Home Health Travel Nurse Jobs

The salary of a registered nurse can vary significantly depending on the experience of the nurse as well as the experience, certifications, and location they are working in. The median salary for a registered nurse was $ 80,010 per year or $36.22 per hour in 2020 with most earning between $61,630 and $93,590 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Entry-level registered nurse jobs or those with the lowest 10% salary earned around $53,410, while the highest 10% earned more than $116,230. Typically, a travel nurse job will provide higher hourly and weekly pay than permanent positions in the same location, including for home heatlh care positions.

Home Health RNs visit patients at their homes and provide medical care following instructions from a physician. They can work on either shifts - providing care to one patient for several hours at a time, or they may work intermittently, visiting each patient for brief periods of time. Home health RNs are responsible for the initial patient assessment, determining the plan of care, and coordinating care with the rest of the home health team. They may also perform various job duties, including taking vital signs, helping patients with mobility issues, performing wound care, administering medications, and drawing blood.

One of the essential roles of a home health nurse is that of an educator. The RN teaches patients and their families how to manage their diseases, such as diabetes or heart failure, and when to contact the nurse or physician. Patients and families may even learn how to self-administer IV medications, change wound dressings, and insert urinary catheters. With no team of medical staff just down the hall, home health nurses need to be confident in their abilities.

Education & License Requirements

To work as a home health travel nurse, Registered Nurses must complete their associate's or bachelor's degree in nursing and take the National Council Licensure Exam NCLEX -RN Exam, which is a requirement to practice as an RN in the United States. Once the NCLEX exam is passed and you meet the board of nursing license requirements in your state, then the next step is to gain the necessary experience in your specialty and explore additional certifications.

Certifications

Working as a home health nurse does not typically require additional certification besides Basic Life Support (BLS) or CPR. Nurses working in home health care can pursue additional specialty certifications like the Home Health Nursing Certification offered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center ANCC.

While compensation offers can vary depending on the contract or agency offering, pay packages for home health nursing jobs typically have four major components: hourly taxable wages, meals and incidentals, housing, and travel.

Hourly Pay

Full-time nurses working at healthcare facilities receive a salary, but most travel nurse employers offer hourly wages. Every pay package must include a taxable hourly wage, and the amount can vary depending on the shift, location, and specialty required of the assignment.

Housing

Housing payments can be included in a payment from a staffing agency. This is typically offered in two ways. Either the company is providing housing, or the traveler is taking the housing stipend. It is more beneficial for the traveler to take the housing stipend for two primary reasons. First, they will have a choice of where they will stay. Everyone’s definitions of comfort and what is acceptable are different. The second reason the housing stipend is more beneficial for them is that it can be given as a nontaxable amount.

Meals and Incidentals

Also known as per diems, meal and incidental stipends provide a daily budget for daily living expenses. These standards vary depending on the cost of living in cities and states across the country.

Travel Expenses

Travel is the last portion of the pay package. While a travel stipend can be used to cover the cost of a flight for the traveler, it is often used to subsidize the traveler’s expenses to and from an assignment. Travel expenses can be offered as a reimbursement rate per mile, though many agencies will opt to offer a flat rate to and from an assignment.

Many travel nurses find work through recruitment agencies and marketplaces, which means you have better access to job boards to choose your schedule, location, and salary. When you begin browsing for jobs, be sure to consider the housing options, the benefits, the guaranteed hours' policy, and the recruiting company’s overall reputation.

The good news is that Fusion Marketplace has everything you need when it comes to finding the perfect travel nursing jobs. Here, you have the freedom to compare benefits, packages, and staffing agencies—all in one place. So find your next job today.