5Live OR RN Travel Jobs in Iowa · August 1 700+ 5-Star Reviews

OR Travel Nurse Jobs in Iowa

Compare travel operating room nurse jobs in Iowa and save favorites along the way, from the Des Moines metro to Cedar Rapids.

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Operating Room · Iowa
5
live jobs
$2,520
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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    Iowa case breadth and regional coverage

    Facility role determines whether an Iowa position is specialized or broad. OR travel nurse jobs in Iowa may connect travelers with Des Moines or Iowa City referral teams, Cedar Rapids systems, or regional hospitals that depend on wider case coverage and transfer awareness. Show the orthopedic, general, cardiac, neuro, eye, or women's surgery experience you have used recently. Ask how rooms are assigned, which implant systems and equipment are standard, who supports urgent additions, and how relief works when the schedule runs late. Compare actual case ownership, call, and backup rather than assuming metro and regional titles represent the same job.

    Live market data

    Review Iowa OR postings for practiced scope

    Updated today

    Compare recent-case fit, circulate or scrub responsibility, call, shift, and support across metro and regional roles.

    5 Operating Room contracts are open in Iowa right now, with +2 added in the last 7 days and 3 already filled. Open postings have been live about 8 days on average.

    5
    Open Operating Room jobs
    8 days
    Median time active
    +2
    Added last 7 days
    2,890
    Iowa colon surgery procedures; 31 hospitals reporting (CDC/NHSN 2024)
    Why demand stays strong
    1,976
    2024 Iowa spinal fusion volume from 6 acute care hospitals (CDC/NHSN)
    1,670
    31 Iowa hospitals reported abdominal hysterectomy activity in 2024 (CDC/NHSN)
    NLC
    Iowa is an implemented Nurse Licensure Compact state, multistate RN licenses accepted (NCSBN)

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

    Pay by city · OR · Iowa

    Iowa weekly pay through case ownership and backup

    Live · updated today

    Weekly figures can shift with location, facility model, service line, shift, call, floating, and how broadly the traveler covers rooms.

    Highest weekly pay · Operating Room
    Des Moines
    $3,105
    Sioux City
    $2,545
    West Des Moines
    $2,150
    Mason City
    $2,142

    Compare Des Moines, Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, and regional offers beside case mix, callback plans, and support.

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

    Iowa hospital evidence for joint-replacement teams

    Iowa's orthopedic procedure counts provide useful case-mix context. Iowa's participating hospitals submitted 4,829 knee arthroplasty procedures, with 20 facilities represented in 2024. A second source row shows For the 2024 reporting year, Iowa's 22 hospitals submitted 3,546 hip arthroplasty procedures. Each category has its own reporting-hospital denominator, which prevents combining the figures into a statewide rate. The two orthopedic categories provide a direct view of reported joint-replacement work. Des Moines and Iowa City programs may use specialized teams and academic support, while Cedar Rapids and regional hospitals can blend orthopedic cases into a broader schedule. Compare implant vendors, positioning systems, turnover support, call, and relief coverage. These counts are reporting-hospital measures rather than a complete Iowa procedure total.

    Iowa's hip and knee figures are reported procedure counts from participating hospitals rather than a complete joint-replacement census.
    Good to know

    Iowa OR Travel Contracts: What to Know

    How quickly could I start an OR contract in Iowa?
    If your license says multistate and you live in a compact state, the only wait is credentialing; Iowa's board adds nothing. If you're single-state, or you've moved outside the compact, the endorsement application comes first and it sets your earliest start date. That's the piece to begin now, before you shortlist jobs, not after.
    Which certs and how much experience do Iowa ORs expect?
    BLS, always, and some facilities also require CNOR. Beyond the cards, Iowa facilities care about what you can circulate and scrub across: academic rooms in Iowa City may want depth in one line, while regional hospitals prize range across general, ortho, and women's surgery. One to two years of recent OR work is the common floor, set facility by facility.
    What actually moves OR pay in Iowa?
    Unit need, mostly, with cost of living and shift behind it. Iowa's a smaller market, so one room that badly needs filling can lift a rate quickly, and it settles once the job's taken. Stipends shift with local costs, and nights pay above days. The chart above shows live weekly pay by city and it genuinely moves week to week. For how a specific offer breaks down, which varies by facility and contract, ask your recruiter.
    Do I need a car for Iowa OR assignments?
    Plan on it. Des Moines, Iowa City, and Cedar Rapids anchor the market, but plenty of Iowa's ORs sit in regional hospitals a real drive from any of them. Housing near a regional facility can be scarce too, so travelers often stay in a bigger town and commute. Distances are manageable; they're just part of the math here.