Travel Nurse Questions to Ask Hospital
Questions for the unit manager or nurse recruiter before you accept a travel contract, covering staffing, float requirements, orientation, guaranteed hours and the practical details of day one.
The questions
Open any question for the note
What's the nurse-to-patient ratio on days and on nights, and how often is it actually met?
Why ask it
The budgeted ratio and the lived ratio are different numbers. Ask how many times last month the unit ran over, and treat a manager who has no idea as an answer in itself.
Why is this position open, and how long has it been unfilled?
Why ask it
A maternity leave, a seasonal surge and a unit that has churned through six travelers since spring are three very different assignments. Long-standing vacancies usually mean something the interview has not mentioned yet.
How many travelers are on the unit right now, and how many permanent staff?
Why ask it
A unit that is half agency has thin institutional knowledge, and you will be asked questions nobody can answer. It also predicts how much unofficial orientation you will get from the people beside you.
What's the usual patient population and acuity on this unit?
Why ask it
Ask for the mix rather than a label: drips, vents, telemetry, post-op day one, behavioral holds, one-to-ones. A medical-surgical unit that regularly boards intensive care patients should be described as such before you sign.
What does orientation look like, how many shifts, and is it paid at my contract rate?
Why ask it
Two shifts of shadowing is a common answer and a workable one only if it is honest. Confirm whether classroom days are paid and at what rate, since unpaid or reduced-rate orientation is a recurring dispute.
Which documentation system do you use, and how much training do I get on it?
Why ask it
Ask for the name and the version, and whether you will have your own login on day one. Charting slows even experienced nurses badly in an unfamiliar system, and it is the most common reason a first week feels unsafe.
Will there be a charge nurse or resource nurse who isn't carrying their own patients?
Why ask it
This is the difference between having someone to ask and being the most senior person available on nights. If the charge nurse takes a full assignment, expect to be running on your own judgment from the first shift.
What support staff are on the unit, and how are they distributed?
Why ask it
Techs, sitters, transport, phlebotomy and unit clerks determine what proportion of your shift is nursing. Two nurses with the same ratio can have completely different workloads depending on this answer.
Am I expected to float, to which units, and how much notice would I get?
Why ask it
Get the specific list, in writing if possible, and check it against your contract. Being floated to a specialty you have never worked is the situation most likely to end an assignment badly, for you and for a patient.
Would I be given charge, precepting or admission duties as a traveler?
Why ask it
Some units hand travelers charge on nights within weeks. That may be fine or it may be well outside what you were hired for, and it is much easier to decline now than in the moment.
What's the shift pattern, and are my hours guaranteed if the unit is overstaffed?
Why ask it
Guaranteed hours live in the agency contract, not in the manager's goodwill, but the manager knows whether the unit habitually sends people home. Ask both, and make sure the two answers agree.
What's your cancellation policy, and has the unit cancelled travelers' shifts this year?
Why ask it
A hospital that cancels regularly can turn a well-paid contract into a bad month. Get the number of shifts cancelled recently rather than a statement about how rarely it happens.
How are weekends, holidays and on-call divided between travelers and permanent staff?
Why ask it
Requirements written as every other weekend often work out differently for agency staff. Ask what the last traveler on this unit actually worked over a holiday period.
Who builds the schedule, and how are requests handled once I've started?
Why ask it
Self-scheduling, a manager-built rota and a central staffing office produce very different amounts of flexibility. Ask when the schedule is published, because a two-week horizon makes travel home difficult to plan.
What's the process if I think an assignment is unsafe, and what happens after I raise it?
Why ask it
Every hospital says it welcomes concerns. The revealing part is the mechanism: who you call at three in the morning, whether there is a written form, and what happened the last time a nurse used it.
How are rapid responses and codes run here, and who leads them?
Why ask it
Ask about the team, the numbers to call, where the equipment is kept and whether the bedside nurse is expected to lead until help arrives. This is the local knowledge you will need before you have had time to acquire it.
How do the permanent staff generally work with travelers on this unit?
Why ask it
Managers will always say fine, so ask for specifics: do travelers get the heavier assignments, are they included in handover, who would show me where the difficult airway trolley is. Then ask a traveler the same question.
Are there competencies, certifications or state requirements I need to complete before my first shift?
Why ask it
Chemotherapy competency, dysrhythmia testing, a state-specific license or an in-date certification can delay a start date by weeks. Find out now who pays for what and how long each takes.
What are the practical details for day one: where do I report, to whom, parking, badge and scrubs?
Why ask it
Small logistics cause the most stressful first mornings, and parking in particular can eat a noticeable share of your take-home pay. Ask what staff actually pay and where they actually park.
If the assignment goes well, is an extension possible, and who decides?
Why ask it
Asking now tells you whether the need is short term or ongoing, and how much notice you would get either way. It also puts a marker down so an extension conversation is not starting from nothing in week ten.
Checking the Assignment Before You Commit
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Working the Interview
Ask for numbers, not reassurance
How many shifts were cancelled, how many travelers left early, how many patients on nights. A manager who gives you figures is describing a real unit; one who only gives you adjectives may not know what happens on the floor.
Match every verbal promise to the contract
Guaranteed hours, float limits, shift pattern, cancellation terms and orientation pay have to appear in the agency paperwork. Anything agreed only in the interview call is not enforceable, however sincerely it was said.
Speak to a nurse who is currently there
Ask the recruiter to connect you with a traveler on the unit, or find one in a travel nursing group. Ten minutes with someone working the schedule tells you more than the whole interview.
Write down the answers with the date
Keep a note of who told you what. If the assignment turns out to be materially different from what was described, that record is what your agency will need in order to act.
Answers Worth Slowing Down For
- Reluctance to state the current ratio, or a ratio quoted as a target rather than a reality.
- Float requirements described as flexible, with no list of units and no notice period.
- A rate well above the local market for the same specialty. It usually reflects conditions rather than generosity.
- Repeated turnover of travelers in the same role over a short period.
- No named person to report to on your first shift, or no confirmed system access before you start.
- Any suggestion that you will be counted in the ratio while also acting as sitter, transport or charge.
Sort These Out Before the Start Date
- 1Confirm your license status for that state, including whether the compact covers you and how long an application takes.
- 2Check the expiry dates on your certifications against the whole contract period, not just the start.
- 3Get immunization and titer records ready, since occupational health clearance is a frequent cause of delayed starts.
- 4Read the cancellation, callback and missed-shift clauses in the contract, and ask your recruiter what triggers each.
- 5Understand the housing and stipend terms, including what happens if the assignment ends early.
- 6Arrange somewhere to live only after the contract is signed and the start date is confirmed.
Common Mistakes
Choosing on rate alone
A high rate with regular cancellations, unpaid orientation and expensive parking can pay less than a steadier contract. Work out the likely take-home for a whole assignment before comparing offers.
Assuming the recruiter has asked
Recruiters often have not seen the unit and may be relaying a job description. Ask to speak with the unit manager directly, and treat vagueness about that request as information.
Skipping the float conversation
This is the single most common source of mid-contract conflict. Settle the list of units and the notice period before you sign rather than in the middle of a short-staffed night.
Not asking what happened to the last traveler
Whether they extended, finished, or left in week three answers several of your other questions at once.