Travel nursing is gig work. It’s usually a 2-4 month long gig in another city. Often times you’re filling in for nurses on maternity leave or other such long, but temporary, shortages in staff. I can’t travel like that and still be a domestic partner, dog dad, and artist locally.
An agency is similar but it’s more like scab work. The local hospital gets slammed with a bunch of nurses with the flu… they call for a shift work agency nurse to fill in. A nursing home has a nurse quit before they can replace them… they call in an agency nurse to fill in shifts until they can hire. Etc. It’s day to day. Shift to shift. The pay is great. I did it for about four years prior to moving to Oregon. I did it when I first landed out here too. Instant work the day you arrive no matter what city you’re in. As long as you have a license to practice in the state.
Working agency for your only source of pay can be a bit challenging though. Getting enough hours to pay the bills might mean having to take shifts you don’t want, like third shift, or working in settings you don’t really want… like ICU. I did one shift in ICU… that was the last time I’d ever do it. Agency nurses often get cancelled on. More than once I’d schedule a shift, only to get a call cancelling the shift a couple hours before my shift was to start. Often times it’s because another nurse employed by the nursing home or hospital was convinced at the last minute to cover the open shift. Often times employee nurses are given a shift bonus to cover as it’s still cheaper than bringing in an agency nurse. The one nice thing is most agencies still pay their nurse for four hours if their shift gets cancelled at the last minute. Those were the best days! Lol
As a supplement to income, or as a means to maintain your license, agency is kind of ideal.
| 
