Whatever your favorite number may be, the healthcare travel industry offers something for everyone, especially if you are willing to exercise a little flexibility in these unpredictable times.

Rewriting tradition

"I have definitely seen a shift over the past six months. Shorter assignments are much more common today than the traditional 13 weeks, and I believe a big part of that is the economy," observes Heather Snow, RN, a former nurse traveler and current vice president of Travel Operations for HRN Services Inc., headquartered in Beverly Hills, California.

Indeed, the recession has resulted in acute care hospitals, stand-alone surgical centers, and independent imaging and scanning businesses to pause a bit before bringing in supplemental staff. The need may still exist—swollen patient census, staff out on sick or family leave, or coverage for vacationing employees—but there are more financial constraints with which to deal.

"Many hospitals do not want to commit to long-term contracts right now," Snow says. "They are still calling in travelers, but they request shorter assignments that last just a few weeks to temporarily fill staffing gaps."

It is a development that requires travelers to adjust their assignment choices. In the past, it was routine to pick from a handful of locations weeks before even completing one contract. Or clinicians could provide their staffing companies with a list of dream destinations or facility preferences and then receive a list of possibilities from which to choose.

"Nowadays travelers should keep their options open and broaden their assignment criteria," Snow notes. "For example, think about going to geographic areas you might not have considered in the past but where assignments are available at the moment."

The same can be said for contract length. "We periodically had nurses ask for four- or six-week assignments in previous years, especially in the summer when kids are on school break," Snow says. "However, this summer has been a different story in that more people are willing to accept a short-term contract here and there. Some practitioners even may request brief stints to fill in between longer assignments."

On the other hand, government-operated healthcare systems, such as the Veterans Health Administration or Indian Health Service, tend to have long-term needs. "Some individuals embrace these assignments because they perceive them as offering more job security," Snow explains. "It used to be that many travelers did not want to be tied to one facility for a minimum of six to 12 months, but today they appreciate the financial security of such contract terms."

While both ends of the assignment-length spectrum fall outside of what travelers had come to expect, neither necessarily equates to a negative. Rather, some might even prefer the nontraditional approach to a mobile career.