You can earn even more money as a travel nurse than your equivalents who work in a fixed location.
Do you regularly review your travel nursing contract to ensure that it still satisfies all of the terms between you and the travel nursing agency? Most people don’t examine it, but it’s a crucial tax document that attests to the transient nature of your job and the tax-free nature of your reimbursements.
Your travel nursing contract covers everything, including the duration of the job, the location you’ll work in, the salary you’ll receive, and the frequency of payment. Therefore, you must carefully review every clause in your contract before you accept, reject, or begin negotiating.
The post includes a summary of a possible or necessary checklist for your travel nursing contract so you may approach it with assurance.
Why is Travel Nursing Contract Crucial?
As already mentioned, the contract is the actual agreement highlighting your duties, compensation, working hours, and other terms and conditions. It serves as a crucial tax document in addition to outlining the requirements outlined in the contract between you and the travel nursing agency. Your employment’s temporary status and tax-free reimbursements are confirmed by the contract.
6 Things to Review in your Next Contract
Without knowing the offerings and terms of conditions, there is no point in working since it can lead to discontent. Therefore, you must know your rights to protect your interests as a travel nurse. Let’s look at the items which must be included in your travel nursing contract:
Tenure
It would help if you considered all the arrangements you may have to make before your assignment. Remember that a verbal confirmation of the start and end date is not sufficient. Therefore, know the timeframe of your contract written and signed by the agency. Knowing this can help you make all the arrangements, including giving notice to your current employer and arranging for travel and lodging.
Payment Period
Take a look at the payment period in addition to the pay rate. It indicates whether you will be paid weekly or monthly for your services. If you need to self-isolate during your assignment, look for a disclosed quarantine policy in or near this area to determine if you’ll get paid.
License Reimbursement
Check your contract to verify if compensation for licensure or certification fees is mentioned before traveling to a different state on assignment. If it’s not there, get in touch with your main point of contact to see if it can be added. Repayment may be either upfront or following the spending in some contracts.
Shift
Having the perfect shift can make or break contracts for some travel nurses. Whether you’re working 12-hour nights or alternating shifts, it needs to be spelled out in writing and specificity. Then, negotiate the assignment or look at alternative options if the specifics don’t match what you’re looking for or previously discussed with the nurse manager.
Guaranteed Hours
It’s crucial to check that the contract expressly states the guaranteed hour policy. If you are a genuine travel nurse incurring additional costs, you did not leave your home to incur additional charges. Due to shift cancellations, you won’t be forced to pay for duplicate expenses thanks to the guaranteed hour policy.
Medical benefits
As a travel nurse, you are expected to get medical insurance benefits from the travel agency you are working with. However, what type of coverage you want and need varies from company to company. The best agencies will offer good medical insurance, benefits plans, and other reimbursements.
The Bottom Line
You must consider all the factors above the next time you assess the travel nurse contract. Remember that not every contract will contain all the provisions mentioned because it all relies on the travel nurse, the agency, and the specifics of each contract.
Additionally, you might not want to have agencies add specific clauses from the list above to your contracts. Finally, depending on the particulars of your particular contract, some of the elements might not be relevant.
It’s a new experience every time you sign a new contract. To determine your priorities, utilizing this checklist as a guide is ideal.
