Traveling Nurse Practitioner Statistics 2022-2021
Traveling nurse practitioners are registered nurses who travel around the US or the world to fill in gaps in healthcare facilities with a shortage of nurses. They typically work for agencies and are in great demand during the pandemic.
- There are more than 1,696,386 traveling nurse practitioners currently working in the US.
- Traveling nurse practitioners earn on average $61 an hour.
- The average assignment for a traveling nurse is 13 weeks.
- California is the highest paying state for traveling nurses.
- Between 2012 and 2022, the job outlook is for traveling nurses is expected to rise by 19 percent.
- Up to 85 percent of nurse practitioners are open to a new job.
- Traveling nurses don’t need any additional certifications.
- A Covid-19 nurse can make $8,000 a week.
Traveling Nurse Practitioner Facts 2022-2023
Are there traveling nurse practitioners?
1. Even though there are about 1,696,386 traveling nurse practitioners employed in the US. it isn’t enough to fill the staffing shortages at hospitals and clinics. While over a million and a half traveling nurses seems like a lot, the nursing shortage exploded during the pandemic. Burnout nurses left the field for good.
How much does a traveling nurse practitioner make per hour?
2. A traveling nurse practioner will earn, on average, $51 per hour. The average RN employed by a hospital earns a little under $39 an hour on average. Nurses with specialties, such as ER or operating room nurses, tend to earn significantly more. Some traveling nurses also get additional money to cover their housing or meals. Some agencies will arrange housing instead of paying a stipend. Pay rates rarely include benefits like health insurance, but some agencies offer benefits after a nurse has been with them for a specified period of time. Many agencies offer sign-on bonuses, though. There are also opportunities for nurses to earn overtime.
How much does a traveling nurse practitioner make a year?
A traveling nurse practitioner makes about $106,000 per year.
Traveling Nurse Facts
3. The average traveling nursing is offered a 13 week assignment, but contacts from at as little as eight weeks up to 36 weeks are common in the field. If the nurse and hospital are in agreement, contacts can extent further than the original length. Many nurses enter the field because they want to travel. so they may extend their contracts in locations they find they love, like sunny Southern California. Sometimes, the job is really stressful, but it is easier for a nurse to put up with any stress when he or she knows the assignment is temporary. There is a big difference in knowing that this is a two-month assignment or a lifetime assignment.
4. Traveling nurse practitioners make the highest salary working in California. San Diego and San Francisco are currently experiencing acute nursing shortages, so they healthcare providers are willing to pay top dollar to fill positions. After California, the highest paying states include Hawaii, the District of Columbia and Massachusetts. California and Hawaii are excellent choices for nurses who want to get away from the cold winters in their home state.
5. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects the employment outlook is expected to rise by 19 percent. This is above average for all occupations. Everyone wants a job where they will be in demand as this means higher salaries and a better choice of assignments. Nurses will always be in demand, as it is one of the few jobs that can’t be replaced by a robot or an AI assistant. Even post pandemic, there will always be a place for traveling nurses.
6. Up to 85 percent of nurses would be open to a new job if they were presented with a highly attractive opportunity. Many nurses work long hours and are exhausted when they come home. Their only opportunity to learn about other opportunities comes from colleagues who are leaving to go to another hospital in the same town. They are not aware of the opportunities available for traveling nurses. Once they learn more about them, many nurses are quite interested. This could stop American nurses from quitting nursing in droves if they knew there were options. Covid-19 and its variants just made the situation worse; it was already bad.
More travel nurse statistics!
7. Traveling nurse practitioners don’t need any additional certifications, although they can help the nurse earn more. In the US, additional certifications can help nurses earn more, especially certifications in emergency room nursing or ICU nursing. Many of the nurses choosing to work in the Covid-19 environment are nurses who worked in an elective surgery environment, which slowed down significantly. Nurses who want to work abroad may need additional assistance, such as a passport or a work visa, which the nurse’s agency may help with for their clients. Nurses may need additional immunizations and language skills, which can be minimal in most cases. Naturally, existing hospital nurses need an incentive to remain on staff, perhaps additional training at no cost, if hospitals want to retain them and cut down on their temporary staffing costs.
8. Nurse practitioners who work with Covid-19 patients can earn up to $8,000 per week. To overworked nurses with a lack of protective gear, this is a godsend. Nurses don’t mind hard work, but they expect to be compensated for their efforts. Most agency contracts also require nurses to have adequate protective gear. Some Covid-18 nurses are being offered positions in the Bahamas and Aruba with all their expenses paid. Who wouldn’t want to accept these high-paying positions? Making a huge salary makes it easier to deal with high stress positions, especially if the nurse knows it is a temporary assignment.
