Travel Nurses Pick Their Favorite Hospitals in 2025 (and Why It’s Not Just About Pay)

Updated October 27, 2025

If you ask a travel nurse what makes a “good contract,” you’d think the answer would be pay. But when we asked hundreds of current and former travelers to name the BEST hospital they’ve ever worked at, the ones they’d extend at, go back to, or even go staff for... money wasn’t the headline.

Instead, we heard the same words again and again:

“They treated me like part of the team.”“Ratios were safe.”“Charge nurses had my back.”“I actually got a lunch break.”

Below is a list of traveler-loved hospitals around the country, based on Facebook discussions in 2025, historical traveler threads, Reddit conversations where nurses name their all-time favorite assignments, and public traveler reviews. Reddit+2Glassdoor+2

This isn’t sponsored. It’s just what working nurses are saying today in the fall of 2025.

1. Monument Health – Rapid City, South Dakota

Why travelers love it:

Monument in Rapid City comes up over and over, across multiple threads and even across years. Travelers called it “the best contract I have taken so far,” said the Heart & Vascular Unit (HVU) is the best unit they’ve ever worked, and described the staff as welcoming and drama-free. People extend. People go back. People literally offer incoming travelers housing leads in the Black Hills because they loved it that much.

Lifestyle bonus:

Rapid City is the gateway to the Black Hills, Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park, plus hiking, paddling, and small-town coffee everywhere. Multiple nurses said South Dakota was beautiful and surprisingly easy to settle into for 13+ weeks.

Takeaway:

If you’re looking for a cardiac/telemetry/stepdown style environment with strong teamwork and not a lot of ego, Monument is on the short list.

Discover life in Rapid City

Get insider tips on housing, weather, and the best things to do between shifts.

City Guide

2. University of Vermont Medical Center (UVMMC) – Burlington, Vermont

Why travelers love it:

Travelers in CVOR, ICU, and procedural areas described UVMMC as kind, welcoming, and high-performing. We saw comments like “great team energy,” “the surgeons and team are a pleasure,” and “I extended twice.” Nurses on Reddit echoed that UVMMC “has been amazing,” and said if they chose where to live based only on the job, this would be it. Reddit

Reality check:

Housing in Burlington can be annoying, and one nurse complained about parking/shuttles. But even with those hassles, people still said they’d come back.

Takeaway:

If OR culture matters to you — feeling respected in a high-skill environment — UVMMC keeps coming up as a unicorn.

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3. Duke University Medical Center – Durham, North Carolina

Why travelers love it:

Multiple ICU travelers shouted out Duke with zero hesitation: “YES! Duke University Medical Center – any ICU!” and “I second DUKE 💙💙💙💙💙.” ICU travelers specifically felt supported, respected, and not treated like throwaway labor.

Takeaway:

If you’re an ICU nurse who wants high acuity without being chewed up, Duke gets named the way some people name dream sports teams.

Plan your visit to Durham, NC

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4. WakeMed – Raleigh, North Carolina

Why travelers love it:

One nurse said they staffed there for six years, left to travel for a year, and then came BACK to WakeMed as staff again because they loved it. That’s a huge signal. Travelers describe WakeMed as a place where teamwork and support are real, not just buzzwords.

Takeaway:

Any hospital that can get a traveler to boomerang back as core staff is doing something right.

Your Raleigh City Guide

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5. Good Samaritan Hospital – Puyallup, Washington

Why travelers love it (especially ER):

ER nurses specifically said Good Sam was the only ER where they felt like their license was safe. They talked about always having extra hands, and not being left alone to drown.

Takeaway:

If you’re ER and you’ve worked in chaos, you already know how rare this is.

Why Travelers Love Puyallup

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Rank	Hospital / System	Location	Unit(s) Most Praised	Why Travelers Loved It
1	Monument Health	Rapid City, SD	HVU (Heart & Vascular), tele/stepdown, multiple floors	“Best contract I’ve taken,” super welcoming, safe support, people extend, Black Hills lifestyle
2	University of Vermont Medical Center (UVMMC)	Burlington, VT	CVOR, ICU, OR/procedural	“Kind and welcoming,” “great team energy,” “surgeons are a pleasure,” people extend 2+ times
3	Duke University Medical Center	Durham, NC	ICU (any ICU)	ICU travelers say they’re respected, supported, treated like part of the team
4	WakeMed	Raleigh, NC	ER and acute care	One nurse left, traveled, then came back as staff; strong teamwork and support culture
5	Good Samaritan Hospital (Good Sam)	Puyallup, WA	ER	“Only ER where I felt like my license was safe,” always had extra hands, safe coverage
6	St. Anthony Hospital	Gig Harbor, WA	ICU	“Staff was amazingly nice,” good ratios, calm vibe, gorgeous area, “I’d go back in a heartbeat”
7	Carle Foundation Hospital	Urbana, IL	ER, PACU, NICU	“Traveler friendly,” “highly recommend,” multiple repeat contracts over 10 years
8	Torrance Memorial Medical Center	Torrance, CA	Med-surg / stepdown / monitored floors	CA ratios, charge nurse with no load, real breaks, resources, organized workflow
9	Central Vermont Medical Center	Berlin, VT	General acute, float, ICU support	“Very welcoming to travelers,” “lots of resources,” “I’d definitely come back”
10	Brigham and Women’s Hospital	Boston, MA	ICU / high acuity	Called “hands down favorite,” high standards but still respectful and supportive
11	Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (East Campus)	Boston, MA	ICU / critical care	Travelers said they’d go back; strong clinical systems; solid provider-RN communication
12	University of Vermont Medical Center / UVVMC (same as UVMMC, but called out separately by multiple commenters)	Burlington, VT	CVOR specifically	“Great team,” “surgeons and team are a pleasure,” “worth staying through Vermont winter”
13	Fort Defiance Indian Hospital	Fort Defiance, AZ	General acute / inpatient	On-site housing ~$100/week, 50-foot walk to work, low life logistics stress
14	Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center	Lebanon, NH	Various acute/stepdown (noted by med-surg traveler)	“Treated me nice and welcoming,” recruiter-confirmed as somewhere travelers stay and like
15	Christus St. Vincent	Santa Fe, NM	Med-surg	“Nice and welcoming,” plus Santa Fe lifestyle (arts/desert vibe)
16	University of Washington / MultiCare / Good Sam / St. Joe’s cluster in WA	Puyallup, Tacoma, Bellingham, WA	ER, cardiac, ICU	Washington systems get repeated love for teamwork, backup help, and respectful treatment of travelers
17	PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center	Eugene, OR	General acute	Directly named “nice and welcoming,” traveler-friendly feel
18	WakeMed Raleigh (repeat praise via recruiter and staff-returner)	Raleigh, NC	ER, tele, stepdown	We are calling it out again because “left and came back as staff” is a massive green flag for culture
19	Sanford Health	Fargo, ND	ICU / critical care	“Staff was amazing,” “provider team listens to nurses,” nurses stayed long-term (note: some unit variability)
20	Cook County (Stroger Hospital of Cook County)	Chicago, IL	Med-surg / stepdown / float pool	“Supportive,” “union protects you,” fair ratios, charge/ancillary support so travelers aren’t dumped on

So… what actually matters?

After pulling all of this together, here’s what keeps showing up in the hospitals travelers rave about:

• Respect and inclusion

You’re treated like part of the unit, not “the traveler who can float to 5 floors because we said so.”

• Safe ratios / backup help

People brag about charge nurses with no patient load, having extra hands in the ER, ICU ratios that are actually ICU ratios, and unions that protect assignments. Reddit

• Strong leadership / communication

Nurses mention when providers listen to them, when charge RNs advocate, and when management thanks travelers instead of freezing them out.

• People extend or come back

If travelers say “I extended twice,” “I stayed almost a year,” or “I left and then returned as staff,” that’s a massive green flag. We saw that exact language with UVMMC, Monument, WakeMed, Good Sam, and Sanford Fargo. Reddit

• Lifestyle fit

A lot of fan-favorite assignments weren’t just “good hospital,” they were “good hospital + I loved where I lived.” Rapid City in the Black Hills. Gig Harbor on the water. Burlington with hiking and Lake Champlain. Fort Defiance with ultra-cheap housing. Santa Fe’s Southwest vibe. When life outside the hospital helps you reset, burnout falls way down.

How to use this list as a traveler

• If you see one of these hospitals pop up in your job alerts, jump on it. Good culture jobs go fast because word spreads.

  
  

• Ask unit-specific questions in the interview:

  • “What are typical ratios on this unit?”

  • “Do travelers get the same assignment types/acuity as staff?”

  • “How often do travelers float off-home unit?”

  • “Do charge nurses carry a full load or are they available as support?”

Those exact issues: ratios, floating, and team attitude were make-or-break in almost every review we read.

Final takeaways

If you’re trying to choose between two offers that pay about the same, and one of them is on this list, choose the one on this list.

Why? Because money you make in a “we’ll eat you alive” hospital disappears fast in stress spending, missed sleep, unsafe situations, and shortened contracts.

Money you make in a “we actually support you” hospital? You keep that. You extend. You stop panic-scrolling Vivian at 2 AM. You enjoy your days off. You remember why you became a nurse.

That’s the whole game.