Why Crisis Nurses are Returning to Permanent Roles

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals have been offering travel nurses 'crisis contracts' that provide higher bill rates due to the increased need for extra staffing at hospital locations worldwide and nurse shortage. Now, with vaccines rolling out and COVID-19 hospitalization numbers decreasing, bill rates are returning to normal in many cases for travel nursing contracts.

New and old nurses have been taking advantage of the opportunity to obtain crisis nurse contracts for the past year. Now, with life slowly returning to normalcy, many nurses consider whether to continue working travel nursing contracts at their regular bill rate.

Decrease in Crisis Nurse Contract Availability

While select areas are still experiencing 'crisis' situations resulting from the pandemic, the market is oversaturated with travel nurses seeking out these high-paying positions, and there are not enough positions available to meet the high demand.

While some crisis travel nursing contracts during the pandemic were offering compensation as high as $3k per week, returning to average travel nursing pay rates is a difficult transition for many, especially those who began travel nursing during the pandemic and have never worked at the average rates.

Travel nursing requires a lot of work, the ability to adapt to new situations and surroundings continually, and spending time away from family and friends at home. When the increased compensation is taken away, many individuals find that the costs of travel nursing outweigh the benefits.

Benefits of Staff Nursing Roles

In addition to the transition in contracts and pay, there are many benefits of permanent nursing jobs that travel nursing cannot offer. Now that crisis travel nursing jobs are decreasing in availability and transitioning back to pre-pandemic bill rates; it is a great time to consider taking advantage of the benefits that a staff nursing position can offer.

Many hospitals and other healthcare facilities have a great need for staff nurses due to many nurses leaving to travel during the pandemic and others leaving their careers altogether due to its demands and stress. As a result, you are likely to find plenty of permanent nurse recruitments offering sign-on bonuses, competitive pay, great benefits packages, flexible shift placements, and more. This increased negotiation power can help you obtain a more desirable nursing role.

Another benefit of working in a permanent nursing role is the security that it provides. Unlike travel nursing contracts, a permanent role cannot be canceled. This provides you with added job security in an already greatly needed position.

Why Should You Consider Taking A Break From Travel Nursing?

While traveling is a fun and exciting lifestyle, there are also many benefits to staying in one place for a while. In your personal life, you can build better connections and friendships when you are meeting people for more than a few months at a time.

Temporary nursing roles often require prior experience, as you are coming into a role with an immediate need and are expected to hit the ground running. If you want to learn a new specialty or grow your experience, a permanent staffing role is a perfect opportunity to do this.

Are Staff Nurses Required to Work Full-Time?

While you may not be eligible for benefits and bonuses if you do not sign onto a full-time role, you may be able to negotiate for flexible or part-time nurse hours due to hospitals’ increased need to sign on permanent nurses to their staff, as mentioned above.

Nursing is a taxing occupation that requires a break, and if you are someone that needs extra time off of work for personal reasons, now is a time that you may be able to negotiate this with your employer.

How Advantis Medical Can Help

Suppose you're ready to take a break from crisis travel nursing and transition into a permanent nurse staff role. In that case, Advantis Medical is a travel nursing agency that can help you connected with incredible opportunities and resources to land your ideal job.