I am enjoying some downtime back in Louisiana with my family but am off again next week on a 3 month road trip adventure across Australia.
I had an e-mail from a fellow nurse, Megahn asking some great questions about travel nursing. I figured they would be very helpful for some of you who are interesting in practicing in England at some point. She has agreed to let me share her questions with you. I hope they are useful!
1. What kind of housing were you provided? How many people do you live with? How far away from work do you live? Any and all housing details would be appreciated!
I lived in a 3 bedroom house for a year and a half. For the first year I had 3 roommates bc one room housed a couple. My housing was fine. Some better than others. Other nurse friends with this company have had up to 4 roomates in a 5 bedroom house. Keep in mind that couples are common so you could be placed with them. I lived across the river from canary wharf, great location, took 30 min to get to work, I lived right off the jubilee line. However, there is some housing out in dulwich and Wimbledon they try to place people if u aren't aware, and that takes an hour to get to work, it's not directly on a tube line. It's luck whether you get good roomates, I had a crazy one the last 3 months I was there but was lucky and had great ones before.
2. How long can you see yourself staying in London? Do you have any desire to go to the other destinations that CTN offers?
CTN only has jobs in England, they have not had contracts with Scotland, northern Ireland, or wales since I started nearly 2 years ago. It's falsely Advertised on their site. London has the most jobs but they also have contracts in smaller places like Bristol, Brighton, Oxford. Keep in mind housing is different in all these places and can be more or less. In Oxford it's college dorm style housing....my friends there hated it.
I've lived in London just short of two years. I love it. I do not see myself there forever though. It's amazing to travel and I love the people. I just received an offer to work for an American travel nurse agency with fantastic benefits and pay. So I may be back in the states working in April this coming year! I will keep my UK nurse registration active though because there's an excellent chance I'll miss England and want to return. Amazing thing is, once you've travel nursed abroad, you aren't scared to try anything or move anywhere.
3. Do you find that you have enough time to enjoy the city or do you feel like you're working all the time? Do you think you get enough time off for traveling and going back to visit family?
I absolutely get enough time to see the city and take 3-4 day weekend trips around Europe. The workload can vary. As long as you meet the 487 hours per 13 week contract they do not care how you get it. Some days I worked three 12 hour shifts and some weeks I worked five 12 hour shifts. One fortnight I had 106 hours. That was rough. As travel nurses we aren't protected there so you just have to stand up for yourself. I also alternated days and nights which if you work the floor, is common. Sometimes I'd come off a night shift and have a day shift the very next day.
To me, the hard weeks were worth it and they were usually when I had a trip planned. My floor and manager were extremely flexible in giving me the days I wanted off. Not all my friends were so lucky. To escape long shifts and nights, some of my friends worked clinic jobs, usually Monday to Tuesday or Friday, 8-10 hour days.
As far as visiting family, I see mine approximately twice a year. The Australians and kiwis go home maybe once a year or every other year depending on their funds. I've either gone between contracts or once for the birth of my niece organized 7 days off in the middle of the contract.
4. How do you like working with Continental Travelnurse? Did they make the paperwork and red tape easy to navigate or more complicated? They obviously got you placed in a pediatric unit, which I’m assuming is what you asked for. Was getting that position a problem at all?
Working for Continental Travelnurse has been a good experience for me. Not all my friends would agree. Like any travel company you must keep all your contracts, paperwork, and time sheets. And get very clear criteria on hours and housing and all the extra charges. They have tried to charge me unjustly but I always have my papers to show them so it works out.
The first recruiter I had was a star and very much cared about me. She has left to take a job in the states. The one I have now has 50 nurses so she isn't around as much. Keep in mind I worked on the same floor for 5 contracts in a row. I've been asking for a peds clinic job since my second contract and they always tell me there's none but other friends a week later are placed in peds clinics. Sometimes it's easier for the company to keep you at the same job so they don't have to take the effort to locate you a new placement. I personally have asked my manager if they wanted me back so I've taken care of my contracts myself. Continental just handled the paperwork. A few nurse friends have had this experience too.
On the other hand, I've had friends placed in jobs they didn't really want or have had to hassle their recruiter constantly for a job. Other times, you get lucky and get a recruiter that's more organized and will find you placement. There are lots of peds jobs so you won't have trouble there. I just know some places are worse to work than others. Nursing there can be real sweet, like in my case, or horrible with insane patient loads. It's best to talk with fellow nurses and get opinions on the different floors and places to work.
The company was best for getting me over to England. But organization on my part has been a key factor in keeping it smooth.
5. What can I expect to get paid?
Please keep in mind this is pay for specifically London, other cities around England pay less and the housing is more.
As a non specialty you get paid £14/hour. Working nights you get £16/hour. Sundays are £ 18/hour. There is no overtime pay and no bonuses. It's flat out these rates. At the beginning of each 13 week assignment you get £175 for travel expenses. Holiday pay is approximately 0.75/hour completed at the end of your contract.
If you work specialty like ICU or the OR the rate is £16/hour.
The housing in London costs £75/week (£300/month) and they take this out of your check per fortnight. You also have to take into account that with each paycheck, approximately 20-25% of taxes will come out.
If you are short on hours for your contract they will charge you £4 per hour your short. You can either make up these hours or pay. So if you're sick, you must pay or make them up. Also, if you live in their housing and are short hours they will charge you. You are only allowed 1 week of free housing at the end of each contract if your hours are met. If you take over than that, they can charge up to £200/week. This has happened to me and 2 of my friends. To not get charged, if you want to take more than 1 week off at the end of an assignment to travel, you must move out of the house.
The agency won't tell you any of these things but these are all correct rates and consequences of not meeting hours. As long as you meet your hours, get everything in writing, and move out of the house for long trips, you will have a smooth and uncomplicated experience.
