The past few years have been a blur. We lived through uncertain times, feared the unknown, and experienced a great shift in our daily routine and expectations. If you’re one of the many healthcare workers who jumped into a travel healthcare career at the height of the pandemic, you likely worked insane hours in exchange for insanely elevated COVID rates. Jobs were in high demand and paying top-dollar rates for all specialties.
Today, the market looks a bit different. And while rates are still slightly elevated compared to pre-COVID, they feel drastically different than they did in 2020 and 2021. With these market shifts in consideration, here are 4 reasons you might want to extend your current healthcare travel contract instead of finding a new assignment.
Throughout the pandemic, the government supported the increase in healthcare demand by supplementing hospitals and healthcare facilities with government-backed grants. This was the driving factor behind the crazy high pay rates you likely saw or experienced if you worked travel assignments during 2020 and 2021. That funding has since dried up and travel assignment rates have become more normalized.
The lack of funding from government grants also means some facilities can no longer afford to maintain or hire the additional help that they were able to have during the pandemic. If you like your current assignment, it may be in your best interest to extend your current assignment at your current rate while it’s still relatively good, as opposed to waiting to see what happens.
It’s no secret that we’re living through financially tough times. The economy is the worst it’s been in decades which means the luxuries people desire, as well as elective surgeries are being put on hold. The lack of surgeries results in an overall decrease in job opportunities and heightened competition when it comes to applicants per job.
If you’re currently working an assignment that you can tolerate at a minimum, as your career coach it’s our professional recommendation that you ask for an extension to lock in the current best rate, as well as ensure future employment, even for the short term.
A benefit of extending your travel assignment is that you can avoid the job application and hiring process. By extending your assignment, you can keep working where you are, eliminating the need to re-answer interview questions or stress about securing a new position. On top of that, credentialing can be a tedious process for travel healthcare workers. By extending your assignment, you can skip much of the onboarding hassle and leverage your familiarity with the hospital or healthcare facility.
Some healthcare travelers choose to extend their assignment when the stars align when it comes to pay, location, and hours. In the current market, whether you love everything about your current travel assignment, or can make it work a little longer, absolutely ask for an extension 4-6 weeks before your contract ends. Your Account Manager can go to bat for you to get you the best rates and secure your employment in a somewhat volatile market.
Even if it is a 6-week extension, you’ll benefit from job security, no lapse in healthcare and insurance coverage, and you won’t have to worry about any travel logistics or learning a new role as you would with accepting a new contract.
If you’re a current LRS Healthcare traveler and would like to explore the options of extending your current travel assignment, reach out to your Account Manager today. If you’re looking for something new, ready to launch your travel career, or wanting to change agencies, we’re here for you, too. Browse our job board for the most up-to-date job listings or apply here to get the ball rolling.