What does it take to qualify to be a travel nurse? Well… licenses & certifications for sure – but how do you keep track of it all? Especially when you’re apply for a new position?  No worries! We’re here to help.

Travel nursing paperwork can be a hassle, we’re not going to lie. Those last-minute request for documents you may not have handy when you’re driving down the I70 may feel like a nightmare. Avoid having any issues with your travel nurse paperwork with these solid tips to keep all your information mobile and handy.

Build Your Own Travel Nurse Portfolio

One of the keys to being a successful travel nurse and avoiding headaches is to get organized. By creating a travel nurse portfolio you’ll have any and all of the documents available to you with just the click of a button.

Every travel nurse agency will require a set amount of documents to begin the application process.

At Next Move we require the following documents in order to submit a nurse to a travel opportunity:

What Documents You’ll Need

Basic Documents

• Complete & up-to-date resume
• 2 References (name & contact information)

Supporting Documents

• Vaccine documentation (Covid, Tetanus, Varicella, Hepatitis B, most recent PPD/Chest X-Ray, Influenza, and childhood immunizations)
• Copies of your BLS/ACLS card (front & back)
• Copies of all your certifications & licenses
• Annual physical (Fit for Work) form (talk to your recruiter about obtaining a copy)

Other Documents

• Drivers License (for I-9 verification)
• Social Security Card or Passport (for I-9 verification)
• Notarized I9 Form
• Skills Checklist: Next Move provides an online skills checklist. You will need to complete this for any/all specialties that you work. If you’ve already completed a skills checklist in the last year, let your recruiter know as we won’t make you retake the same skills checklist.

Pro-Tip: If your resume is in need of an update – we’ve got a template for you – fully formatted, editable & designed for travel nurses! Click here to download.

Organize Organize Organize: Your Travel Nurse Paperwork

Now that you have a list of everything you’ll need to be submitted to a travel nurse assignment, the question may come up – how do I organize all this? As a travel nurse – you want an option that is mobile friendly. Once you have all your documents gathered:

• scan your documents, (many phones offer scanning apps)
• pull them all together in one .pdf file and then
• save that file as a .zip folder so it can be easily emailed upon request!

This may seem time consuming at first – but it will save you plenty of time in the future as you move from one assignment to another.

If electronic  documentation is not your thing – you can also place hard copies of all your documents into a portable binder that you can carry with you to your various assignments. Make sure you have more than one copy in-case they get lost or stolen. You’re definitely not going to want to do this all over again!

Pro-Tip: Back-up your travel nurse paperwork  Anything could happen, like a fire or your computer breaking down, where you could lose all your files – either hard copies – or digital – so always make sure you have at least 2 backups of all your paperwork. You can leave a copy with a trusted friend or family member, keep a backup in a fireproof safe, or purchase a portable hard drive to store your extra copies.

Did we miss any tips? Let us know in the comments below!