While having a contract terminated can be a horrible thing to happen, it is not the end of the world. Talk to your recruiter immediately and find out your options. There are too many different things that can happen when a contract is terminated to cover every given situation (in my book, I devote about eleven pages to this single subject). The key is open communication with everyone involved to see what can be done. You might never have the unfortunate situation of having a contract cancelled, but hopefully you now have a few ideas on where to start should it happen to you.

Cancels may occur do to a change in census, hospital budget cuts, or nurses returning from absences. While they are not commonplace, they do occur in some situations know matter how good of a job you are doing on your travel nursing assignment. As stated above, the number one thing to do is to contact your agency and let your recruiter present you with the options available to you. It may be possible to start another assignment in a nearby facility or work per diem within the area if you are not yet ready to leave. In any case, your travel nurse recruiter will walk you through the process to ensure your next paycheck is not far off.

Before you accept a travel nurse position in a hospital it will pay to do a little research on that facility. All hospitals are not created equal when it comes to a good working environment. Your research can consist of simply asking other nurses who have worked at the facility you are thinking about going to, or doing an online search for it. There are numerous online nusing and travel forums available that will discuss in detail different hospitals and even differeny departments within a hospital. You can always ask your recruiter for the names and numbers of nurses they have placed there previously to get an idea of what the work environment may be like.

The importance of properly researching a hospital cannot be stressed enough to travel RNs. First time travelers should try to find a facility that frequently employs travel nurses, so they will be properly trained and given the guidance and support to make the best out of their assignment. More experienced RNs may opt for larger, busier hospitals that may be offering higher pay rates to nurses who can hit the ground running in a fast paced environment.