How to Choose a Travel Nursing Agency (and Spot the Red Flags)

You’ve decided you want to try travel nursing.

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Now comes one of the first big decisions:

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Which travel nursing agency should you work with?

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There are a LOT of them out there, and when you’re brand new, they can all start to look pretty similar.

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But your agency plays a much bigger role than simply showing you available jobs. Understanding what’s happening behind the scenes can help you figure out who you actually want on your team.

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What Does a Travel Nursing Agency Do?

At the most basic level, a travel nursing agency connects healthcare professionals with facilities that need temporary staff.

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But there’s a whole lot happening behind the scenes to get you from “That job looks interesting” to actually walking into the hospital on Day One.

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A travel nursing agency may have teams handling:

• Relationships and contracts with healthcare facilities

• Credentialing and compliance

• Payroll and benefits

• Housing or travel support

• Job matching and submissions

• Recruiter training and support

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And then, of course, there are the recruiters.

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Your recruiter may be the person you interact with most, but a good agency has an entire team working behind them to make sure your assignment actually happens.

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What About Vendors?

Here’s something many first-time travelers don’t realize.

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Your agency doesn’t always work directly with the hospital.

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Sometimes there’s another company, often called a vendor, between the hospital and your agency.

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The hospital gives its staffing needs to the vendor, the vendor distributes those jobs to different agencies, and those agencies submit qualified travelers.

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Why should you care?

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Because when there’s a middleman, communication can sometimes take an extra step.

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If you have a problem, your recruiter may need to contact the vendor, who then contacts the facility, rather than being able to go directly to the hospital.

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You don’t need to become an expert on vendor systems before your first contract.

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You just need to know they exist.

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How Do You Choose a Good Travel Nursing Agency?

There isn’t one perfect agency for every traveler.

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Pay matters, of course, but the highest-paying job doesn’t automatically mean you’re working with the best agency.

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A newer agency may offer an attractive pay package to compete for travelers, while a more established agency may have stronger systems, more facility relationships, or more experienced support behind the scenes.

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Look at the whole picture.

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Does the agency communicate clearly?

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Is compliance organized?

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Do they pay accurately and on time?

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Do they have good relationships with hospitals?

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Will someone actually answer when you have a problem?

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And perhaps most importantly, do you feel like the people you're working with have your back?

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Travel Nursing Agency Red Flags

There are a few things that should make you stop and ask questions.

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You’re being charged fees just to work with the agency. You shouldn’t have to pay an agency for the privilege of becoming one of its travelers.

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Compliance is a mess. If documents keep disappearing, nobody can clearly explain what you need, or you’re constantly getting conflicting information, pay attention.

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Your pay is repeatedly wrong. Mistakes can happen. A pattern of missing hours or incorrect paychecks is a different story.

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You’re constantly being passed between recruiters. Ideally, you want the opportunity to build a relationship with someone who actually knows you and your goals.

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They don’t support you when there’s a problem. If you raise a legitimate concern about safety, your assignment, floating, staffing, or something outside your agreed role, your agency shouldn’t simply tell you to deal with it.

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A good agency won’t make every assignment perfect.

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But it should make you feel like you have a team behind you when things aren’t perfect.

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Want the Full Story?

There’s a lot happening inside a travel nursing agency that you’ll probably never see as a traveler.

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In this episode of Travel Healthcare 101, John takes you behind the scenes to explain the different teams within an agency, how facility contracts and vendors work, what to consider when comparing agencies, and the red flags he thinks every new traveler should know.

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Watch Travel Healthcare 101: Choosing a Travel Nursing Agency

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Once you find an agency, there’s one relationship that can have an enormous impact on your experience:

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Your recruiter.

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What makes a great travel nurse recruiter? And how can you tell whether you've found someone you actually want in your corner?

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That’s where we’re headed next.

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Next: How to Choose a Travel Nurse Recruiter →