What does a float clause mean in a travel nurse contract?
Short answer
A float clause says the hospital can send you to work outside your home unit — for example out of the OR into recovery or another area — and whether your pay changes when they do.
Why OR nurses should care
OR skills do not always carry over. Floating can put you somewhere you were not trained for in your first week, and it gets much harder to say no once you have signed and your things are in the new city.
What to get written down
Which units you can be sent to, and which you cannot.
Whether you get teaching time in a unit before you work there.
Whether you are paid the same rate, or a different one.
How often floating is likely, not just whether it is allowed.
Ask your recruiter before you sign
- Which units could I be asked to float to?
- Do I get teaching time there before I work there?
- Does my pay change if I float?
- Can you write the limits into the contract?
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This is general help, not legal or tax advice. Every contract and hospital is different — always read your own contract.