What Are Internal Travel Agencies?

Have you ever wanted to be a travel nurse? Travel nursing has been a high-paying and flexible option throughout the COVID-19 pandemic for nurses seeking new opportunities.

To retain talented nurses, many health systems are now introducing their own internal travel nurse agencies with short-term, well-paid travel contracts within employers’ larger systems of sister facilities.

This page covers internal travel nurse agencies, including how they function, the pros and cons of these positions, and how they benefit nurses. If you think this career is right for you, learn how much you can earn as a travel nurse and new internal travel nurse agencies around the country.

The traditional travel nurse contract is generally a 13-week position at a participating hospital that has a contract with a third-party travel nurse agency. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of nurses took advantage of these high-paying opportunities, criss-crossing the United States to provide urgent staffing at facilities experiencing serious nursing shortages.

While travel nurses are extremely helpful in bolstering staffing in times of need, there are several downsides for hospitals using them. Firstly, these services are expensive. Participating hospitals also have unfamiliar nurses coming and going from their units on a regular basis.

Maintaining a solid corporate culture and identity can be more difficult when a significant percentage of staff are temporary employees who are only passing through for a few months at a time.

An emerging solution to the ongoing need for travel nurses (and other clinical staff) are internal travel nurse agencies. Hospitals launching their own programs offer eligible staff the opportunity to travel on a short-term basis to sister facilities within the hospital system. This creates an internal mobile workforce that can be shifted from one area to another on an as-needed basis. Internal travel agencies frequently offer premium salaries that are competitive with traditional travel nurse agencies, along with incentive stipends and housing allowances.

However, in some hospital systems, internal travelers do not necessarily receive the same health insurance and other benefits as full-time permanent staff since their pay is significantly higher. Some internal travel nurse agencies are open to external nurse applicants who apply specifically for employment in their internal travel program.

Internal travel nurse agencies differ from external agencies in that their traveler nurses work for the same healthcare system. Nurses from external travel agencies are sent to facilities where they aren’t familiar with the processes. But internal travel nurses know the facility’s electronic medical record, corporate culture, policies and procedures, and other aspects of the workplace.

Some internal agencies offer nurses a user-friendly self-scheduling process, minimum commitment requirements, stipends and bonuses, and highly flexible scheduling. These benefits can be very attractive based on the nurse’s lifestyle and needs.

Similar to travel and staffing agencies, some internal travel nurse agencies do not offer benefits like health insurance, paid time off, and dependent care and retirement fund contributions. Yet, for nurses covered under a spouse’s health insurance and no need for other incentives, this can be an excellent choice.

Online applications for internal travel nurse agencies are fairly similar to the typical nursing applications. Requirements for internal travel nurse agencies often include:

Internal travel nurse agencies can be found in a growing number of cities, states, and health systems. According to Becker’s Hospital Review’s list, that is admittedly not exhaustive, you can find internal travel nurse programs at the following facilities in the following states:

Units and specialties where internal travel nurses can find employment include, but are not limited to:

Internal travel nurse agencies offer nurses the flexibility and excitement of travel opportunities with the benefit of staying within the same organization. Like traditional traveling through a third-party agency, this lifestyle and workstyle may be perfect for some nursing professionals, while it may not be optimal for everyone.

You will find similarities and differences when comparing internal travel nurse salaries and benefits between internal vs. third-party agencies.

Some internal agencies offer full or partial benefits to traveling nurses, while external agencies typically do not. Also, internal travelers work for the same employer and do not have to adjust to a different corporate culture with each new assignment, so some familiarity can be expected no matter the assignment.

Although salaries are advertised as “competitive” or “premium”, internal travel nurse agencies do not openly state specific salaries on the web pages for these programs. Salary information is more likely to be available to employees with access to company intranet systems and actual position postings.

The long-term strategy of internal travel nurse programs is to maintain a travel-ready cohort of their workforce who can move around the country based on patient census, staffing shortages, public health emergencies, and other factors. The number of internal traveling nurses a hospital system may need at any given time can change. Having a pool of nurses willing to travel on an as-needed basis is an excellent way to prepare for staffing shortfalls or surges in capacity. Hospital systems are likely to benefit financially from not needing to use external third-party agencies that charge a hefty fee for providing travelers.

Based on Becker’s Hospital Review data, Florida appears to have a relatively high number of facilities offering opportunities for internal travel nurses. Illinois, Michigan, and Pennsylvania also show a high level of internal travel activity. It should be noted that this is not an exhaustive list and additional internal travel nurse opportunities may exist elsewhere.