Med Surg Travel Nurse Jobs in Alabama

The median salary for Registered Nurses in the state of Alabama was $58,630 per year or $28.19 per hour in 2020 with most earning an annual salary between $49,360 and $68,960 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Entry-level jobs in Alabama or those with the lowest 10% salary earned around $43,150, while the highest 10% earned more than $80,420. Alabama ranks 51 in median annual salary for Registered Nurses, though when adjusted to the relative cost of living, Alabama ranks at 44. Typically, a travel nurse job will provide higher hourly and weekly pay than permanent positions in the same location, especially for critical care units like medical-surgical units.

Med Surg RNs - or Medical-Surgical Nurses - provide direct patient care, which includes performing tasks such as measuring blood pressure, taking blood samples, and administering medications. Medical-Surgical nursing care is a catch-all for patients who aren’t well enough to go home but are not sick enough to require specialized care. Nurses are involved in these activities: inserting Foley caths, NG tubes, starting IVs, changing wound dressings, and administering medications. Patients on a Med Surg unit include post-op, diabetics, bariatric surgery patients, detox, psych cancer, orthopedic, heart disease, and emphysema patients. Med Surg units are typically the last stop at a hospital before the patient is released.

Typical Medical Surgical RN Responsibilities:

• Provide direct patient care to patients in the hospital; including assessing patients' conditions, administering medications, monitoring patients' conditions and vital signs, and providing emotional support

• Assist doctors in surgery by passing instruments, holding retractors or sponges on the surgical site; preparing sterile drapes and instruments

• Work with other members of the health care team to develop a treatment plan for patients

• Monitor patients' conditions and vital signs during procedures to ensure safety

• Prepare blood samples for testing as directed by a physician or nurse practitioner

• Assist nurses with moving patients in or out of bed or chairs

• Maintain accurate records administered patient care

Patient Ratio

• 1:5-8

Floating

• Sometimes floats to Tele units

Recommended Certifications

• BLS, ACLS

Additional Certifications

• ACLS, PALS, NIHSS, RN-BC, CMSRN, CCCTM, WOCN

Patients

• Post-Surgical

• Diabetics

• Bariatric Surgery

• Ortho

• Detox

• Psych

• Cancer

• Asthma

• Emphysema

• Heart Disease

Education & License Requirements

In order to work as a Med Surg RN, 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 all that is left is to do is gain the necessary experience in your specialty and explore additional certifications.

Certifications

Common certifications that could be required for a med surg nurse include Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS).

Medical-surgical nurses in Alabama are employed in a variety of different healthcare settings, including hospitals, clinics, emergency rooms, physician's offices, long-term care facilities, and research laboratories. Medical-surgical nursing is an expansive field and requires nurses to have the skills and knowledge to provide comprehensive patient care. In Alabama specifically, medical-surgical nurses may work in larger urban areas or rural health departments providing acute medical care such as wound management and medication administration. Additionally, they may be involved in preventive care such as immunizations and screenings. A significant number of medical-surgical nurses are also employed in outpatient clinics which provide follow-up care for chronic conditions or provide rehabilitative services following surgery or injury.

While compensation offers can vary greatly depending on the contract or agency offering, pay packages for med surg travel nurses typically have four major components: hourly taxable wages, meals and incidentals, housing, and travel. The estimated weekly gross pay is based on the specified number of hours per week and includes available stipend amounts.

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 in where they stay. Everyone’s definitions of comfortable and 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. Many recruiters may not even offer travel and instead put that money into the per diems or housing for their traveler so they are receiving the benefits over the entire contract, not just at the very beginning or end of the contract. While a travel stipend can be used to cover the cost of a flight for the traveler, it is more often than not 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.