A recent Wall Street Journal article titled, “The Lucrative Life of a Jet-Setting Traveling Nurse” highlights the post-pandemic allure offered by travel nursing gigs. The article interviewed several nurses, including: Brandy Pinkerton, 44; Gracie Schulte, 27; and Emily Panakos, 35. Each of these professionals cited a desire for change and adventure in their decision to pursue travel nursing.
While certainly not a new phenomenon, travel nursing “exploded” during the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S, when hospitals were “desperate” for staff. Since then, hospitals and healthcare systems have hired travel nurses for supplemental support during seasonal demand, or to fill in for employees on leave. The WSJ notes that healthcare is now the largest source of job creation in the U.S., highlighting the high demand for healthcare workers across the country.
Travel nursing is not all glamour, however. One of the nurses interviewed mentioned that travel nursing gets lonely. This nurse bought a dog to keep him company while on the road. Another mentioned that leaving family can be difficult.
The article also mentioned tension with staff nurses as a source of stress for travel nurses. At the Law Offices of Brian E. Quinn, we have seen this tension between travel and staff nurses result in professional conflict, leading to complaints against the travel nurse’s license to the Board of Nursing.
Travel nursing can be a valuable way to see the country and earn extra income, but anyone considering these assignments should weigh their options carefully. Along with the stress of being on the road and potential conflict with full-time staff nurses, travel nurses may face problems resulting from licensure in multiple states.
For example, a nurse licensed in Pennsylvania and in other states faces repercussions in Pennsylvania if he or she is disciplined in another state as a result of a travel assignment. Some of the more popular states for travel nursing, like California, have tolling provisions for probation. A travel nurse put on probation in California might just decide not to work in California anymore – but this will not make the problem go away. In California, probation on a non-resident nurse’s license tolls until she returns to California. This means that that, unless the nurse is living in California, she will not get any credit towards the probation. If she moves away before the probation is completed, then her license will indefinitely be on probation in that state. This creates an outstanding licensure issue which might follow that nurse wherever she goes –even if she never returns to practice in California.
If you are a travel nurse with a Pennsylvania license and you get jammed up in another state as a result of a travel nursing assignment, please reach out to The Law Offices of Brian E. Quinn to discuss potential ramifications to your license here.
