An urgent care that's short on nurses can bring in outside RNs in two ways. A travel nurse contract places one nurse at your clinic for a block of weeks, through an agency, and the nurse usually relocates for it. Per-shift coverage brings in a clinician who lives nearby for one shift at a time.
"Locum tenens" started as a term for physicians. In urgent care it's used for per-shift coverage in every role, as how locum tenens staffing works in urgent care explains. This guide compares locum shifts with travel nurse contracts for an urgent care operator.
The short version: locum shifts fit gaps that come one shift at a time. A travel nurse contract fits a full-time nursing vacancy that will last for weeks in a place with few local nurses.
Which roles travel nursing and locum shifts cover
Travel nursing is a nursing model. It doesn't cover physicians, NPs or PAs. If the gap in your schedule is a provider, a travel nurse contract isn't an option, and the choice is between locum sources.
For an RN gap, both models are available. For a medical assistant gap, ask the agency whether it places that role before you assume it does.
What you commit to with a travel nurse contract or a locum shift
| Travel nurse contract | Locum shifts | |
|---|---|---|
| What you buy | A block of weeks on a set weekly schedule | One shift at a time |
| Who takes it | A nurse willing to relocate for the assignment | A clinician within driving distance |
| If your need shrinks | The contract's guaranteed-hours and cancellation terms apply | You stop posting shifts. Shifts already booked follow their cancellation terms. |
| Continuity | The same nurse for the whole contract | The same clinician only if they keep taking your shifts |
| Onboarding | Done once and used for the whole contract | Done once for each new clinician, however few shifts they work |
The contract trades flexibility for continuity. You know who's working every week, and you've agreed to the hours whether or not your volume needs them.
How the cost of a travel nurse contract is built
An agency bills you an hourly rate for the nurse's hours. That rate has to cover the nurse's pay, the housing and travel support that makes a temporary move possible, and the agency's fee. How the nurse's pay and stipends are taxed is between the nurse, the agency and their tax advisors.
A locum shift has no housing in it, because the clinician drives from home. You pay the rate for the hours worked, with whatever fee the staffing source charges. You also carry the orientation time for each clinician who is new to your clinic.
To compare the two, total each one over the same period, using real quotes:
Contract cost = weeks × contracted hours per week × bill rate
Locum cost = shifts you need × hours per shift × all-in hourly cost, plus staff time to orient each new clinician
The contract total is fixed once you sign. The locum total follows the number of shifts you post. If you aren't sure you'll need every contracted hour, the unused hours belong in the comparison.
Onboarding and licensing for travel nurses and locum clinicians
Both need a license that's valid in your state and a file your clinic has reviewed. A travel nurse coming from another state needs either a multistate license your state recognizes or a license from your state's board. Licensure compacts for locum clinicians explains how the nursing compact works. A clinician who lives near your clinic is usually licensed in your state already.
Onboarding is where the two models differ. A travel nurse is oriented once and then works your clinic every week of the contract. A locum clinician who takes one shift needs the same EMR access and the same orientation for a single day of work. Urgent care locum orientation covers how to fit that into a first shift.
Which urgent care gaps fit each model
A travel nurse contract fits when:
- A full-time RN position is open and you expect the search to take months
- A nurse is going on leave with a known start and end date
- Few nurses live within driving distance of your clinic
- You want the same nurse on the schedule every week
Locum shifts fit when:
- A nurse calls out and you need the shift covered
- Peak weeks need extra RN or MA hours on some days
- You need a few shifts a month, or coverage on weekends only
- You don't know yet how much coverage a new location or new hours will need
The two can run together. A contract can cover a long vacancy while locum shifts cover the peaks and call-outs around it.
Questions to ask before you sign a travel nurse contract
- How many hours a week are guaranteed, and what do you owe if you schedule fewer?
- What notice do you have to give to end the contract early, and is there a fee?
- What does the agency owe you if the nurse leaves before the contract ends?
- Can the nurse work at more than one of your sites?
- Who screens the nurse, and what file do you receive before the first shift?
- Is there a fee if you later hire the nurse?
What to read in a staffing agency contract covers how these terms change what you pay. Your attorney should read any agreement before you sign it.
Where a travel nurse contract is the better choice
Locum shifts depend on clinicians who live near your clinic. Where there are few of them, a posting reaches a small group and the shift can sit open. An agency that relocates a nurse solves that, and a self-service marketplace doesn't.
A contract is also the simpler choice when you need one person full-time for a season. One orientation and one schedule cover the whole period, and your patients and staff work with the same nurse throughout.
Rediworks is a self-service marketplace for urgent care locum shifts, including RN and MA shifts. You post the clinician type, dates and shift details yourself. Sign up to post shifts.