Healthcare jobs overall account for 26 percent of all new jobs created in the U.S. today and at 2.6 million, registered nurses make up the nation’s largest healthcare group. This group is expected to grow by a whopping 22 percent over the next seven years, adding more than half a million new jobs to talent pool. This will be the largest number of new jobs for any occupation in the U.S.
This trend is expected to continue beyond seven years of as America’s aging population continues to grow. Advances in technology in the area of patient care, a push for preventative care, and the need to replace nurses that retire from the field will also contribute to the trend.
Although the outlook is outstanding for the nursing profession overall, some nurses will fare even better than others. The projected growth rate for RNs working in offices of physicians is 48 percent. Travel nursing (or home health care service nurses) is number two on the list with projected growth of 33 percent over the next seven years. Nursing care facilities is number three on the list at 25 percent, and employment services is number four on the list at 24 percent. Job growth for RNs working in hospitals, public and private, will average 17 percent over the next seven years.
More than 500,000 new jobs will be up for grabs over the next seven years and nursing programs are having a tough time keeping up with the demand. Nursing programs are more difficult complete than they were in earlier years and licensing requirements have become stricter than ever before. Fortunately, certain areas of nursing such as travel nursing have increased in popularity among nurses of all skill levels, and the demand by hospitals and other facilities has increased tremendously. This makes the difficult road from nursing student to registered nurse well worth it for many aspiring nurses interested in a mobile lifestyle.
There are more than 300 travel nursing agencies in the U.S. today and just about every hospital, retirement community, home health care service, nursing homes, and even mental health facilities, use travel nurses. It is important to note that many hospitals hire travel nurses directly. In these cases the travel nurse will report to the HR department to receive their assignment for any given length of time. In some cases, the assignment may change daily, in others it may change weekly or monthly. Agency travel nurses may report to the agency daily, weekly, monthly or every several months, depending on the length of the assignment.
It is important to note that the length of assignment varies greatly by agency and location (city, suburb, rural), but many travel nurses report 13 weeks as an average assignment.
In addition to a high demand for travel nurses, travel nursing jobs offer higher salaries and more “perks” than home-based nursing jobs. In addition to the opportunity to visit different parts of any given state or different parts of the country every few weeks or so, many hospitals lure travel nurses by offering a free private apartment, a travel allowance or reimbursement for travel (tax free), free health, life, and dental insurance, licensure reimbursement, AAA Membership, and unlimited free CEU credits while on assignment. Travel nurse agencies offer the same benefits, but if the assignment changes frequently, agencies pay for accommodations and any related relocation expenses.
Salaries for travel nurses vary, but they typically earn a minimum of 15 percent more than home-based nurses. It is not uncommon for an agency to pay thousands of dollars for a single assignment that lasts several weeks. Travel nurses earn an average salary of $83,200 per year ($40/hr.). Median annual wages of home-based registered nurses is around $62,450 per year ($30/hr.). Most travel nurse agencies offer signing bonuses, referral bonuses, and bonuses upon completion of an assignment.
Travel nursing is expected to continue to grow at a much faster than average pace for the next several decades. The demand for travel nurses has resulted in an increase in the number of agencies available across the nation. This has created intense competition among agencies. As a result, the competition among agencies continues to drive travel nurse salaries and benefits up.
To keep up with the latest news and trends in travel nursing visit Travelnursing.com.
