What to Expect: Extending Your Travel Assignments | LRS Healthcare

So, you’re considering extending your current travel assignment, but aren’t sure how to go about it. It’s simple—ask your recruiter! It could be during the first or last week of your current assignment. It’s never too early to start thinking about what’s ahead.

The standard healthcare travel assignment is typically 13 weeks. Huge transformations can take place during a 13-week period—physically, mentally, emotionally…professionally. And yet in the grand scheme of things, it’s a short period of time. As a healthcare traveler, you’re familiar with the application process, the move, and the extensive paperwork, licensing, and background checks involved when starting a new travel assignment. Repeating this process every 90-120 days can be exhausting.

That said if you’re nearing the end of your current assignment and the thought of packing up and moving on to the next unknown home seems daunting, extending your travel assignment could be a great option!

There are many reasons travelers extend their contracts, even several benefits of extending travel assignments. Maybe you found yourself loving your current job and surroundings and aren’t quite ready to leave the connections you’ve made. Maybe you impressed the facility’s leadership and they’re not ready to see you go. Whatever the reason, explore your options and use your recruiter as a sounding board.

Here’s what you might expect when extending your healthcare travel assignment:

• First, send your LRS Healthcare recruiter a text, call, or email and let them know you’re thinking about extending your current contract. Be sure to include how long you’d like to extend. This could vary from 2 weeks to 39 weeks. You’ll also want to let your on-site staff manager know you’re interested in extending as they can work with your recruiter to get your request approved.

• Next, your recruiter will then draft a new contract agreement that will include your new extension dates. This is a good time to identify and formally request any planned time off (PTO). Requests for time off are more likely to get approved for travelers who work extended assignments. Especially if they are approved before your contract extension starts. Additionally, for extended LRS travelers, there will be no lapse in insurance coverage if your new contract is received within the same month as your previous contract end date. The gap between the previous contract and the new contract is less than 30 days! This means your contracts do not have to be back-to-back, and you can use time in between to truly explore and experience the corners of the city!

• Finally, when your contract has been approved through the facility, you can take a sigh of relief that you no longer have to pack up your world and move to your next unknown home. Settle into a temporary comfort zone and prepare for the next several weeks of your adventure.

At LRS Healthcare, our team of recruiters is here to assist you in landing your dream job and advocating for our travelers. If you have questions regarding a new travel assignment or extending your current contract, call us at 800. 811.0064, or reach out to your recruiter directly.