How Long Can a Travel Nurse Stay in One Place? | Health Carousel Travel Nursing (2024)

So you’ve decided to dive into the world of travel nursing! The perks of being a travel nurse are plenty! You have more freedom, flexibility, and higher pay. You may have chosen travel nursing for the variety of locations and roles, but what happens when you’ve found the perfect travel nursing job and you love it? What are the rules? When travel nursing, how long can you stay? This depends on several factors including how long you’ve been away from home or in the same state. This blog covers everything you need to know about how long a travel nurse can stay in one place.

Can Travel Nurses Have a Location Preference?

One of the most important details of your travel nurse assignment is the location. Some travel nursing agencies may allow you to choose the location of your travel nursing assignments. If you have a preference, be sure to communicate this upfront and provide your travel nurse agency with a list of preferred locations. Work with your recruiter to see if you can be placed in one of these locations.

When considering your list of preferred locations, you’ll want to give some thought to the following:

  • Weather. Do your research on what you can expect for the duration of your assignment.
  • Transportation to and from work. Will you need to take alternate transportation or can you drive your car? How much will this add to your commute?
  • How close is the location to your current home? If you need to travel back to your place of residence, consider the closest locations.
  • Affordability. Can you afford to live in this location? What is the cost of living and will this be worth it with the proposed pay rate?
  • Activities you will be doing outside of work. Will you be able to do your usual activities in your spare time?
  • Licensing. How does this affect your licensing requirements? Will there be any changes to your licensing? What are the associated fees, and will your travel nurse agency cover these?

Although you may not get your top preferred location, think of it as a way to experience something new. The best part is, it won’t be for long. As a travel nurse, you have the option to complete your contract and move on to the next location in your travel nursing journey. Who knows what you may find? The opportunities are endless here!

The key to travel nursing is exploring your options. You are in the driver’s seat and you decide where your travel nursing career will take you. Take control of your career faster when you travel with us. Get submitted quickly to top travel nurse jobs and be first in line for an interview.

How Long Are Travel Nursing Assignments?

The standard travel nurse assignment is 13 weeks. However, contracts can range from as little as 2 to 26 weeks depending on the travel nursing agency and facilities.

Many travel nurses choose to extend their contracts beyond the initial 13 weeks. An extension is something to consider if you are comfortable in the role and enjoy working in that location.

Some travel nurses may decide to cancel their contract. First steps should be to read your contract and communicate with your travel nursing agency for the next steps.

{{cta-light-with-image-tall}}

Extending a Travel Nurse Contract

Here are things to consider when deciding whether or not to extend.

Your housing situation

When considering extending your contract, consider your housing situation. Do you need to move out of your current home? If so, you may want to consider whether it is easier to just move on to a new location and new assignment. If you don’t have to deal with relocating, it is a huge plus! You already know the area, the facility, and the people you work with. If you enjoy the position and the work, consider extending your contract. You won’t have any travel arrangements to deal with and you won’t need to research any new areas, saving you time.

The negotiation process and job market

Treat a contract extension as a new negotiation. You may or may not be able to negotiate a higher pay rate depending on the original contract terms and your travel nursing agency. If you are not able to negotiate higher pay during a contract extension you may be able to negotiate other terms such as a better schedule, better shifts, or time off. Contact your agency and ask your recruiter about the current job market and compare. Your recruiter should know about open positions, the pay rate and the demand. Another aspect you may want to consider negotiating is the start date of your extension. Just because you are extending your contract does not mean you need to start right away. You can negotiate a start date after taking a break if you choose.

Be proactive

If you are thinking of extending your contract, speak to your recruiter and travel nursing agency well in advance. Ideally, this would be a month or longer before the original contract is set to end. This allows the travel nursing agency to discuss with the facility ahead of time to assess their needs. It also allows you to consider the extension and if it is something you want.

How Long Can a Travel Nurse Stay in One Place?

The short answer - is less than 12 months. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has rules around this. As a travel nurse, you are offered tax-free housing and travel reimbursem*nts to have a place to live during your temporary work assignment. The IRS does not consider a work assignment that lasts 12 months as “temporary.” Another part of this rule is that it does not matter if the months occur in sequence. You might be able to work at that location for longer than 12 months, but you would not receive the tax-free stipend and you may lose your “tax home”.

How Long Can a Travel Nurse Stay at The Same Facility?

This will be up to the travel nursing agency and the facility. Some facilities may not want you to extend your contract for several reasons, which may include the higher pay rate for travel nurses. Travel nurses are typically more expensive for a facility than staff nurses. Some assignments can last longer than 6 months if your facility is willing to allow for this extension. Either way, keep in mind the one-year IRS rule when deciding whether you would like to stay for a longer period.

Choosing the right assignment and location as a travel nurse can impact your travel nurse career in a big way. Part of this is also choosing the right travel nursing agency for your travel nursing career.

Health Carousel Travel Nursing delivers the travel nursing experience that you’ve wanted all along—the ability to care for patients and the freedom to do it wherever you want. We help you create a meaningful set of experiences that grow with you and your preferred career path, at your own pace.

How can you achieve the freedom to live and work the way you want to with Health Carousel Travel Nursing?

  • Get submitted to the top local and national jobs faster when you travel with us.
  • We give you the option to engage with a recruiter when you’re ready. In addition, our On Demand app offers an always-on, user-friendly, self-directed way to search for assignments and manage all your important documents.
  • Candidates are engaged and informed throughout the entire hiring process. We are transparent about all aspects of your application and credentialing progress.
  • Upon assignment, our clinical team continues to be available 24/7 to provide coaching or resolve any clinical issues that may arise.
  • We check in with our travelers on a regular schedule and use your input and suggestions to continuously improve our service.
  • We have a very high rebooking rate of over 75%, which is one of the highest retention rates in the industry.

We put our nurses first. We are out to make it as easy and enjoyable as possible to work with us. As your career evolves, your needs may change. There’s no need to feel trapped or compromise on your priorities. You can engage on your terms and timeline, and we’ll follow suit.

GET STARTED IN

How Long Can a Travel Nurse Stay in One Place? | Health Carousel Travel Nursing (1)

Land your dream job faster when you travel with us. Get started with top local and national travel nurse jobs in On Demand.

Get Started Now

How Long Can a Travel Nurse Stay in One Place? | Health Carousel Travel Nursing (2)

How Long Can a Travel Nurse Stay in One Place? | Health Carousel Travel Nursing (3)How Long Can a Travel Nurse Stay in One Place? | Health Carousel Travel Nursing (4)How Long Can a Travel Nurse Stay in One Place? | Health Carousel Travel Nursing (5)How Long Can a Travel Nurse Stay in One Place? | Health Carousel Travel Nursing (6)

GET STARTED IN

How Long Can a Travel Nurse Stay in One Place? | Health Carousel Travel Nursing (7)

Land your dream job faster when you travel with us. Get started with top local and national travel nurse jobs in On Demand.

Get Started Now

How Long Can a Travel Nurse Stay in One Place? | Health Carousel Travel Nursing (8)

How Long Can a Travel Nurse Stay in One Place? | Health Carousel Travel Nursing (9)How Long Can a Travel Nurse Stay in One Place? | Health Carousel Travel Nursing (10)How Long Can a Travel Nurse Stay in One Place? | Health Carousel Travel Nursing (11)

GET STARTED IN

How Long Can a Travel Nurse Stay in One Place? | Health Carousel Travel Nursing (12)

Land your dream job faster when you travel with us. Get started with top local and national travel nurse jobs in On Demand.

Get Started Now

GET STARTED IN

How Long Can a Travel Nurse Stay in One Place? | Health Carousel Travel Nursing (13)

Land your dream job faster when you travel with us. Get started with top local and national travel nurse jobs in On Demand.

Get Started Now

How Long Can a Travel Nurse Stay in One Place? | Health Carousel Travel Nursing (14)

How Long Can a Travel Nurse Stay in One Place? | Health Carousel Travel Nursing (15)How Long Can a Travel Nurse Stay in One Place? | Health Carousel Travel Nursing (16)How Long Can a Travel Nurse Stay in One Place? | Health Carousel Travel Nursing (17)

How Long Can a Travel Nurse Stay in One Place? | Health Carousel Travel Nursing (2024)

FAQs

How Long Can a Travel Nurse Stay in One Place? | Health Carousel Travel Nursing? ›

In summary, while the typical travel nurse assignment is 13 weeks, you can stay in one location for up to one year without changing your tax home status, as long as the assignment is considered temporary at the outset.

How long can I stay in one location as a travel nurse? ›

How Long Can a Travel Nurse Stay in One Area? The generally accepted rule of thumb is never to work more than 12 months in any rolling 24-month period in the same area. Additionally, you want to make sure that no area away from your tax home becomes the leading source of your income over a period of multiple years.

How much time can you take off between travel nurse contracts? ›

Since a typical 13-week travel contract is about three months, you could technically work four travel nurse contracts in a year. However, most travel nurses opt to take time off between contracts, and there's no limit to how long a break you can take in between assignments.

Why are travel nurse contracts 13 weeks? ›

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year, so 13-week contracts adequately cover these periods of absence.

Can travel nurses be fired? ›

In a nutshell, it means that the contract can be canceled at any time for any reason with no recompenses on the Travel Nurse side. The unfortunate part of a contract cancellation is that the hospital will, many times, give a bogus reason for firing you: a missed med, an insignificant charting error, etc.

What are the IRS rules for travel nurses on length of stay? ›

In the United States, to maintain the “tax-home” status and to continue receiving travel stipends free of taxes, travel nurses must not stay in one location for more than a year in order to follow travel nurse stipend rules. If they do, the IRS may consider their new location as their primary tax home.

Can you stay in the same city as a travel nurse? ›

The answer is yes, it is possible. Local travel nursing is a great option if you love your work but aren't ready to move or can't take your family with you. One of the key reasons several nurses choose to keep their travel nursing jobs in their home city is that they can travel home on the weekends.

What is the highest paid travel nurse contract? ›

The best Travel Nurse jobs can pay up to $154,500 per year.

Travel nurses assist physicians, perform administrative work in hospitals, and take care of patients. As a travel nurse, you will perform the same duties as the permanent nurses, but only for a few months or years.

What is the longest travel nurse contract? ›

Two-week contracts are typically for strike or other short-term contracts, and contracts 26 weeks and up are offered if the facility has a long-standing need that they anticipate going unfilled. Due to the unpredictable nature of healthcare staffing, contracts longer than 26 weeks will typically not be offered upfront.

Can you back out of a travel nurse contract? ›

Canceling a travel nurse contract requires you to give notice asap. If you leave a travel contract position without notice, you will undoubtedly put the facility (that is most likely already short-staffed) into a tough position.

Can you be blacklisted from travel nursing? ›

If you aren't careful, you could earn a spot on the travel nurse blacklist. And if you're blacklisted from working at hospitals or other medical facilities, it could negatively affect your career as a successful travel nurse. And we don't want that.

Can a travel nurse sue a hospital? ›

Most traveling nurses are bound by some type of mandatory arbitration, as spelled out in their employment contracts. That means the nurses can't sue.

Why do travel nurses get cancelled? ›

Sometimes a healthcare facility will terminate a travel nurse's contract unexpectedly. This can occur for various reasons; census can drop leading to an unpredictably-low census, overstaffing, budget concerns, or if the hospital mistakenly hired you when your skill set doesn't match the unit you were hired for.

Can you live in the same town and be a travel nurse? ›

While the traditional notion of travel nursing involves working in different cities or states, it is possible to work as a local travel nurse in your own city. Much like working in your own state, you would still be employed by a travel nursing agency, but you'd take assignments within your local area.

How long do travel nurses stay away from home? ›

The typical travel nurse contract usually lasts 13 weeks, while some last up to 6 months. According to the IRS., if you're a travel nurse with a tax home, there's a one-year (12 months) limit to staying in one assignment.

Can nurses take long vacations? ›

One of the biggest perks of being a nurse is the time off you can get. Most healthcare facilities have strong vacation and paid time off (PTO) policies, with nurses getting seventeen paid vacation days on average after their first year and up to twenty-six on average after twenty years. And that's before PTO.

How often do you have to travel as a travel nurse? ›

Travel nursing is flexible by design

The standard travel nurse assignment lasts 13 weeks in a single location. If a travel nurse works assignments back-to-back, they can take on about four full-time assignments each year. That said, travel nurses might find some variability in assignments.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Sen. Ignacio Ratke

Last Updated:

Views: 5933

Rating: 4.6 / 5 (56 voted)

Reviews: 95% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Sen. Ignacio Ratke

Birthday: 1999-05-27

Address: Apt. 171 8116 Bailey Via, Roberthaven, GA 58289

Phone: +2585395768220

Job: Lead Liaison

Hobby: Lockpicking, LARPing, Lego building, Lapidary, Macrame, Book restoration, Bodybuilding

Introduction: My name is Sen. Ignacio Ratke, I am a adventurous, zealous, outstanding, agreeable, precious, excited, gifted person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.