If you’re a travel nurse, chances are you’ve been asked to float a time or two during your career. If not, it’s likely to happen sooner rather than later.
If the idea of floating during a travel nurse assignment intimidates you, consider how it can benefit your career.
Here, we’ll offer five tips for facing floating during travel nurse assignments and answer some common questions about floating so you’re fully equipped when asked to do so.
Table of Contents
- Do Travel Nurses Get Floated?
- 5 Tips for Floating as a Travel Nurse
- FAQs About Floating During a Travel Assignment
- Trusted Nurse Staffing: Helping Nurses Successfully Navigate Floating During Travel Assignments
Do Travel Nurses Get Floated?
Yes, travel nurses can be floated during a travel assignment. When you’re temporarily assigned to a different unit — or a different facility — during your assignment, this is known as “floating.”
Nurses are often floated to different units when staffing shortages occur. This allows facilities to cover gaps in patient care across all units, especially during times of high patient intakes or unexpected staff absences.
Although travel nurses are used in the same capacity, floating nurses a facility already has is a cost-effective way to manage staffing needs.
Who Can Float and How Does It Work?
Nearly any travel nurse can be asked to float; however, you should never be asked to float to an area outside your scope of practice.
For example, if you’re an Oncology nurse, you should not be asked to float to the PACU.
Some specialties are asked to float more than others — typically ICU, MedSurg, and CVOR circulators. In other cases, some nurses have experience in more than one specialty and have the flexibility to float to more units.
How often you float will depend on your facility — some assignments might never float travel nurses while others float travel nurses nearly every other shift.
You can ask your facility’s hiring manager during your interview process what floating as a travel nurse typically looks like for your contracted position or assignment.
What Are the Benefits of Floating During a Travel Assignment?
Floating may not be for everyone, but it does help cover staffing shortages and comes with a handful of benefits:
- Flexibility: Float nurses can work in various departments, depending on where they’re needed the most.
- Diverse experience: Floating allows travel nurses to gain experience in different specialties and work with new people, helping to expand their skill set and network.
- Learn your facility: Floating in a travel nurse assignment is a quick way to learn about your facility, the different units, and the various people.
Sound interesting? Consider taking advantage of the opportunity to work as a travel nurse and float on various assignments with Trusted Nurse Staffing.
5 Tips for Floating as a Travel Nurse
If you’re new to travel nursing, it can be difficult to know what to expect with floating assignments. Use these five tips to better prepare yourself for a positive experience floating as a travel nurse.
#1: Ask Questions About Floating During Your Interview
The most important tip for surviving a floating travel nurse assignment is to ask detailed questions about floating and its likelihood during your interview.
Find information about the following:
- How often are travel nurses asked to float?
- Will I be expected to float through the entire hospital or just certain specialties?
- How many different units have travel nurses worked on at this facility?
In addition, ask that pertinent details about floating be spelled out in your travel nursing contract and review them closely before you sign so you can avoid any unexpected problems with floating during your assignment.
#2: Always Be Prepared for Changes
You might’ve been working in one specialty all week, but you show up to work on Friday morning and are suddenly asked to float to a different unit right away.
Now you’re potentially doing things that are completely foreign to you and you’re having difficulty readjusting to the new unit.
Using the information you’ve gathered about floating during your initial interview, be prepared to potentially move to different units any time you enter your facility.
#3: Be Open To Learning
As a travel nurse, everything about the facility and the assignment is new to you. Although you might’ve worked the same specialty in a different facility, this place is brand new.
Remember to:
- Ask questions.
- Be open-minded to new ways of doing things.
- Admit when you don’t know how something works.
- Take a minute to familiarize yourself with the unit.
#4: Stay Organized and Have a Plan for Each Day
Having a plan will help you feel more in control during your assignment, even though things out of your control can change at any time.
Here are some tips to stay organized:
- Keep a physical planner with you or use a planning app. When something comes up, write it down or mark it as done without having to worry about forgetting something important later on.
- Create a list of all the tasks you must complete each day so that when it’s time to round out your shift, you have a checklist to ensure everything is done.
- Use Siri, Google Assistant, or voice recognition software so you can dictate, allowing for quicker note-taking.
#5: Speak Up If You Have Any Patient or Safety Concerns
You should never feel like you can’t speak up if there is something you’re unsure or concerned about.
If something doesn’t feel right, please let your facility and team know right away.
Some reasons travel nurses may not speak up during a floating assignment might include:
- Being afraid
- Being uncomfortable
- Lacking trust in the nurse manager
Your concerns are never frivolous. Staff members who want to keep patients safe should take all concerns seriously. Speak up and advocate for yourself or others to share with those who can help remedy a situation or help a patient.
FAQs About Floating During a Travel Assignment
Are Travel Nurses Required to Float?
Although floating might not be written into every travel nurse contract, most facilities do require their travel nurses to float. In many cases, facilities ask travel nurses to float before asking staff nurses.
On the contrary, some travel nurses will never float at all.
Again, inquire about this during your facility interview to get as much information as possible about the probability of floating and what that looks like at a specific facility.
Can A Travel Assignment Require Floating Between Facilities?
Yes, sometimes travel nurses are asked to float between facilities that are in the same network while on their assignment.
However, this is typically uncommon unless there is an emergency or the traveler has very specific qualifications that can be helpful at a different facility.
How Does a Facility Choose Where To Send a Floater?
Hospitals should send travel nurses to units that are similar to their skills and experience. For example, if you’re a labor and delivery nurse, it’s unlikely you’ll be asked to float to the ICU. However, an ICU nurse may be sent to MedSurg or something similar.
You should never be asked to work on a unit where you don’t understand the basics. If you’re not comfortable going to where you’re asked to float, speak up right away to avoid putting your nursing license and your patients at risk.
What If I’m Asked to Float to Units Outside of My Expertise?
Even if you’re a travel nurse who wears many different hats in different specialties, there may be times when a nurse manager asks you to float to a unit that’s outside of your expertise.
While some of these requests may seem reasonable, situations like these can cause problems for travel nurses who:
- Aren’t prepared for floating assignments; or
- Don’t have adequate training for the unit they’re being assigned to
What’s the best way to prevent this type of situation?
Contact your recruiter to talk through your options. You may be able to work into your contract what units you’re comfortable floating to and those that you are not.
However, even if steps are in place to prevent floating outside of your expertise, it’s not bulletproof.
At Trusted Nurse Staffing, our recruiters work closely with our nurses to ensure a great travel experience with every contract. If you run into any hiccups or are ever uncomfortable with what you’re being asked, contact us right away. We’ll help you work through a solution and create a plan for if they occur again.
Is There an Orientation When I Float to a New Unit?
Likely, no. You’ll be expected to jump right in and learn as you go.
For some travel nurses, this is thrilling. For others, it’s daunting.
Either way, ask questions, pay attention, and stay calm. Follow the lead of the other nurses to take advantage of the learning experience.
What Happens If I’m Asked to Float in the Middle of a Shift?
Most often, nurses are asked to float at the beginning of their shift. However, there are circumstances that call for a nurse to float in the middle of their shift. In this case, your primary responsibility would be to pick up where your fellow nurse left off. If you’re not taking over for a specific nurse, be sure to check in with the nurse manager to get an overview of where you’re needed.
How Long Will My Assignment Stay Floating?
It’s difficult to predict how long an assignment will stay floating. It typically depends on the:
- Facility
- Travel nurse;
- Needs of the facility at that time
Some facilities have a policy of not floating for more than a week at a time while others will float you each week for the duration of your contract.
If you don’t mind floating, make that known during your interview. Your facility might use you to float every week if they can.
How Does Floating Affect My Pay?
When you float, your salary generally remains the same. You should never assume that your salary will increase or that your bonus pay will change when you accept a float.
However, as a travel nurse, you generally bring home a higher pay than staff nurses.
What Do I Do If I Feel Floating Is Getting Excessive?
At Trusted Nurse Staffing, your recruiter is your advocate. If you ever feel like floating is getting excessive or you’re being taken advantage of, we encourage you to contact us.
However, don’t completely dismiss floating — it can prove to be an educational experience where you’ll expand your skill set and network.
Trusted Nurse Staffing: Helping Nurses Successfully Navigate Floating During Travel Assignments
While floating as a travel nurse might not be for everyone, it can be an excellent way to gain new skills and experience.
When you float from one unit to another, you can:
- Get a feel for the hospital or facility that you’re in
- Work with different patients and staff members; and
- Explore more suitable units and positions for your nursing career
If any of the above sounds interesting to you, consider taking advantage of the opportunity by finding out how to start floating on your Trusted Nurse Staffing travel assignments.
Explore Pronto for available travel nurse contracts and be sure to ask about floating opportunities during your interviews.