Travel Nursing in COVID: What to Do If Your Contract Was Cancelled

While some hospitals have had help from nurses traveling around the country to address the COVID-19 pandemic, some unfortunate nurses have had their contracts canceled. This is due to less demand for specialty nurses, mainly because of the move to reduce non-urgent care in an effort to limit the virus’s spread.

If you are one of those unfortunate ones who just had their contracts ended because of COVID-19, the good news is that all is not lost! While you might not have expected this to happen, there are still some things you can do to ease the situation.

1. Look for a place to stay

The first thing you should do is to look for a place to stay, especially if you do not have one. In many cases, you might find a place, such as a hotel, willing to accommodate you for free with some explaining about your situation. There, you can gather up your senses and think about what to do next—whether that is to wait for a new job to pop up or leave for another contract.

2. Contact your recruiter

An excellent way to figure out if there are any other available jobs nearby is to contact your recruiter. If there is, and if you are in an area that has been declared an emergency, make sure that your housing is available and your license still valid. Otherwise, you may end up working with an invalid license once the declaration has ended.

3. Keep track of your documents

Document everything! This can include your receipts for purchases made during the travel and emails used to communicate with your recruiter. With these available in your reach, you might be able to claim losses and taxes in case of an emergency. Just note that you will need to talk with a tax consultant to help you understand what you can recover from the cancellation.

4. Take a look at your contract

In most, if not all, contracts, there will always be a clause offering statements regarding the cancellation. While the clause can talk about many things, look for anything related to financial recuperation.

You can be recuperated in many ways, from having your expenses reimbursed to even earning a portion of the original amount you would have made from the contract. Either way, any money saved is money earned—which can help relieve some of your financial stress at the moment.

5. Carefully pick another contract

Once you are sorted out with the previous contract, be careful with the next contract you pick up. Take a look at the clauses included for cancellation, as well as the benefits to be earned when under the contract.

The goal here is to feel like you are well supported and safe, even if the contract is canceled! That way, you can take up the contract knowing that you will not end up in hot water once again if it does get canceled.

Conclusion

By following the tips, you will be able to properly assess the situation at hand and plan out what to do next to ensure you are safe from being jobless. We highly recommend that you educate yourself more on how you can travel appropriately as a nurse, ensuring you find the right assignments, housing, agencies, and compensation to ensure job security and peace of mind.

Travel Nursing Direct is your source of answers for many different travel-nursing questions. If you are trying to make the most out of your travel nurse career, check out our content today!

Nate Shanklin

I’m Nate Shanklin and I was a Recruiter for Travel Nurses for over 3 years.  I found there was an extreme lack of knowledge and transparency in the industry, so I took it upon myself to start Travel Nursing Direct.  A site where you can learn the details about travel nursing that commonly nurses are finding out as they go along and, more importantly, when it’s too late.  My aim is to help all Travel Nurses gain an understanding of what to expect and how to maximize their career.