[Sashi48]

Originally Posted by MARTABEE

I HAVE BEEN TRAVELING WITH INTELISTAF FOR A YEAR AND A HALF. I WAS WITH STARMED PRIOR TO THE AQUISITION FROM INTELISTAF. I HAVE TO SAY THAT I HAVE BEEN TREATED VERY WELL. IF I HAVE HAD A PROBLEM IT HAS BEEN RESOLVED VERY QUICKLY. I HAVE SUCCESSFULLY NEGOTIATED MORE PAY, MORE HOUSING ALLOWANCE. I WAS HURT ON THE JOB AND THERE WAS NEVER A QUESTION ABOUT THE BILL. IT WAS TAKEN CARE OF 100% BY THE COMPANY. I HAVE A GREAT RECRUITER. I THINK EVERY COMPANY WILL HAVE SOME PROBLEMS. THEY ARE A BUSINESS AFTERALL, BUT HOW THEY RESOLVE THE ISSUES YOU HAVE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. SOMETIMES WE DON'T GET THE WHOLE PICTURE. LET'S FACE IT WE ARE BIASED TO OUR OWN ISSUES. DON'T WE ALWAYS THINK WE ARE RIGHT? PRETTY MUCH. I RECOMMEND INTELISTAF. THEY HAVE ALWAYS TREATED ME FAIRLY AND WELL. MY RECRUITER LISTENS AND GETS ANSWERS TO ANY QUESTION I HAVE. SOMETIMES WE MAKE OUR OWN MESS. THINK ABOUT WHY YOU TRAVEL. IF YOU HAVE WORKED FOR A HOSPITAL OR GROUP FOR AWHILE I AM SURE YOU CAN POINT OUT ALL THE FAULTS. AT LEAST WITH TRAVELING IF I DON'T LIKE A HOSPITAL I KNOW IT IS ONLY FOR A SHORT TIME AND I HAVE THE OPTION TO MOVE ON.
I'VE HEARD NEGATIVE THINGS ABOUT ALMOST ALL THE TRAVEL COMPANIES OUT THERE BUT THE CONSENSUS IS NO ONE OR NO COMPANY IS PERFECT. YOU FIND WHERE YOU HAVE THE BEST FIT. WHAT WORKS FOR YOU MAY NOT WORK FOR YOUR NEIGHBOR.

I SUGGEST ANYONE READING THE GOOD, BAD AND THE UGLY ABOUT ANY TRAVEL COMPANY, FORM THEIR OWN OPINION BASED ON FACT NOT ON SOMEONE ELSES OPINION. AFTERALL WE ARE ONLY GETTING ONE SIDE OF THE SITUATION IN THIS FORUM AND EXPERIENCE ALONE HAS TAUGHT US ALL THAT THERE ARE ALWAYS TWO SIDES TO THE ISSUES.

Me thinks Martabee is a PLANT. It is now 2006 and this is the only post from (her?). I too have a Intellistaff story. Thank God I wasn't traveling with them. I worked for Starmed, Happily, for years. I will re-itterate what the prior ex-Starmed employeed said. I was treated well, paid well, and regarded well. As soon as Intellistaff took over things went downhill fast. I was not in the habit of scrutinizing my pay stubbs so it took several weeks to realize something was wrong. It took an act of Congress to find out that my pay had been dropped $2.00 an hour. " I'm sure I didn't receive a notice that my pay had been re-negotiated", I said. "No, you didn't", said the former Starmed staffer sheepishly,"because they didn't bother to tell anyone. I'm only telling you now because you realized it and called to complain."
I REST MY CASE........NO INTELLISTAFF for ME!!!

[maggiedanurse]

yes and according to most other's experiences on the ultimate nurse website with intelistaf they feel the same. NO INTELISTAF FOR ME!!! i too travelled with starmed pre buyout and was quite happy. hopefully now i have found a company that works well for me on this new assignment.

[hawaiirn05]

Mahalo! for the information. Its unfortunate how ruthless, unprofessional and just downright rude some company representatives are. THank you for the help.
OH BTW. Beware of the bigger companies...aka (AMH) you call them with a problem there is no interdepartmental contact. Look for a nurse owned company if possible.

If anyone needs info on hawaii... contact me.

[luvwbug]

I'm so surprised to see these posts. My experiences with Intelistaf have been great. I think there have been alot of recent changes. I think it all depends on the recruiter and that makes all the difference.... The recruiters I have talked to were excited and supportive and really listened to me. That's what I look for....

[pyjones]

Well we all have a story about our travel companies. Some of them are good and some are bad, and some just down right scary. If maybe just 3 people had complained about Intelistaf, i would wonder if something was not right with the travel nurses, but all these complaints? I don't know, I am considering doing agency with intelistaf but after reading the postings, i think i will pass. I may be wrong but i would rather be safe than sorry. It is kind of like a marriage, The ex-wife or ex-husband and friends tell you the person has serious issues but because they look good and talk smooth you marry them, and how many times do we say, "boy i wish i had listen to them". No thank you Intelistaff.

[Fendergirl]

I did all right with them for a few years, although there was one time I showed up for an assignment and no one at the hospital knew I was coming.

In 2005, I called them again and I guess business was bad, because the recruiter EXCESSIVELY pushy. I had just gotten the hospital in April and two weeks into the contract, she was pushing me to extend through Christmas! Her assistant started calling me three times a day, and they pestered the manager so much that she was complaining to me.

But none of that was nearly as bad as my experience with RN Network

[JenniBeee]

I am currently a nursing student, but I am planning to travel after graduation and some experience.

I wanted to say THANK YOU SO MUCH for everyone's input and reviews on these travel companies. It will really help me when I am ready to make a decision on which company to travel with.

[enigmaticRN]

yes they too were knocking on my door with along others, my first travel agency was AMN and i was so taken for a ride my first assignment in northern Cali i was given 27/hr with a housing allowance of 1600 a month..mind you i was new to this travel RN world, and the recruiter enjoyed that victim quality! i told her i only made 2 dollars more than the staffed LVN!!

are they really greedy or what? she then found me another hosppital that paid 38/hr and after that assignment i quit! i quit being a sucker for them and her fake nice attitude!

so berare of American Mobile too..they don't pay much and are not PRO RN

[sarajasmine]

Hi-I don't think I've ever posted to this site before. I've been an RN over 22 yrs-mainly ICU/tele and adult pych.
I worked as a Humana mobile nurse for about 5 yrs when Humana was around in the 80's and early 90's. Then, I went staff for a while. I moved to Dallas area and worked for Intellistaf for about a yr and since they had no additional contracts after my 3rd extension; went with Starmed...What a nightmare! I moved into their housing in Arlington and was there only about 3 wks (with a 5 yr old), when the hospital cancelled several contracts because they were overstaffed! They said that I had two days to move. I also was using a rental car provided by Starmed as my old car broke down-they took that back right away! I had a lawyer friend tell me not to move-that I had 30 days to vacate. In the meantime, Supplemental healthcare came to my rescue, supplied me with a new contract within 2 wks at Med Ctr of Arlington-Agood assignment. Friendly staff. I extended for almost a yr when they wanted me to take a contract in North Dallas at Medical City on a tele floor. They wanted me to move closer to the facility. So, I put my things in storage and the day I was moving, let my cats out of their cages to go potty at my babysitters house, and while trying to catch them to get back into their cages, stepped into a grass covered hole and fractured my ankle! Well, since this did not happen on the job-I not only lost my contract but, housing as well! (I did have a car by that time, thank God!) If I didn't know anyone in the area-my daughter and I would've probably ended up in a homeless shelter! I wasn't released from my Dr. for anything except light duty so, 4 months later got a job doing UR with Cigna insurance.
I am currently looking for a travel contract in N. Dallas area that provides housing-just found out my current landlord will be selling the house we're living in within about a month. I've been doing local contracts with a local perdiem company Advantage Nursing but, they don't have any benefits.

Any suggestions? Jane

[TexasAggie43]

i TOO HAVE A STORY TO TELL. I DID NOT KNOW THAT TRAVEL COMPANIES SUB CONTRACT WITH EACH OTHER. OH YES SISTER. THEY DO. I DID NOT FIND THIS OUT UNTIL I WAS IN ORIENTATION AT ST JOSEPHS HOSPITAL EUREKA, CALIFORNIA. THIS HOSPITAL TOLD MY RECRUITER THAT WOULD AVE TO CLOSE THE O R DOWN IF THEY DIDN'T GET SOME NURSES IN THERE. DURING MY INTERVIEW, WHICH WENT GREAT, I WAS ASKED IF I COULD GET THERE LIKE YESTERDAY. AS YOU CAN SEE THERE WAS CLEARLY A CRY FOR DESPERATION. DURING ORIENTATION, I FOUND OUT THAT INTELISTAFF HAD THE CONTRACT AT THIS HOSPITAL AND THEY COULDN'T FILL ALL THE POSITIONS SO THEY RESORTED TO OTHER COMPANIES LIKE MINE TO SUB CONTRACT WHICH MY COMPANY DIDN'T TELL ME ABOUT. BY THE WAY, MY COMPANY VALLEY HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS. I REPORTED TO WORK ORIENTATION JULY 10TH THROUGH JULY 14TH. MY NEXT WEEK STARTED ON JULY 17TH IN THE O R THROUGH JULY 21. ON THE FOLLOWING MONDAY JULY 24TH. MY RECRUITERS MANAGER CALLED ME SAYING THAT THE HOSPITAL WAS HAVING PROBLEMS WITH ME. THEY SAID THAT WHEN I WAS ON CALL THAT I COULDN'T FIND SUPPLIES TO SET UP AN ART LINE. I'M HERE TO TELL YOU THAT I WASN'T ON CALL THAT WEEKEND. THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN MY FIRST WEEKEND AFTER BEING IN THE O R IT WAS A LIE AND THE HOSPITAL STUCK TO IT. HE GOT AN EMAIL THAT CHANNELED DOWN THROUGH FOUR PEOPLE IN THE HOSPITAL. ON JULY 26TH THEY CALLED ME OFF FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS. ON THE FOLLOWING MONDAY, MY RECRUITER CALLED ME AND TOLD ME THE HOSPITAL CANCELLED MY CONTRACT WITH NO QUESTIONS TO BE ASKED. MY FIRST DAY OF CALL WOULD HAVE BEEN AUGUST 20TH. I HAVE BEEN AN O R NURSE FOR TWENTY YEARS. I DID OPEN HEARTS FOR TEN YEARS. I AM A VERY EXPERIENCED O R NURSE. BOTTOM LINE, THI HOSPITAL GOT TOO MANY NURSES IN THERE AND WE WERE WALKING ON TOP OF ONE ANOTHER. WELL, WHO DO YOU THINK GOT CANCELLED? NOT INTELISTAFF NURSES BUT SUB CONTRACTED NURSES FROM OTHER COMPANIES. THEY WEREN'T MAKING AS MUCH MONEY OFF OF US ANYWAY AS THEIR OWN NURSES. I FOUND OUT THE DAY THAT I GOT INTO TOWN THAT ST JOSEPH HOSPITAL WAS IN FINANCIAL TROUBLE. SURE ENOUGH THE RUMORS WERE TRUE. IT WAS IN THE NEWSPAPER EVERY DAY. A COMPANY FROM NORTH CAROLINA WAS GOING TO BUY BUT THEY BACKED OUT AT THE LAST MINUTE. THE NURSES WERE IN THE STAGE OF NEGOTIATING AND VOTING TO STRIKE WHICH THEY DID AFTER I LEFT. ALSO ONE OF THE GENERAL SURGEONS WHO WAS THE MONEY MAKER FOR THE HOSPITAL GOT MAD AND MOVED HIS BUSINESS UP THE ROAD.