition High For Colorado Winter Jobs
A lot of healthcare travelers like to fly south for the winter, but there are still plenty who are looking for cold temperatures, snowy climates or a quick-start position with extension potential. For those reasons, Colorado has been a highly desired winter assignment destination in previous years, and 2018 is no exception. Agencies are seeing triple-digit needs for travel nurses and surgical techs across a wide variety of specializations, according to market data provided by Tailored Healthcare Staffing and LiquidAgents Healthcare. “Most of [the hospitals] are looking for nurses to start within a couple of weeks,” senior recruiting team lead Shelbie Summers at Tailored Healthcare Staffing said. “No pre-books for January starts as of yet.” Contact Shelbie Summers at Tailored Healthcare Staffing >> Geographically, most of the jobs are located in or within a one to two-hour drive distance from Denver, the state’s capital. This includes popular tourist cities like Boulder and Pueblo close to the Rocky Mountain range The most in-demand and higher paying specialties are for surgical positions which include OR, PACU and OR certified surgical techs, said Jamison Reitinger, a client advisor for LiquidAgents Healthcare. This falls in line with typical market trends, as more elective surgeries are scheduled near the end of the year in the U.S. Openings for more common specialties like medical-surgical, telemetry, ER and ICU are available, but pay is on the lower end for these positions, ranging from $1,200-1,300 weekly gross. PACU is significantly higher with bill rates at or near $90, which can translate to more than $2,000 weekly gross depending on the agency. Contact Jamison Reitinger at LiquidAgents Healthcare >> Competition is quite high for Colorado positions currently, with at least 15 to 20 submittals for core specialties (medical-surgical, telemetry, ER, OR and ICU) and 10 to 15 for less popular specialties, Reitinger said. Part of the competition is caused by nurses looking for a great winter vacation spot during the snowy season, Summers said. “There are a lot of nurses who enjoy traveling to Colorado this time of the year, so you may not see the same opening if you wait too long to submit for a position,” Summers said. Here are a few other things for travelers to consider before applying to work in The Centennial State. Colorado is part of the Nursing Licensure Compact Colorado joined the enhanced Nursing Licensure Compact this year, so travel nurses with compact licenses can work in the state with no wait and no extra licensing fees. For non-compact license holders, you can still apply for a temporary single-state license, but be aware it can take 10-14 business days to process. For RNs—prepare for a (potential) Prophecy exam “Quite a few CO hospitals require that you take a Prophecy exam before being submitted to the position, so be prepared to pass your core Prophecy testing,” Summers said. For surgical techs—get your Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) certification Colorado is unique in that surgical technologists must get their DORA certification before submitting to any jobs, Reitinger said. This will involve a fingerprint background check with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. You can apply for a DORA certification by clicking here: https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dora/dpo Expect good snowfall this year According to weather data from the NOAA, Colorado residents should expect to see above average precipitation totals and average temperatures, especially for those in the Southeast region of the state.
Travel Jobs: Where Travelers Applied In Oct., Nov. Market Predictions
November can be a bit of an odd duck month for the travel healthcare job market. As the last month before the busiest season of the year in terms of patient census, many healthcare facilities are still trying to fill jobs needs with temporary staff. Many states still have job opportunities in the triple digits as of Nov. 13. At the same time, many travelers who were job hunting in September and October are either committed to jobs with November start dates or have pre-booked for late-December or early-January to have free time during the holidays. Travel healthcare jobs November 2018 Based on current job market data and information from staffing agency recruiters and sales representatives, we expect a slight increase in the volume of available job opportunities, but the amount of application activity should remain relatively flat. In other words, the amount travelers applying to jobs is already quite high—with dozens of submittals for competitive positions—and should stay high throughout most of the month. A good portion of the job market volume increase will come from northern and cold weather states, like Oregon, Michigan, Colorado and Wisconsin. Hospitals in these states will need to fill vacancies left by “snowbird” travelers heading south, said Jamison Reitinger, a client advisor for LiquidAgents Healthcare. “Bill rates are remaining consistently high in northern territories, except OR-RN rates, which are increasing across the board due to large OR nurse shortages in Wisconsin, Michigan and Colorado,” Reitinger said. There has also been a notable increase in travel nurse jobs available in the Southeast U.S., mostly in Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia. A large part of the increase is due to the recent surge in EMR conversion positions available in Kentucky and West Virginia through Appalachian Regional Healthcare. The healthcare system started advertising temporary staffing needs for their hospital in late October and will need travelers through the rest of the year and into 2019, so we expect these states to see more incoming applications from travelers in November. Depending on the severity of this year’s flu season, job market activity could also increase in Southern states like Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas, as those states typically see high levels of flu activity earlier than others. No major changes in the Top 10 most applied-to states The most popular states for travelers—California, Florida and Texas—retained their top spots in October, and should continue to see high application numbers for the rest of the year. South Carolina was the only new state to enter the top 10, moving up from No. 12. Georgia fell out, dropping seven ranks to No. 12. Utah makes the largest jump, Connecticut drops the farthest Utah saw the biggest surge in traveler applications by far, moving up 18 positions to No. 33 on the list. Connecticut dropped 12 spots to No. 46 October’s Top Markets California Florida Texas Michigan Tennessee North Carolina Missouri Pennsylvania Arizona South Carolina Virginia Georgia Indiana Kentucky Oklahoma Arkansas Maine Iowa Idaho Wisconsin West Virginia New Mexico Nevada Oregon Colorado Hawaii Ohio Washington Massachusetts New Jersey Illinois Louisiana Utah Alaska Minnesota Alabama Montana Kansas Maryland Mississippi New Hampshire North Dakota Nebraska Rhode Island Wyoming Connecticut Washington, D.C. Delaware New York South Dakota Vermont Editor’s note: This list is created by analyzing the number of travelers applying for jobs in these individual states and Washington D.C. Is not necessarily an indicator of traveler interest in these states and is not necessarily an indicator of job volume. Application data comes from the StaffDNA jobs database.
EMR Conversions: Appalachian Regional Kicks Off Meditech Upgrade In Kentucky, West Virgina
Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH), the largest not-for-profit healthcare system in Southeastern Kentucky, is in need of hundreds of travel nurses over the next several months for a system-wide electronic medical record (EMR) conversion, according to industry reports. View current West Virginia travel nursing EMR conversion jobs on the StaffDNA boards >> Currently, Meditech EMR conversion jobs are open at Beckley ARH in West Virginia and Middlesboro ARH in Kentucky, with more expected through the rest of 2018 and into 2019. As of Oct. 29, all major travel nurse specialties are needed, including medical-surgical, labor and delivery, ER, ICU and more. ARH operates 12 hospitals, 11 home health agencies and multiple clinics, pharmacies and home care stores, most of which are located in Southeastern Kentucky. The healthcare system plans to convert its smallest facilities first, working its way up to 358-bed Hazard ARH sometime in 2019. Travel nurses who apply can expect very quick interviews and offers for these EMR conversion jobs, Oren Lavi with LiquidAgents Healthcare said. View current Kentucky travel nursing EMR conversion jobs on the StaffDNA boards >> “Nurses will have more options to move and extend [on contracts] after these initial EMR assignments are complete, as they will be able to move to other facilities that are converting,” Lavi said. ARH is implementing a new EMR for the first time, upgrading from paper charting to an integrated Meditech charting system. ARH announced their selection of Meditech in 2017, according to an official press release. “We are excited to partner with Meditech in providing ARH an innovative Web EHR that fosters and supports sustainability,” Joe Grossman, ARH’s president and CEO said in a 2017 press release. “With the Web EHR, our clinicians will have seamless integration across the continuum, improved productivity, and the sophisticated tools to improve the quality and safety of care delivered to our communities.” What to know about working in Kentucky Kentucky is a favorable state for travelers looking to save money as the cost-of-living is low, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. In a 2018 BEA report, Kentucky ranked as the 5th most affordable state in the U.S., thanks to some of the lowest apartment and home rental rates in the country. Nurses can also use a compact license to work in Kentucky. The state joined the enhanced Nursing Licensure Compact this year, along with more than 20 other original NLC states.
Travel Jobs: Where Travelers Applied In Sept., Oct. Market Predictions
October is a crucial month for the travel healthcare staffing industry as a whole. For staffing agencies, it marks the beginning of the busiest month of the year as healthcare providers recruit temporary staff at breakneck speeds. For healthcare providers, October is the final push to find as many quality temporary workers as possible to help carry operations through at least February. As a result, the last two weeks of September ramped up sharply in job board activity leading into October, mostly affecting states that are popular destinations for snowbird travelers who head for warm weather locations like Florida, Arizona and California. The record-breaking impact of Hurricane Florence also provided an unexpected boon for travel nurse needs in North Carolina, as hospitals located away from the coastline needed help dealing with the increased patient census due to hurricane evacuees. Travel healthcare jobs October 2018 In short, we expect the travel healthcare market and job board activity to remain red-hot throughout most of October, with the potential for a slight dip at the end of the month as less new needs hit the market. Most of the market activity is expected to be driven by core specialties—for travel nurses, this means a high number of medical-surgical, telemetry and ICU will be available. We are also starting to see a noticeable increase in OR job needs in the market, which is part of the expected year-end rush for scheduled elective surgeries. While most of the hospitals near the North Carolina coast have reopened in the weeks following Hurricane Florence, there is still a heavy demand for travel nurses in Charlotte and Wilmington, according to staffing agency sources. States that were popular in September will continue to remain popular this month, including California, Arizona, Florida, Missouri, Tennessee and parts of Texas. This is a result of the regular “snowbird” traveler migration and because most of those locations—excluding California—are often the first places affected by high levels of flu activity early in the season. At the same time, northern states will also see an increase in job needs as they will look to fill vacancies left by snowbird travelers. Some of those areas include Michigan, Wisconsin, Oregon, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Maine. Hospitals in northern states will also typically increase bill rates for travel contracts during this time to entice recruiters to submit quality candidates who will stay through the winter, which can translate into higher pay packages depending on what agencies travelers use. This mostly applies to the coldest areas like Michigan, Wisconsin and Maine, and not so much for winter tourist destinations like Colorado or Utah. Core specialties are expected to be the most in-demand. For travel nurses, this means medical-surgical, telemetry, and ICU. We also expect to see an increasing amount of OR job needs, as more elective surgeries take place during the end of the year. Let’s take a closer look at what we learned from the StaffDNA job board about where travelers applied in September. Michigan, Missouri enter the Top 10 Michigan jumped eight ranks from August to September, moving from No. 17 to No. 9. Missouri made a smaller climb of three ranks to take the No. 3 spot. We may see both states retain their top 10 status as winter approaches. Of the two, Missouri is most likely to drop in total traveler applications in October. The late-August hiring surge in St. Louis may have been a factor in the increase of applications for September, but we expect it to at least hang around the top 20 states for October. September’s Top Markets California Florida Texas North Carolina Georgia Pennsylvania Arizona Tennessee Michigan Missouri Virginia South Carolina Indiana West Virginia Wisconsin Arkansas Kentucky Iowa Nevada Oklahoma Maine Idaho New Mexico Oregon Hawaii Colorado Washington Ohio Illinois Alabama Alaska Massachusets Maryland Connecticut Kansas New Jersey Louisiana Minnesota Wyoming Montana New Hampshire New York Washington D.C. Mississippi North Dakota Nebraska Rhode Island South Dakota Vermont Delaware Utah
Travel Market: Florida Sees Wave Of New Jobs In September
Want to find positions in Florida now? Click here to check out the most recent posts on the StaffDNA job board. Most veteran recruiters know that Florida is a juggernaut state for travel healthcare staffing. The Sunshine State utilizes more travelers than most states, in part because of heavy winter seasonal needs. Those job needs have come back in force in the last few weeks of September, according to staffing industry sources. David Kinslow, a senior client advisor for LiquidAgents Healthcare, said he’s aware of more than 140 new jobs in the state, an increase of 80 compared to August. Agencies have anticipated this spike in job needs for several weeks. Florida ranks third in the country for most hospitals statewide according to American Hospital Directory data, and many of those facilities start recruiting for winter in late September and early October. Along with other southern states like Texas and New Mexico, Florida is a large target for “snowbirds” seeking warm weather for winter contracts. This could mean the job market will continue to ramp up through December, eventually cooling down by next January. For travelers who are interested in Florida, here are some things you should consider before working in the state this winter. 1. Florida became a nursing compact state this year Florida joined the enhanced Nursing Licensure Compact in January, so nurses who have their compact license can now work in the state and don’t have to apply for a single-state license. This only applies to nurses, so allied healthcare travelers will still have to get a single-state license. Click here to see a map of states who have joined the enhanced Nursing Licensure Compact. 2. Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) uses a lot of travelers HCA is one of the largest private health systems in Florida with 50 hospitals and 31 surgery centers across the state, according to their website, and many HCA-associated facilities use a large number of travelers, according to staffing industry sources. This is good news for travelers who want some variety when picking a location, as HCA-affiliated hospitals are located in almost all major cities in the state. 3. Depending on location, cost-of-living in Florida is pretty cheap According to our Travel Nursing Pay Package Ranking List, Florida has a 99.7 rating on the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis price parity index, which means the state is almost exactly at the national average for prices on housing, gas and other goods. However, the state average is largely affected by Miami, which is significantly more expensive than most other cities in the state. When looking at other locations like Tallahassee, Tampa or Orlando, prices drop to 5 percent or more below the national average. This is mostly because of dirt cheap rent and housing costs, which is great for travelers hoping to pocket extra money from agency housing stipends. Florida is also peppered with temporary vacation homes and seasonal vacancies, so finding proper short-term housing may be easier than in other states. 4. Expect fierce competition Just because there are lots of job opportunities in Florida doesn’t mean travelers can apply to jobs at their leisure. Hospitals in major “snowbird” states are looking to fill jobs fast, and agencies will send in qualified candidates even faster. Speed and efficiency are key to locking down a solid Florida contract, so travelers who are flexible on location and who can quickly produce necessary compliance docs will have the edge over others. 5. Beware of January pre-books David Kinslow, a senior client advisor at LiquidAgents Healthcare, said travelers should be wary about pre-booking Florida jobs with January start dates. Census numbers may not be high enough to warrant a high number of travelers, so January contracts could be canceled before the start date. While no one can perfectly predict how healthcare needs will change in the state once winter hits, it’s still safer to book early and ride out a fall contract through the winter than hope for needs to stay consistent.