Originally I was going to wait until after my February vacation (and thus, the end of my current contract) to secure my third travel nurse assignment, in hopes of finding some good crisis rates.
But, I get antsy, and I’m a planner, so I’ve already signed contract #3 about a month and a half in advance!
For my second contract, I was very picky about location — it was basically Austin or bust. Which sucks, frankly, because Austin is such a popular town and travel nurses come here for a destination assignment, not a money assignment. I didn’t want to come here to be in AUSTIN. Truth be told, I spent a lot of my time in my early 20s in Austin, so the city isn’t new to me. I wanted to come to Austin because it was an easy hop down 35 back home to San Antonio. I got to come home for Thanksgiving AND Christmas, in addition to other times I had blocks off in my schedule just to come home and go back to living with Aaron. I had to take a pay cut for this assignment, which suuuuucked, but it was worth it for all the time I’ve been able to spend at home — while still on assignment! And, while it’s not much money by travel nursing standards, I’m still making more than I made at my staff job. It’s all about perspective!
I was looking into going up to the Pacific Northwest — Washington, Oregon, or even Alaska. I really enjoy working my recruiter that I’ve had, so I’ve been reluctant to branch out to different companies. Alexis (my recruiter) had jobs for me in Washington, Alaska, and only a couple in Oregon, but they weren’t the best paying rates around. These are more destination assignments than money assignments anyway, and after this Austin contract, I really needed a money contract!
So I asked Alexis to send me a list of the top-paying positions out there, and I’m happy to say, that I’ll be heading to Baltimore, Maryland to work at one of the most prestigious hospitals in the world — Johns Hopkins Hospital! Baltimore wasn’t high on my list of places to go, but I’m excited to work at JHH. Also, Maryland is a compact state, so I don’t need to apply for another nursing license, as I would have to do for WA/OR/AK!
I’ve already got the contract signed, now all there is to do is finish up my contract here in Austin (11 shifts left, but who’s counting?) and start planning the San Antonio to Baltimore road trip. So excited for this opportunity!
Maddie on the Map 