Housing for travel nurse practitioners, PAs and CRNAs

Plan for start dates that move

Advanced practice providers often wait longer than staff nurses before they can start. A multistate RN license under the Nurse Licensure Compact doesn't cover APRN practice, so NPs and CRNAs usually need a license in each state where they work. PAs need a state PA license. On top of that come prescriptive authority, a DEA registration for each state where you prescribe controlled substances, collaboration or supervision agreements in states that require them, and hospital credentialing and privileges.

Any of these can push your first day back by weeks. For housing, that means:

• Save a search near the facility as soon as you accept the assignment, but wait to pay until your start date is firm.
• Ask hosts how flexible the move-in date is, and what happens to a deposit if the start is delayed.
• Tell the host in your first message that your date depends on credentialing. Most would rather know.

Ask your agency or recruiter what the new state requires and how long it usually takes.

Call from home and response times

CRNAs covering OB or overnight call, and NPs and PAs covering hospitalist or surgical call, may need to reach the hospital within a set time. Check the response time the facility requires, then test the drive at night and in bad weather, not just at midday. Ask the host about cell signal and Wi-Fi if you'll take calls or chart from home, and about blackout curtains and street noise if you'll sleep during the day after a night of call.

Search the hospital by name from the 5,384 in CMS data and set a radius from 5 to 50 miles; more than 1,300 critical access hospitals are included, which helps with rural coverage. The map shows listings and hospitals together, so you can see what's close to more than one site if you cover several.

W-2 stipends and 1099 contracts

How your housing is paid for depends on how you're paid.

• W-2 travel jobs. Staffing agencies often pay a housing stipend, the way they do for travel nurses. Whether it's tax-free depends on having a real tax home and duplicated living expenses. See the guides to housing stipends and the tax home rules.
• 1099 locum contracts. The agency may book lodging as part of the deal, or you may pay for it yourself. Independent contractors can sometimes deduct lodging as a business travel expense away from their tax home, under the rules in IRS Publication 463.

Either way, ask whether the agency pays the host directly or reimburses you, and keep the lease and receipts. This is general information, not tax advice, so check your situation with a tax professional.

What to ask a host

• Can the move-in date shift if credentialing runs late?
• If my agency is paying, will you accept payment from them, and on what schedule?
• For recurring coverage, can I keep the place for consecutive months even if I'm only there part of each month?
• Is there a desk or table for charting, and how fast is the internet?
• Where do I park, and how quickly can I get out to the main road at night?

Hosts set a minimum stay, 30 nights by default, and list the dates the home is open. If your assignment is shorter, give your dates in your first message.

Privacy and payments

Hosts never see your email address; you talk with them through in-app messages, and you get a home's exact street address once you've arranged the stay. Messages that ask for payment by wire, gift card, crypto or similar get a scam warning, and you can report or block a host. Med Pro Housing doesn't collect rent or deposits. You can verify your professional license, and hosts then see a verified badge on your inquiries.

Physicians on locum assignments should see locum tenens housing. To start, enter your hospital on the search page.