The travel nursing industry has experienced significant fluctuations over the past few years, including a surge in demand throughout the pandemic. While demand has stabilized post-pandemic, travel nursing continues to play a vital role in addressing ongoing clinician shortages and providing flexible staffing solutions for healthcare systems to meet seasonal or sudden surges. (It’s predicted that 1 million new registered nurses will be needed by 2030 to meet demand.)

Addressing the Clinician Experience in Travel Nursing

While travel nurses have the potential to help bolster the healthcare system as a whole, something threatens this potential which is a symptom of a larger issue across the industry: burnout. 

Clinicians are already highly susceptible to burnout dealing with long hours and stressful situations. But travel nurses are particularly susceptible as they have to adapt to a number of varying factors—needing to constantly adjust to new facilities and cities, housing uncertainty, and last minute assignment cancellations—that may contribute to travel nurses leaving the field. A survey from SIA found that many travel nurses are experiencing burnout; and a separate SIA article concludes that the travel nursing segment in general may fail to see annual growth in 2025.

If we want to ensure hospitals and healthcare systems have enough nurses to meet demand, healthcare staffing firms must focus on setting their travel nurses up for success. 

While offering competitive rates is always ideal, it’s time to think of other ways you can support travel nurses in all that they do, too. Here are five solid strategies that can help set your firm up for success and boost your bottom line. 

Setting Travel Nurses Up For Success

Improving the experience for travel nurses goes beyond offering competitive rates. There are plenty of things you can do to improve their experience, boost morale, and make them feel part of a team, which can translate to a better experience.  Here are five solid strategies that can help set your firm up for success and ultimately boost your bottom line—with minimal investment. 

1. Help with travel and housing arrangements

Perhaps the most jarring part of a career in travel nursing is having to constantly relocate to new areas far away from home. Make sure the details of their travel and lodging are arranged so they have peace of mind that these logistics are well-handled. Healthcare staffing firms that help with booking travel and securing comfortable, safe, and convenient housing options will position themselves as desirable places to work.

2. Create a smooth, welcoming onboarding experience

Having to constantly adjust to new facilities is no small feat. Travel nurses should receive adequate on-site support and onboarding materials. Upon arrival, offer a “welcome package” that includes important facility information, contact lists, meal vouchers, and local maps. You can also include a guide to the surrounding area to help them settle in. 

Offer facility introductions that cover the facilities policies, procedures, and team dynamics. Include information on shift schedules, emergency protocols, and key contacts. You might also create an easy-to-follow checklist that helps nurses track all necessary tasks on their first day (i.e, checking in with HR, obtaining badges, getting a tour of the unit, etc.)

3. Provide pathways for mentorship and camaraderie 

Facilitate introductions to other team members such as charge nurses, fellow staff members, and department heads to help travel nurses feel more integrated into the workplace culture. You might even connect each nurse with a mentor or preceptor who can guide them through the first few days and weeks, offering advice, encouragement, and practical help.

4. Encourage open communication

Schedule regular check-ins throughout the assignment to ensure travel nurses are adjusting well and can address any issues early on.  This can be done via phone, email, or virtual meetings.

You’ll also want to ensure you have a system where nurses can provide feedback about their experience and working conditions—whether positive or negative. This not only helps address issues early but can also provide valuable insights to improve future assignments and help all travel nurses thrive. 

5. Be prepared to pay nurses on day 1

When you experience a sudden surge in demand for nurses—whether it’s a global pandemic, a natural disaster, or just a seasonal spike in illnesses—ensuring travel nurses are paid promptly is crucial to ensuring you can shore up enough talent. Just as important as recruiting nurses is ensuring they are loyal to your healthcare staffing firm or platform—and that all begins with trust. 

Having to wait one or two weeks to receive a paycheck just doesn’t cut it anymore in the high-demand healthcare industry, and particularly for travel nurses who have just landed in a new city by themselves. Establishing that nurses will start receiving access to their earnings on the first day of their new assignment not only gives them financial peace of mind, but boosts their trust in you. This is especially pertinent for travel nurses who often have to invest in travel expenses upfront to take on an assignment. 

As Bridget Hoefling from Tri-State Nursing said during our recent webinar on Redefining the Worker Experience in Healthcare, faster payments “make the clinicians a lot more at ease. When they’re at work, they can concentrate on what they need to concentrate on, which is the patient experience. It also seems to build more loyalty with us because it proves that we mean what we say: if we say we’re going to pay you quickly, we’re going to pay you quickly.”

Helping Travel Nurses Thrive

By leveraging the strategies above, healthcare staffing firms and platforms can be better equipped to offer a rewarding experience for travel nurses. One that pays off in improved morale, reduced burnout, and a better experience for the healthcare systems and facilities they support. 

Branch offers an array of fast, flexible payment options for healthcare workers of all segments, including same-day payouts for 1099 or W-2 workers, seamless off-cycle payments such as per diems, stipends, earned wage access, and more. Learn more here.

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