I applied to be a travel nurse back in March and within a day I had several voice messages on my phone. One of them was from American Mobile. I gave my references to two travel companies: AMN and Cross Country Trav Corp. Cross Country was able to get both of my references right away, but AMN couldn't reach them. I did not give permission to call my place of employment, and when they couldn't get my references they went behind my back and contacted the hospital I worked at and asked to speak to the charge nurse there that day. I did not give permission to contact the hospital and seriously did not want them to do it! While I was out on my first travel nurse assignment they were asking for which hospital and floor I was working on. I didn't give out that information because I did not want them calling that hospital. If after reading this you should decide to still go with AMN, do not give them phone numbers or info because they may go behind your back to get references.
I decided to go with Cross Country Trav Corp my first time around, and my contract was renewed 3 times with that hospital in Texas. They liked me a lot, but unfortunately their hospital did away with travel nurses at the end of September. It was perfect timing for me since I wanted to go to Haiti and was ready to go to another travel nurse location. The day I left the United States I talked to the AMN recruiter in the airport that day. She wanted to set up an interview for my overlay the day I returned to the US. I am so so glad I didn't do the interview now. That interview was long and required great thinking skills. I was exhausted from travel and wouldn't have been able to think that day.
I was awaiting my California nursing license to process and didn't want to wait until November 15th to start working, but I did because AMN offered me a bonus so I agreed. The day before heading out on the road to my travel nurse assignment in California I asked the office manager if there was anything else I needed to do while I had computer access. She said we need a chicken pox titre and it has to be done by Monday. It was a Thursday, and luckily I was in small town Iowa and could get into the doctors office that day, but the minimum time they needed to get the results back for the titre was 3 days. So I literally did this last minute. If I wouldn't have asked I would have never known. AMN did not keep me well informed or help me through the process of being ready to start on time.
I then had traveled 2300 miles from home when on the Monday the office manager sent me an email saying I wouldn't be able to start until Dec 6th, because my California RN license wasn't processed yet and the requirement was that I have it 1 week before starting my new assignment. I did not know this. I was sitting in my hotel on a Tuesday night before receiving this email. Email is not the route to find out this vital last minute information when you are traveling on the road. I was 2300 miles from home and my computer had gone out of my car in the mountains and my convertible top was broken and needed fixing. I hadn't worked for 7 weeks, how was I to afford living in a hotel for 3 weeks? I contacted my recruiter the next day about this, and she worked out something with the hospital. Together we put in 3 phone calls to the California Board of Nursing, none of which were returned. I drove an extra 12 hours and 1000 miles to Sacramento to get them to process my license only to find out that they had processed it 2 days before. My time, mileage on my car, and gas money was a waste!!!!
AMN had told me that I would know where I was living 2 weeks before the start of my assignment. I still didn't know a week and a half before starting, and they told me it was probably because the housing dept was behind due to so many people starting at the same time. They didn't do it because I didn't have a CA RN license yet. After calling my recruiter to tell her my license had went through in the morning, she said the housing department would contact me in a few hours. It was 5 in the afternoon and still hadn't heard from them, so I called and left my recruiter a message. I found out where I was going to live an hour before arriving to LA. The lack of communication is poor. When I got to my apartment there was no microwave or vacuum cleaner. My recruiter told me to go out and buy a little microwave, "They're real cheap" and to ask the apt office if I could borrow a vacuum cleaner. First of all travelers are supposed to have all of this set up for them. They are supposed to have the best of the best housing. Cross Country always accomodated me in anyway that I needed. I didn't buy a microwave, I have no room in my car for one more thing when traveling and the office didn't have a vacuum I could borrow. Incase you haven't read my whole entire blog let me recap what my apt with Cross Country was like: fitness center, swimming pool, BBQ grills, clubhouse, business center, racquetball, basketball, tennis, and sand volleyball courts. My own garage, fireplace, 750sq ft apt, gated community, on the major lake in Dallas, vacuum cleaner for my car, walkin closet, food pantry with washer/dryer optional hookup, on site laundry in my building. Now let me tell you about the dump AMN gave me: pool (too cold to use this time of year), hot tub, 500 sq ft apt, laundry room a block away, gated community not locked during business hours, no way of letting guests in when locked, and a car port. No fitness center!!!! AMN should've been paying for my fitness pass. The other AMN travelers and I discussed our housing benefits. They were giving one RN $1950/mo housing stipend. 2 of the other travelers were living together and they were giving them $2200/month between the 2 of them. This isn't right! They should have both received $1950 each. I'm not sure what my housing benefit was but my apartment was a $1100/month to rent! They are not consistent with their benefits. They will jip you if they can!
As far as getting the travel nurse position...... AMN bought the exclusive travel nurse rights to Kaiser system in California. They got these exclusive rights by quoting Kaiser travel nurse pay way below the other companies. I had no idea how much I was getting paid until I signed my contract. I had no idea that nurses in California usually make around $60/hr until moving here! I'm use to $30/hr in Chicago, so when I found out my travel nurse wages I found out how much we have been taken advantage of. AMN is only paying $17.77/hr versus $60. Travel nurses are supposed to be making the dough! AMN has their own staff interviewing you then lets you know which hospitals are willing to take you. I signed the contract and realized, wait a minute, I didn't get to ask the patient/nurse ratio, if my night shifts would be able to be kept together, etc. They are quick to slide you in the door without you realizing it.
Then on my first day of my job my recruiter called me at 8:45 in the morning to ask how things were going. At that time I asked her what time I was to report for work that night. She tells me, aren't you supposed to be at orientation at 9:30? She forgot to send me the email giving me all the details. Once again email communication versus telephone communication.
Then after starting my assignment I get another email telling me that one of my assignment requirements is to take this LA Fire Class. The AMN website is so confusing that it's easy to miss the requirements. So once again it was dishing out more money for this cheap company. $45 for a LA Fire Class and $45 for a chicken pox titre! No reimbursement!
The final straw came when I reported to work the night after my LA Fire Class only to find out that I was taken off the schedule. Kaiser cancelled my contract which will be another post. AMN had once again another miscommunication, which I didn't find out about for 2 days. Had I known on time it would've been unnecessary to take that LA Fire Class and waste my money! I talked to the nurse liason who informed me that I should "Go back to Texas" or "Take a staff position" until I "gained more experience in basic nursing duties." They don't stand behind their nurses despite the fact that I had another contract inwhich there were never complaints, and I had staff nurse position in one of the best hospitals in the United States. They are so worried about making their money and not losing their contracts that they will do anything at YOUR expense.
