California has long been a sort of Holy Grail to travel nursing. The state offers endless jobs and the highest pay rate. Jobs are also available there and, an extra perk in these cold months, is the California climate.
But licensure in California can be a hassle. Earlier in 2014, thousands were waiting for California clear a registration backlog created by switching to a new, $52 million software system. Even without the backlog, California nursing licensure is a tedious process, with a two-step process involving the application and a fingerprinting requirement.
Now, several travel nurse staffing companies—American Mobile Healthcare, NursesRx and Medical Express—are offering a new program in which they pay application processing fees and fly qualified travelers to California to have their fingerprinting done.