Interview: Travel Nurse Practitioner

Upon finding a travel Nurse Practitioner assignment that interests you, the next step is for the agency to submit your resume. After reviewing your resume, if interested, the site will request a phone interview with you. The turnaround time between reviewing your resume and setting up a phone interview can range from a few hours to one week. The agency will ask you to provide them with hours of availability for the interview. Depending on the agency, there may be an agency representative on the phone, or it may just be you and the site representative.

Do not stress the phone interviews! They are not going to ask you doses of medications or to diagnose a rare elusive disorder. Examples of questions they may ask are:

Tell me about yourself.

What is your experience working as a nurse practitioner or provider?

How many patients do you see per day?

What type of patients do you see?

Why are you interested in working with my facility?

 

Sometimes you may be asked some clinical questions. They just want to make sure you have an idea of what you are doing. They are not expecting you to be experts in every area. Some examples of clinical questions are:

Which preventative measures would you take with a Diabetic client, including labs, screenings, and assessment?

How would you handle patients that are requesting opioids for their chronic pain?

If a patient comes to the clinic with elevated blood pressure, how would you respond to this?

 

Then the remainder of the conversation will be them talking about their facility and their need. They will usually end the conversation by asking if you have any questions for them. I highly recommend you have a list of questions prepared for them or it will appear that you are not really interested.

Some questions I suggest you ask them are the following:

Does the facility use EHR, if so which one?

What type of patients are seen at the clinic? (Including demographics and illnesses)

Will there be other providers present?

What type of supportive staff would I have?

What are the hours of the facility?

 

Depending on the facility, they may request another interview. The second interview may be with their medical director or CEO. It is usually just a formality but definitely a good sign!

Why I became a Travel Nurse Practitioner

Working in Miami, FL as a family nurse practitioner was exciting at first. During the first year, it was a learning process and figuring out what worked best for me as a provider. I have always loved being challenged and trying new things. So after 3 years of working in the same primary care office, I was ready for a change. I knew I did not want to stay in Miami because I was interested in working with a different population. My patient population in Miami was majority Hispanic and elderly.

Sometimes we get comfortable working in the same environment. However, health care is constantly changing and I think the best thing we can do is work in different environments and with different patient populations, in order to gain a diverse set of experiences and skills.

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In addition, I was personally fed up with living in a large city; where there is constant traffic, rude people, and a high cost of living. I was aware that leaving my family and friends would be tough, but at least I knew I would only be gone temporarily. The great thing about locum tenens is that when your assignment ends, they always bring you back home (for free).

Another reason why I decided to become a travel nursing practitioner is because I have friends that live all over the USA. Since I graduated from Florida State University, most of my friends moved away for their jobs. I try to visit some of them each year, but they are all just so spread out. Thus, by doing travel work I am able to visit them all routinely, while I make an income.

I believe locum tenens work is actually easier to jump into opposed to travel nursing as an RN. The reason for this is because everything we need is in our brain. Compared to RN’s that have to learn an entire new floor and where they keep items.

Nonetheless, I am glad I decided to become a travel nurse practitioner. One of my mentors told me it may be difficult at first, but it will only make me stronger. And she was right!

The Search Process

Depending on your flexibility, the search process can take several weeks to months. If you are open to going anywhere then that increases your chance of finding an assignment quickly. Often medical facilities want you to begin ASAP, so if you do not hold a license in the state they are located, they are unwilling to wait. Therefore, your first locum tenens assignment is commonly the toughest one to find.

Since the agency has not worked with you previously, they do not know how serious you are about starting a travel nurse practitioner position. Unfortunately, finding the first assignment requires you to be an advocate for yourself. If you need assistance during the search process, feel free to contact me ,as I can help vouch for you with my recruiters.

My favorite locum tenens agencies were the ones that my recruiters were following up with me frequently. Even if they didn’t have something that matched my interest, I knew they were looking out for me.

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For my first travel nurse practitioner assignment, I initially wanted to go to the New England area. Some challenges I faced were the sites unwillingness to wait for me to obtain a license because they needed someone to start right away. When I did find places that were willing to wait for me to get a license, they wanted a long commitment that extended into winter. Coming from south Florida, I knew winters in New England would be too difficult for me. After 1-2 months without any luck, I decided to change my location interest.

I was interested in the pacific coast, although I knew California licenses can take several months to obtain. After discussing this with my recruiters, they informed me that there were a lot of opportunities in Washington State and Oregon. I had always wanted to go to Seattle but never had the chance, so I figured it would be the perfect time.

One week after agreeing to purse availabilities in the pacific west, I had an ideal offer. A site in Washington State was willing to wait for me to be licensed and were flexible in the length of my assignment. Most importantly, I was able to escape the cold winter.

 

 

Responses from my Recruiters

In my last post I suggested some questions for every new locum tenens Nurse Practitioner to ask their recruiter. In this post, I will share some responses I received from my recruiters based on those questions.

  • What type of lodging would I be provided with?
    As I mentioned in my last post, most agencies said they normally set up an extended stay hotel for their providers during assignments. They gave examples such as Holiday Inns, Best Westerns, or bed and breakfasts. I did have one agency ask me if I would be okay staying in a motel 8, in which I kindly declined. I was offered an assignment with an Indian Health Services facility, in which they would arrange a house for me to live in.
  • How will I get to my assignment?
    My recruiters stated that locum providers usually fly to their site and are provided with a rental car. This is different in comparison to RN travel because the majority of them drive their own car to the site. If they were to fly, they would not have a rental car paid for. They are usually reimbursed in the form of mileage, in comparison to nurse practitioners that have their travel paid for upfront. When I was interested in going to D.C. for one of my assignments, I asked if I could possibly bring my car with me via the Auto Train that runs from Florida to Virginia. They actually agreed to do it since it was the cheapest option (only cost $250). They are consistently opposed to shipping your car. However, if you manage to convince them that you will drive your car, you can use the mileage reimbursement to cover the shipping costs.
  • What is the pay rate for family nurse practitioners?
    Each time I asked this, they tried to ask me what I was expecting to make hourly. I deferred the question back to them asking for a range. Some agencies told me family nurse practitioners can make $40-50/h, which I thought was very low, especially for locum tenens work. My hourly rate back home was $60/h and I was comfortable making the same rate or more. So when I told these agencies my minimum was $60/h, they thought I was crazy. Meanwhile, other agencies told me family nurse practitioners can make anywhere form $60 to $90/h depending on the site, location, and experience. The rate depends on your experience, location of the site, and the agency.
  • How does the licensing process work?
    Coming from Florida, one of my main concerns was obtaining a DEA license. Florida doesn’t allow nurse practitioners to obtain one (boo I know), so I have never had one before doing locum tenens work. When looking up the cost of applying for a DEA, I noticed it was $700+. That’s a good sum of money I did not want to be responsible for. So when speaking with my recruiters, I inquired if they would cover the cost of a DEA. Many agencies said absolutely, while others said they could not. I am grateful that when the time came, my agency applied and paid for my DEA license.

Questions for your Recruiter

Your recruiter will be your main contact person of the agency of your choosing. It is very important that you establish a good relationship with him or her. If you always have to call them and never receive a response, feel free to ask for a different recruiter.

Besides providing them with your location preference and start date, you should have a list of questions to ask them.

  • What type of lodging would I be provided with?
    For short-term assignments (less than 6 months), locum tenens providers are typically placed in extended stay hotels. Some sites may provide their own form of housing such as company owned houses or apartments. Unfortunately, some agencies will try to make the most out of the budget and place you in motels. I highly suggest avoiding these agencies or negotiating for better lodging. For long-term assignments (more than 6 months), apartments or condo’s are possible because of the longer commitment.
  • How will I get to my assignment?
    Agencies tend to prefer that you fly to your site and they will provide you with a rental car. If the site is not too far from your current location, they will allow you to drive and take your own car. You can negotiate what your preference is when the time comes. If you drive your own car they reimburse you 56 cents per mile. So driving from Miami to Los Angeles would be 2750 miles, and I would be reimbursed $1540 each way. Some people prefer to drive if they have pets, a significant other, or plenty of items to bring.
  • What is the pay rate for family nurse practitioners? (or your respected specialty)
    Most often your recruiter will deflect this question to you, trying to find out what is your minimum hourly rate. Try to ask them for an expected range of payment so they do not low ball you. For example, let’s say they asked you what your minimum hourly rate is, and you said $50/h. If you had asked for a typical hourly range, they may have said $45-60. Yet, now they know you will easily accept anything paying $50/h and they will not offer you more. Keep in mind that the agency needs a profit for themselves.
  • How does the licensing process work?
    By asking this question you first get a response about them being able to cover your new license cost or not. I know it is expected that they will, but there are cases where they will not cover the cost. Also, you want to find out if you are expected to pay for the costs and will be reimbursed in the future, or if they will pay upfront for the licensing fees. Sometimes you have the option to choose. If you pay the costs of the license yourself, the agency will commonly reimburse you after 30 days of working with them. If the agency pays for the licensing fees up front, they will occasionally have you sign an agreement preventing you from using that license with any other agency for up to 1 year.

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Searching for an Assignment

After deciding to become a travel Nurse Practitioner, the next step is finding the right assignment.

Below are some things you should do before searching:

-Updating your resume
-Gathering all of your supporting documents (CEU’s, CPR/BLS, Licenses, Certifications, Vaccination/Titer record, PPD/CXR record, Graduate/Undergraduate Diplomas, Driver’s License etc.)
Note: It may be best to have all of these scanned and uploaded to your computer so you can easily submit them to agencies when requested.
-Decide what location, setting, and time frame you are interested in traveling

Next, you should contact several locum tenens agencies and ask to speak to a recruiter for nurse practitioners.

Check out my Agencies tab on the home page for some of my favorite agencies. You can also email me for direct referrals to my recruiters. Please mention my name (Sophia Khawly) when getting in contact with agencies to help support this blog.

I suggest getting into contact with at least 5 different agencies. The application and paperwork may seem redundant, but the more agencies you are connected to, the more likely you will be matched with your dream assignment.

I recommend reading through their websites to get a feel of how they work. For instance, some of them may pay you via W2 in which they take out taxes and provide benefits such as health insurance. On the other hand, some may pay you as a sole proprietor via 1099, in which they do not take out taxes but you can deduct self-employment expenses at the end of the year. Different methods of pay may benefit different types of people, so discover what works best for you.

Most of the agencies keep an updated list of current job openings on their website. Look at this page to determine if they have availability in the state of your choice. The most recent the date, the better; as many job openings are quickly filled and no longer available. After providing a recruiter with your preferences, they will follow up with you on any openings. Yet, I strongly encourage you to look on their website every couple of days to see if there are any job availabilities that interest you. Recruiters are very busy and appreciate you being active in the search process.

 

Which Nurse Practitioners Travel?

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There are many different types of Nurse Practitioners that travel. In my case, I am a single young woman without any responsibilities, so I figured this would be the ideal time. Although I can be somewhat shy to new environments, I still enjoy traveling.

Other locums providers include new graduates, retirees, people who have lost their jobs, or those that just need an adventure.

Unlike RN travel nursing, new graduate Nurse Practitioners can do locum tenens work without any experience. Many healthcare sites are willing to train new graduates as long as they agree to a longer commitment. The commitment is typically 6 months or longer. Many new graduates do their first locum tenens assignment in Indian Health Services (IHS). IHS facilities always need providers since they are often in rural locations. As a federal health center, you can use any state license to work there.

Some travel Nurse Practitioners have recently retired and found themselves still wanting to work, but travel too! The good thing is with locum tenens work, your schedule can be flexible. So if you want to work part-time and explore the city on your days off, this is certainly a possibility. Imagine you are provided with a flight to San Francisco, free housing, and a rental car. All you need to do is work a few days and you can enjoy your paid vacation!

One of the first traveling Nurse Practitioners I know, actually started doing locums work when he was laid off from his full-time job due to budget cuts. With 3 children to support, the quickest way for him to start working was through locums work. He searched for positions at home but could not find any. Luckily, the licensing process took less than 1 month to complete, and he was able to work full-time hours in another state. This lasted for 6 months until he was able to get a job back home.

Lastly, some people just need an adventure! I know some traveling providers that bring their family with them if it’s the summer or spring break. Especially if they are working in sunny Florida or Hawaii. I know a woman who got fed up with being micro managed at her current job that she left and traveled on her first assignment to NYC.

The obvious fact is that being a travel Nurse Practitioner provides you with many options!

Whether you recently graduated or are embarking on a new stage of life, such as retirement, locum tenens is a great experience to add to any stage of your career.

For more information please see a blog from Barton Associates:

Locum Tenens for Every Stage of Your Career

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My 1st Locum Tenens Assignment

As discussed in my first post, the term “locum tenens” encompasses all work for healthcare providers that is temporary. That being said, my first locums assignment was actually in South Florida (where I lived). So locums work doesn’t have to include travel. It can be work you do in addition to your full-time job. Although at the time I was working full-time between being a nursing instructor and a family medicine provider, I wanted to test the waters of being a locums Nurse Practitioner. I wanted to see what it felt like to step into a new environment for a short period of time.

I wanted something local that would be per diem, and All Medical Locums Agency found me just that.

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So my first assignment as a locums provider ended up being at Target Clinic! When I mentioned to my family and friends that I would be working at Target they were super confused. They couldn’t understand why I would suddenly work as a cashier. They had no idea Target even had clinics. Wearing the standard uniform; red shirt and khaki’s (can’t say I was a fan); I began work at Target. The good thing is I was provided with 32 hours of training. I know some people think that working as a locums provider, they are thrown into a new environment cold turkey. That isn’t usually the case.

Working at a retail clinic was a different experience because customer service is the top priority. I was the sole provider and had to take vital signs, give vaccines, and perform rapid strep tests etc., something I was used to delegating. However, I did enjoy working at Target because everyone who worked there was always positive and friendly (something hard to find in South Florida). I also liked seeing a variety of ages and treating mostly acute cases, which was a change from my typical chronic patients at my permanent clinic.

After several months of working at Target, I was confident that I was ready for the next step. I was ready to leave everything I had behind, and become a Travel Nurse Practitioner!

 

 

What is Locum Tenens?

Ever since I was a nurse, I have always wanted to do travel nursing. After I became a Nurse Practitioner, I started doing some research and realized travel nursing for Nurse Practitioner’s was called something else. “Locum Tenens” is a latin word for substitute. It applies to all travel work opportunities for Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, and Physicians. The reason there is a difference in terminology, is due to the level and length of service provided. For instance, RN travel assignments are typically a 13 week contract. Whereas locum tenens assignments can range from 1 day to 1 year.

As a locum tenens provider, you are assigned to a medical facility based on your specialty. So for instance, I am a Family Nurse Practitioner so I am usually placed in a primary care facility. The length of time needed to work is often negotiable. Some facilities will specify a timeline such as 6 months, or they may need someone to cover a vacation leave for a few days. Other times the timeframe is open to your preference or considered “ongoing”. The reason for this is because facilities may have just lost a provider, and while they search for a permanent provider, they would like you to fill in the gap for as long as you can.

The process of finding an assignment begins with establishing a connection with a locum tenens agency. These agencies match your skills and credentials with hospitals, clinics, urgent cares, or federal health centers. Between your assignment site and the agency, you will typically be provided benefits such as: paid housing, paid travel, malpractice insurance, and licensing reimbursement. Some may even offer sign-on bonuses or extension bonuses.

Some people wonder why a medical facility would pay for housing and travel when they could easily hire someone who lives in town. The answer to that is the healthcare provider and nursing shortage. A lot of the medical facilities are located in rural areas, in which it may take time to recruit permanent providers. Others needing coverage for maternity leave and vacation believe the benefit outweighs the cost.