28Live Med Surg RN Travel Jobs in Illinois · September 7 700+ 5-Star Reviews

Med Surg Travel Nurse Jobs in Illinois

Rank medical surgical travel nursing jobs in Illinois by weekly pay, comparing Chicago and downstate floors as you go.

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Med Surg · Illinois
28
live jobs
$2,173
avg weekly pay iMarket pay is the average weekly rate across active assignments matching your specialty and location. Each job’s pay tier compares its weekly pay to this average.
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    Illinois facility scale and floor scope

    Med Surg Travel Nurse Jobs in Illinois span several distinct markets rather than one statewide floor experience. Chicago referral centers may separate medicine, surgery, oncology, orthopedics, observation, and telemetry across focused teams, while central and downstate hospitals may use broader units and closer transfer partnerships. Compare the posted service line, admission source, discharge workload, observation ownership, and boundary with monitored care. Ask when admissions cluster, which services drive discharges, where travelers float, and what hospitalist, respiratory, and rapid-response support remains overnight. Regional role matters because a floor receiving complex transfers works differently from one stabilizing patients for transfer elsewhere.

    Live market data

    Illinois openings by facility scale

    Updated today

    Use live listings to compare city, shift, floor specialty, community role, observation overlap, and float expectations.

    28 Med Surg contracts are open in Illinois right now, with +3 added in the last 7 days and 2 already filled. Open postings have been live about 16 days on average.

    28
    Open Med Surg jobs
    16 days
    Median time active
    +3
    Added last 7 days
    Non-NLC
    Illinois does not currently implement the Nurse Licensure Compact, a Illinois RN license is required (NCSBN)
    Why demand stays strong
    8%
    Projected national RN shortage for 2028, easing to 3% by 2038 (HRSA Nurse Workforce Projections)
    138,910
    Illinois RNs employed statewide, employment count not license count (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
    262,204
    Active Illinois RN licenses on file, license count not employed nurses (NCSBN, 2026)

    Live counts from the jobs feed, updated daily. Demand figures from public workforce data, sources noted with each figure.

    Pay by city · Med Surg · Illinois

    Illinois weekly pay by city and facility

    Live · updated today

    Compare live weekly pay by city with hospital scale, shift, service line, floating, and assignment urgency.

    Highest weekly pay · Med Surg
    Peoria
    $2,365
    Rock Island
    $2,282
    Mattoon
    $2,268
    Urbana
    $2,255
    Carbondale
    $2,240
    Danville
    $2,235
    Herrin
    $2,215
    Olney
    $2,214

    Review Chicago, central, northern, and southern Illinois listings by floor role rather than assuming similar titles mean similar work.

    Weekly pay reflects current open Advantis contracts — marketplace contract value, not a staff-nurse wage.

    Illinois Medical Surgical utilization

    Illinois publishes direct statewide Medical/Surgical utilization data for 2024. The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board reports 785,420 Medical/Surgical admissions across 211 hospitals and 3,916,631 days of Medical/Surgical inpatient care. Admissions count episodes entering the service, while inpatient days total days of care across the year, so the measures are related but not interchangeable. They are statewide aggregates rather than a unit staffing standard or a forecast of traveler demand. For assignment review, use the scale to ask when admissions cluster, which services drive discharge work, how observation patients are assigned, and where telemetry or stepdown patients belong. Chicago referral centers may divide these workflows across specialty teams, while community and downstate hospitals can place more coordination on one floor. Confirm the patient mix, float map, discharge resources, transfer role, and overnight backup for the actual unit.

    Admissions and inpatient days are statewide aggregates, not unique patients or unit staffing measures.

    Illinois facility examples across scale

    Facility cards show live or recent listings and may change; confirm the unit's service line and regional role before comparing.

    OSF - Saint Francis Medical Center Magnet

    Peoria, IL

    Hiring now Cath Lab ER ICU NICU

    An academic medical center in Peoria, IL, the area's only Level I adult and pediatric trauma center, with a Level IV NICU.

    Carle Foundation Hospital Magnet

    509 beds · Urbana, IL

    Hiring now ER ICU Labor and Delivery NICU

    Set in Urbana, IL, a 509-bed Magnet-recognized teaching hospital with Level I trauma care, comprehensive stroke care, and a Level III NICU.

    Ascension Saint Joseph Hospital - Elgin Level II Trauma

    184 beds · Elgin, IL

    Hiring now ER ICU Labor and Delivery Telemetry

    Ascension Saint Joseph anchors Level II trauma care for Chicago's far northwest suburbs from Elgin, pairing 184 beds with primary stroke coverage.

    Good to know

    Illinois Med Surg Travel Jobs: License First

    Where does Illinois stand on the compact?
    Outside it. Illinois hasn't implemented the compact, so a multistate or compact license doesn't authorize you here, and every traveler applies to Illinois through IDFPR for an Illinois license. It's the same route whether your home license is multistate or single-state, which surprises people. Start the application before you shortlist jobs; it's the slowest step you'll face.
    What certifications will Illinois Med Surg jobs require?
    BLS is always required, and some units also require ACLS. Add one to two years of recent med-surg experience and you match what most facilities look for. Each contract sets its own exact list, and your recruiter can verify those certification requirements for you before submission.
    How should I read Med Surg pay across Illinois?
    As Chicago plus everything else, priced by unit need, cost of living, and shift. Chicago stipends track city rents; Rockford, Peoria, Springfield, and the downstate markets pair lower costs with rates that climb when floors need to fill; nights add a premium anywhere. The live chart above ranks weekly pay by city. How a specific offer is assembled varies by facility and contract, so put those questions to your recruiter.
    Is there really steady Med Surg demand in Illinois?
    Steadier than the raw numbers suggest. Illinois has one of the largest license files in the country, but a license count isn't a headcount of nurses working, and the state's med-surg floors handled hundreds of thousands of admissions last year. Turnover, leave, and census swings keep openings cycling, heaviest in Chicago and consistent downstate. Since the Illinois license is your slow step anyway, use the wait to pick a market.
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