- Share Story
-
-
-
Is travel nursing for new grads possible? The short answer is no; these jobs usually don’t exist. Traditionally, travel nurse jobs have been reserved for registered nurses (RNs) with at least one year of experience. However, there have been and will likely be exceptions due to the booming nursing industry and ongoing nursing shortage. There’s a lot new graduate nurses should know about their travel nursing future and just how soon they might be able to break into this lucrative nursing career path, so keep reading.
Past Exceptions to the New Grad Travel Nursing Rule
In the past, travel nursing almost universally required at least one full year of clinical experience in a specialty and sometimes even two years for higher acuity specialties like ICU, ED, L&D, PICU, CVOR, etc. But during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals were more desperate for nurses than ever before.
This unprecedented health crisis stretched healthcare systems across the nation so thin that it exacerbated the existing nursing shortage. In 2020, some states were paying travel nurses more than $8,000 a week to fill in at their hospitals, making these travel gigs some of the highest-paying temporary assignments to date.
These crisis contracts usually required travel nurses to work 48 to 72 hours a week in high-acuity, COVID-saturated hospitals frantic for staff. Although this type of situation wasn’t ideal for new RNs with little experience, a few agencies hired graduate nurses for travel work as team nurses in hard-hit places like New York City.
The agencies paired new grads with other, more experienced RNs, so they rarely took their own assignments. When you hear about new grad RNs travel nursing, this is likely what’s being discussed. On the downside, many of these new grad travel nurses received a crash course-like orientation to the unit but were never adequately oriented to their specialty and profession. Once enough experienced RNs signed up for travel roles, agencies stopped dipping into the new grad RN pool.
To this day, staffing gaps still exist. Due to the extreme need for nurses, some facilities and agencies are beginning to work with less experienced staff to help fill the gaps. Some hospitals may be willing to hire new grads directly into certain specialties as permanent staff and some travel nursing agencies may accept nurses with less than one year of experience. But that doesn’t mean they get to travel right away.
The Demand for Travel Nurses
The shortage of nurses isn’t new, and it doesn’t appear that it will get better anytime soon. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, many healthcare facilities struggled to fill open nursing positions, with some states facing worse shortages than others.
A pre-pandemic supply and demand study from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services projected nursing shortages through 2030. Of the states expected to experience shortages, California had the most significant shortage of 44,500 full-time equivalent RNs. The deficiencies felt nationwide have several potential causes, including:
- An aging population increasing the demand for care
- A generation of nurses aging out of the workforce
- Opportunities for career advancements that take nurses away from the bedside
- The limited capacity of accredited nursing programs
- High turnover rates due to stressful work conditions and mental health concerns
Adding to all these potential reasons for the shrinking pool of available nurses is the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nurses and other healthcare workers faced unprecedented numbers of hospitalized patients and an overwhelming number of Covid-related deaths. They dealt with the additional stress of extra long shifts, increased staffing shortages and the need to protect themselves and their loved ones from infection, especially when personal protective equipment became scarce.
High rates of stress and burnout caused some nurses to retire early or simply leave the bedside or their nursing career altogether, further adding to the nursing shortage and the increased demand for travel nurses to fill the gaps. While you might think this would open the way for new graduate travel roles, it’s still not the norm.
What Travel Nursing Agencies Hire New Grad RNs?
The short answer is that there aren’t any travel nursing agencies that hire new grad RNs without experience. Most agencies still require a year of experience, but some are willing to work with RNs early in their career.
These agencies might work with travel nurses with experience right around the 6-month mark. They have specially designed programs that provide a lot of support to the newer travel nurses and allow a slightly longer orientation time than usual travel nurse assignments.
Travel Nursing Trends for Recent Grads
Travel nursing for recent grads is possible, but you still can’t travel until you reach one year within your specialty. For example, Onward Healthcare doesn’t hire new grads right out of school, but you can start applying for open travel nurse jobs once you have 6 to 9 months of experience in your chosen nursing specialty.
Once you apply, a recruiter contacts you to get the ball rolling. This agency’s “Early in Career” program includes job placement services and opportunities to improve your nursing skills at top facilities across the nation so you qualify for higher-paying roles in the future.
Assignments for new nurses are longer than the traditional 13 weeks to provide them with an extended orientation period to learn proper procedures. The agency assigns early career travel nurses to a staff nurse at the facility and an in-house clinical manager to ensure they have all the support they need throughout their assignment.
Vivian Health also has a partnership with HCA Health System to hire new grads for perm positions in limited markets. During the first week of February 2023, Vivian had more than 400 New Graduate RN positions on its jobs marketplace at facilities across the country, including several with HCA Houston Healthcare and HCA Florida Healthcare.
Although these aren’t travel assignments, these roles give new grads the experience they need to begin building a great new grad resume. Armed with this experience, they become better prepared for the demands of travel work and become qualified for future travel nursing assignments as they explore career options.
Are New Graduates Ready for Travel Nursing?
Not all new grads are alike. Some may come with previous LPN or CNA experience, and others may have no work experience whatsoever. Some new grad nurses may be ambitious and always go the extra mile, and some don’t. New graduate RNs may be motivated and quick to learn and pick up new skills, and others not. While it’s not the case for all new grads, some may be able to function as travel nurses with less than one year of experience, but that doesn’t mean they’re ready for the role.
Many travel nursing contracts are within fast-paced, high-acuity environments. If a new grad nurse comes from a high-acuity facility and unit, they may be able to function on a similar floor adequately. However, the toughest part is not knowing the system and staff or where the facility keeps all its supplies. It can be frustrating and stressful as a newer nurse to adapt to new workflows when you aren’t already super confident in your skills and critical thinking.
Get Prepared for Travel Nursing Later
Working as a new grad RN travel nurse isn’t yet possible, but if current trends continue, it could be a possibility in the future. However, new graduate RNs wanting to pursue travel nursing can work on getting themselves prepared for future travel work to set themselves up for success.
Immediately after graduating from nursing school and passing the NCLEX-RN to become a registered nurse, you must find a staff job. Finding your first permanent nursing role can be stressful. New grad RNs should be flexible regarding the position they’ll accept because it can be challenging to earn that first job. Gaining clinical experience in an acute care setting is the goal, and anything to get your foot in the door is a good opportunity.
Since your first travel assignment won’t begin until after you gain a year of experience, use your time wisely. After finding a staff job, new grads who work hard to excel at their jobs find it easier to transition to travel nursing. While gaining clinical skills, new grads seeking travel nursing in the future should also start working on obtaining relevant professional certifications.
Graduate nurses should also be willing to float to learn as much as possible in as many units as possible. Network with other nurses by joining professional organizations and attending top nursing conferences and other events that allow you to expand your contacts. Consider volunteering at a free clinic to build more connections and gain even more experience in nursing practice. Seek out a mentorship with a more experienced RN and attend staff events to strengthen your relationships with fellow medical professionals.
All these actions help better prepare you to start travel nursing earlier in your career. Keep an eye on current trends in travel nursing and look for agencies willing to work with RNs early in their careers. New grad RNs can start connecting with recruiters after they come off orientation and have a few months of clinical experience. It never hurts to ask recruiters how much experience their agencies require and what you can do to optimize your ability to start travel nursing as soon as possible.
When the time is right for travel, be prepared with these 10 Questions to Ask Your Travel Nurse Recruiter.
