When I decided that I wanted to become a travel nurse, I had zero ideas on where I should start. I simply Googled “Travel Nurse Agencies” and clicked on the first two links I found. Blindly, I gave my information to these two agencies and quickly received a phone call from Medical Solutions. Before I knew it I had interviewed for my first travel nurse job, accepted the job, quit my staff job, packed my apartment, and seven years later I was still travel nursing.
Throughout my years as a travel nurse, I have signed 15 contracts with multiple different agencies and have spent endless hours on the phone chatting with various recruiters, trying to iron out the nitty-gritty details of what their specific agency offers and how they differ from others. Figuring all of this out was hard, stressful, and time-consuming. So while I’m hesitant to put this all out there, after all… everyone has their own unique experiences; I’ve decided transparency is the best policy. And while every agency has its pros and cons, there are still some that outrank others. Here are your travel nurse agency reviews straight from travel nurses themselves.
Before reading any further, PLEASE keep in mind that every person will have a unique experience. You could have a truly fantastic recruiter in a terrible company, and love it because your recruiter has made your experience memorable. Or you could have a terrible recruiter in an awesome company, and your experience is ruined because the recruiter was a nightmare and a half to deal with.
Don’t miss…
SPOILER ALERT: FUSION MEDICAL STAFFING IS MY FAVORITE TRAVEL NURSE COMPANY AND JESS IS MY FAVORITE RECRUITER. YOU CAN CONNECT WITH JESS BY FILLING OUT THIS FORM!
The Best Travel Nursing Companies – According to Travel Nurses
Below you’ll find the companies that are considered to be the companies in the travel nurse world. These reviews are by myself personally, or other trusted travel nurses.
1. Fusion Medical Staffing
I signed multiple contracts with Fusion Medical Staffing and by far, they are my favorite travel nurse company to work with. I’ve always felt that Fusion is acting in my best interest at heart, organized, transparent, and have had my back at every turn. I’ve never felt taken advantage of and my recruiter is always easy to talk to, and easy to get in touch with if I have an issue. If you want to connect with my favorite recruiter at Fusion – Jess – fill out this form and she’ll contact you!
WHY I LIKE FUSION MEDICAL STAFFING
They prepare you well for your interview by sending along some questions to make sure to ask. Plus they send a questionnaire once the interview is done, which leads me to believe that they want to make sure that you’ve had a good experience with the interview process. Once you land a job they are organized and send over everything you need to get done in a timely fashion. Plus they offer competitive pay packages and they allow you to accrue PTO.
WHAT I DON’T LIKE ABOUT FUSION MEDICAL STAFFING
They have a clause in their contract about you getting canceled from the hospital. They state that if the hospital cancels you, they will withhold your stipend. This is the type of clause you want to fight, and it’s something that is even on my “non-negotiable list” which you can read here.
WORK WITH FUSION MEDICAL STAFFING
Want more information on working with Fusion?
- A Travel Nurse’s Review of Fusion Medical Staffing (What I Like & Dislike)
- Your Guide to Travel Nurse Pay + The Importance of Transparency in Travel Nursing
2. Host Healthcare
Just like Fusion Medical, another company that I love is Host Healthcare. As cliche as it sounds… Host feels like a big, warm hug at the end of a tough day. They have your back, are reliable, and easy to work with. There isn’t much else to it! You can fill out this form to be paired with a Host recruiter!
WHY I LIKE HOST HEALTHCARE
Host really has your back in all scenarios. When COVID was alive and rampant, Host had an incredible PAID sick leave policy that was difficult to find anywhere else. (They still have a COVID policy regardless of your vaccination status). This alone tells me that they truly care about their travelers and their well-being.
WHAT I DON’T LIKE ABOUT HOST HEALTHCARE
While I haven’t personally experienced this, I’ve heard from other travel nurses that it can at times, be difficult to get ahold of the recruiters at Host. And this isn’t once you have a recruiter, but this is before you’re matched with a recruiter; it can take some time for someone to initially reach out.
WORK WITH HOST HEALTHCARE
Want more information on working with Host?
If you need more guidance on becoming a travel nurse, make sure to check out The Ultimate Travel Nurse Bundle where you’ll get 60+ pages of travel nurse information including – how to make sense of your contract, how to negotiate pay, & more – delivered straight to your inbox!
3. LRS Healthcare
I’ve liked LRS for years, but recently, when someone close to me started working for them – I started to like them more and more! Not only does LRS believe in everything you’d want a company that you’re working for to believe in – it’s a team effort, they believe in following through with their word, they hold themselves accountable, etc.
WHAT I DON’T LIKE ABOUT LRS HEALTHCARE
The only thing I’ve found to be “wrong” with LRS is that if you are terminated your insurance ends on day of termination. The positive is that if you aren’t terminated, you can keep insurance for up to 30 days as long as you’ve previously signed another contract and it starts within 30 days.
If this is something that you’re worried about, you could opt for private health insurance like I do. Read this post for more guidance.
4. Aya Healthcare
Review from trusted travel nurse – Leah Gnitka
“I started working with Aya Healthcare right away 3 years ago. I sent in my application to them and started talking to recruiters before I even graduated college. They told me they would be happy to accept my profile, but that they’d give me a call back in a year. So 9 months later, a recruiter from Aya Healthcare reached back out to me and helped me through the process of getting started on my first travel nurse assignment. Because they contacted me so early, I got the process rolling pretty quickly and started traveling right when I reached my 1-year. I have now been with Aya Healthcare for the 2 years of my travel career.
The reason why I stick with this company is because of how personal they are. From my recruiter down to my payroll representative, everyone I have worked with is so easy to get along with and has your back. They truly care about their nurses and want to get to know you as a person, not just get you to sign a contract with them.”
5. TaleMed
Review from trusted travel nurse – Jessica Eisenmann
6. Emerald Health Services
Review from Sarah Gaines at The 6 Figure Travel Nurse | Find Sarah on Instagram @sarah_gaines
“I’ve been a nurse for 7 years and a labor and delivery travel nurse for 4 years. I’ve officially been a travel nurse longer than I was a staff nurse! I heard about Emerald Health Services a few years ago when I attended one of their events in Los Angeles, California. I’ve been working with them ever since because they’ve always treated me like family and they’ve proven to be a company I can rely on. Not to mention, their top-notch benefits and high compensation makes it pretty easy to choose them over others.”
Worst Travel Nurse Companies – According to Travel Nurses
Below you’ll find what I would consider to be the “worst” travel nurse companies in the industry. Again, this is my personal experience and this does not mean that you will have the same experience.
1. American Mobile
I signed two contracts with American Mobile and now avoid them at all costs. From the beginning working with the company was a nightmare. Nothing was organized or timely. I didn’t receive my travel stipend on time because I didn’t take a picture of my odometer between leaving Nebraska and arriving in California. Something they failed to mention I would need to do. I was then shorted on almost every paycheck, and when I would call my recruiter to let her know… she wouldn’t answer. Can you see why I avoid them at all costs? (For more details on why I dislike American Mobile read: The Worst Experience I’ve Had With a Travel Nurse Recruiter).
WHY I LIKE AMERICAN MOBILE
They have essentially monopolized all hospitals in California. If you’re wanting to get to a certain hospital in California, especially Northern California, your best bet is to have a profile with American Mobile. However, there are ways around this. If American Mobile isn’t able to fill those hospitals’ needs in a certain time frame, other companies are then allowed to start submitting travelers. You can try to do it this way, but if you’re desperate to land a job in Northern California, submitting with American Mobile is unfortunately your best bet.
However, I would first have an open and honest conversation with the recruiter you’re already working with. I would say something like “Hi X. I want to go to X hospital (be specific which hospital) and was wondering if your company staffs there? If you do staff there does American Mobile get priority? What percentage of travelers do you end up getting placed in that hospital?” I had this conversation with my recruiter at Fusion and she honestly told me that they are hardly ever able to staff travelers in the particular hospital I was asking about because American Mobile usually fills the positions.
WHY I DON’T LIKE WORKING WITH AMERICAN MOBILE
There are tons of reasons I don’t like American Mobile. The main reasons are that I wasn’t paid on time, most of my paychecks were incorrect, the company makes it hard to claim your travel stipend, you don’t get your travel stipends on week one of your contract, the company generally doesn’t have your back, the recruiters are pushy, and the list goes on.
Don’t miss…
2. Medical Solutions
I hesitate to say that Medical Solutions is the “worst” company as I simply believe I didn’t have a great recruiter. However, I did sign four different contracts with Medical Solutions, and while they were easy to work with; my pay was shockingly lower than every travel nurse on the same unit as me every time I signed a contract with Medical Solutions. In my opinion, this is why Medical Solutions would go on my list as one of the worst travel nurse companies.
WHY I LIKE MEDICAL SOLUTIONS
Working with Medical Solutions is just plain EASY. Plus after so many hours worked, you get a $400 bonus that is deposited directly to your bank account! The company staffs many different hospitals and even has “first rights” to hospitals in the Phoenix area.
WHAT I DON’T LIKE ABOUT MEDICAL SOLUTIONS
I personally found Medical Solutions to be low-paying. This could be that I was a new travel nurse and didn’t know how to negotiate, but it felt like I had been taken advantage of and which is why I ultimately stopped working with them.
Every assignment I showed up to, I was always the lowest paid traveler on the floor. Plus I felt as though I had to fight for every penny. One contract I forgot to mention my travel stipend (which you shouldn’t even have to mention, it should just be in the contract), but because I hadn’t mentioned it… it wasn’t in my contract. When I mentioned this to my recruiter she said, “Well that wasn’t something that we agreed on.” And while I did end up receiving it, it’s not something that I should have had to argue about. (If this has happened to you and your recruiter didn’t make it right, ditch him/her ASAP. Most companies – including Fusion Medical – don’t require this to be a part of your contract; it’s just included!)
Top 3 Travel Nurse Companies in 2024
According to BluePipes, the top travel nurse companies were chosen after sifting through 195,000 reviews from five different review sources (Travel Nursing Central, Facebook, Indeed, Glassdoor, and Google). They then ran each score through a scoring system to determine the top travel nurse companies of 2024. These include…
- Seven Healthcare – headquartered in Miami, Florida
- Anders Group – headquartered in Dallas, Texas
- Medical Talent – headquartered in Plano, Texas
MY FAVORITE TRAVEL NURSE COMPANY IS FUSION MEDICAL STAFFING, AND MY FAVORITE RECRUITER IS JESS! FILL OUT THIS FORM TO BE CONNECTED.
Who are the Biggest Travel Nurse Companies?
Bigger does not always mean better – in fact, it can be quite the opposite. The bigger the travel nurse company, the more overhead costs they have, meaning your paycheck is more than likely going to be lower than if you were to work with a smaller travel nurse company. Also, when you work with a big company, you’re more likely to get lost in the shuffle of the other thousands of nurses who are working for that same, big company. By far, the largest travel nurse companies in the US are…
- Aya – headquartered in San Diego, California
- American Mobile – headquartered in San Diego, California
Who are the Highest Paying Travel Nurse Agencies?
While this question is commonly asked, I don’t like this question for a number of reasons. First of all, while pay is a huge perk to travel nursing, I try to encourage anyone considering travel nursing to do it for more reasons than pay itself. This is because travel nursing can be challenging and if you’re only doing it for the pay, you’re going to burn out – fast. Also, pay fluctuates based on things out of our control including time of year, patient influx, pandemics, etc.
Another reason that I don’t like this question is because by asking it, this means you don’t really understand your paycheck and how travel nurse pay works. For instance, while the travel nurse company does impact your pay – so does the recruiter that you’re working with. Each recruiter can take a percentage of your paycheck and two recruiters from the same company could choose to take a different percentage making each travel nurse’s paycheck differ (even if they are working on the same floor at the same time).
To better understand your paycheck and choosing a recruiter, don’t miss…
- Your Guide to Travel Nurse Pay
- Why Picking a Travel Nurse Recruiter is More Important than Picking a Company
Travel Nurse Essentials
FOR HOUSING
- VRBO
- Extended Stay America
- Hello Landing – Use code “PassportsandPreemies” for $250 off your first standard Landing stay
FOR RECRUITERS
- Fill out this form to be matched with my go-to travel nurse recruiter
FOR TRAVELING TO/DURING YOUR ASSIGNMENT
- To book a flight, I recommend this booking platform or Skyscanner to compare options
- If you need to rent a car, I recommend Discover Cars
FOR WORK
TO EXPLORE YOUR NEW “HOME”
- For tours I recommend Get Your Guide, Viator, Take Walks, & Devour Tours (available in select cities)
Because travel nurse contracts are typically 13+ weeks, it would be impossible to work with every single agency out there! And quite frankly, when you find a recruiter and an agency that you like… you hold on tight. I hope that this post helps guide you in choosing the best travel nurse agency for you (while also avoiding the worst ones out there). If you have any questions about travel nursing or choosing a company, let me know in a comment below!
Need more guidance? Check out the posts below…
- Not All Travel Nurse Companies are Created Equal – What to Know Before Signing Your First Contract
- Knowing When to Walk Away from Your Dream Travel Nurse Assignment
- How to Pick the Right Travel Nurse Recruiter For You
- The Absolute Best Travel Nurse Recruiter (in the World)
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Founded by Kylee, a NICU nurse with nine years of experience, including seven years as a travel nurse; Passports and Preemies was created in 2017 and is now the go-to travel and lifestyle channel for nurses who crave adventure beyond the bedside. Whether you’re a staff nurse looking for your next getaway or a travel nurse navigating life on the road, this space is designed to help you maximize your time off, explore the world, and prevent nurse burnout.
On Passports and Preemies, you’ll find everything from travel nursing insights – how to get started, land the best assignments, and thrive on the road – to expert travel tips, destination guides, and real-talk about balancing nursing with a life well-traveled. Passports and Preemies also includes Beyond the Bedside – group trips for nurses around the world; as well as the podcast, Passports and Preemies Talks.
I love your pin!!’ I’m looking into Travel Nursing and have contacted Aya. Sounds like I did good! I’m excited but also anxious. I’ve been an RN for 32 years and just want to save more for retirement. I have a quick question- the places that you have worked – do they orient you welll enough in your opinion!
Thanks!
Author
Hi Michelle, thank you for the comment! I’m so excited for you 🙂 I would say that some places have done better at orientation than others. It really just depends and I try hard to make sure to ask so many questions during orientation while I have the resource!