This role comes through American Traveler, a staffing partner, so ask which facility you would land in.
Posted Sep 4
Shift and hours
12-hour days3 shifts · 36 hours a week
Unit and setting
PCU/IMU float pool · Hospital PCU/IMU float pool position covering general medicine, surgical, neuro, onc, cardiac, and ortho patients
License
RN licenseActive CA RN license required at time of consideration
Term
18 weeks · starts Sep 21, 2026 · Travel
Do you qualify?
License
Active CA RN license required at time of consideration
Certification
Current BLS, ACLS, and NIHSS certifications required
Experience
Minimum 2 years of PCU experience required
Experience
Minimum 1 year of acute care experience required
Experience
Minimum 1 year of specialty experience within the past 2 years for specialized units
Experience
Full 7-year work history with any gaps explained
Experience
IV start, telemetry, phlebotomy, and A-line experience required
Also asks
Two supervisory/manager references required, including at least one from the specific unit within the past year
What it pays
Against similar roles
Below most California travel postingsCalifornia travel postings that state pay run $1,730/week to $3,100/week, the middle half $2,040/week to $2,800/week, across 319 postings.
Travel package
Housing provided
Benefits
Housing Perks
Tax Advantage Plan
Comprehensive Insurance
Weekly Payroll
Referral Bonuses
Licensure Reimbursement
Travel Allowances
The role and schedule
Patients
PCU/IMU float pool position covering general medicine, surgical, neuro, onc, cardiac, and ortho patientsPCU/IMU float pool position covering general medicine, surgical, neuro, onc, cardiac, and ortho patients
Floating
Floats to other units
Charting
Epic
Hours stated
7:00 to 19:00
Scheduling
No self-scheduling
Support on this unit
Nurse to patient
1:3–1:5<li>Patient ratios vary by unit: IMU 1:3, Tele 1:4, MS 1:5</li> <li>Day shift schedule, 3x12-hour shifts from 7:00 to 19:00</li> <li>4-week schedule providestated in this posting
American Traveler is hiring a PCU Float RN with active CA license, 2 years of PCU experience, and willingness to float across multiple hospital locations.
Details
PCU/IMU float pool position covering general medicine, surgical, neuro, onc, cardiac, and ortho patients
Float coverage across 4 locations: Thornton (La Jolla), Jacobs (La Jolla), Hillcrest, and East Campus (La Mesa)
May float to EDIP (Emergency Department Inpatient overflow in the ER)
Patient ratios vary by unit: IMU 1:3, Tele 1:4, MS 1:5
Day shift schedule, 3x12-hour shifts from 7:00 to 19:00
4-week schedule provided two weeks in advance with no blocked or self-scheduling
Assigned facility for each shift communicated via phone call 2 hours prior to shift start
May be reassigned primarily to a new East Campus unit requiring cardiology/neuro skills if activated during the contract
Uses Epic and Pyxis systems
Requirements
Active CA RN license required at time of consideration
Minimum 2 years of PCU experience required
Minimum 1 year of acute care experience required
Minimum 1 year of specialty experience within the past 2 years for specialized units
Current BLS, ACLS, and NIHSS certifications required
IV start, telemetry, phlebotomy, and A-line experience required
Two supervisory/manager references required, including at least one from the specific unit within the past year
Full 7-year work history with any gaps explained
Additional Information
Float pool position requiring flexibility to work across all assigned PCU units and float down to Med-Surg based on census needs
Must be willing and able to work at all 4 designated float locations throughout the contract
Holiday coverage required: must work 2 of the following 3 holiday periods - Christmas Eve/Day, Thanksgiving Day/day after, New Year's Eve/Day
New Employee Orientation (NEO) attendance required on designated dates
Previous UCSD employees must disclose this at time of consideration and receive UCSD approval prior to assignment
Candidates must be separated from UCSD for at least 1 year to return as a traveler
Neighborhoods+Young professionals concentrate in North Park along 30th Street and University Avenue (Craftsman bungalows, small older apartments, craft breweries, about 10 minutes by car to Downtown and Mission Valley via CA-163 and I-805) and in next-door Hillcrest and University Heights on Balboa Park’s north edge, with cafes, brunch, and trolley/bus links. Quieter, more family-oriented choices are Clairemont, Bay Ho, and Bay Park—1950s–70s tract homes with I-5/I-805 access—plus inland Scripps Ranch, Rancho Penasquitos, Sabre Springs, and Rancho Bernardo. Chula Vista’s Eastlake and Otay Ranch, and Oceanside/Vista on the COASTER, trade a longer drive for more space. University City sits beside UC San Diego and the biotech belt.
Young professionals concentrate in North Park along 30th Street and University Avenue (Craftsman bungalows, small older apartments, craft breweries, about 10 minutes by car to Downtown and Mission Valley via CA-163 and I-805) and in next-door Hillcrest and University Heights on Balboa Park’s north edge, with cafes, brunch, and trolley/bus links. Quieter, more family-oriented choices are Clairemont, Bay Ho, and Bay Park—1950s–70s tract homes with I-5/I-805 access—plus inland Scripps Ranch, Rancho Penasquitos, Sabre Springs, and Rancho Bernardo.
Chula Vista’s Eastlake and Otay Ranch, and Oceanside/Vista on the COASTER, trade a longer drive for more space. University City sits beside UC San Diego and the biotech belt.
Getting around+Daily life is car-first on I-5, I-805, I-8, CA-163, and SR-52; common job centers named in local advice are UTC, Downtown, Sorrento Valley, and Kearny Mesa (the same belt as large health systems). North Park reaches Downtown and Mission Valley in about 10 minutes off-peak; Downtown to Clairemont, La Jolla, or UTC is 15–30 minutes off-peak and up to 40-plus at peak, while Mira Mesa/Sorrento Valley is 15–35 minutes (45-plus peak) and Chula Vista or Oceanside 25–60-plus. Buses run the big corridors; the Trolley and COASTER (Oceanside to downtown in 35–45 minutes) help, but residents still call transit weak. Street parking is competitive in North Park, and traffic plus parking are the inconveniences people say show up after the honeymoon.
Daily life is car-first on I-5, I-805, I-8, CA-163, and SR-52; common job centers named in local advice are UTC, Downtown, Sorrento Valley, and Kearny Mesa (the same belt as large health systems). North Park reaches Downtown and Mission Valley in about 10 minutes off-peak; Downtown to Clairemont, La Jolla, or UTC is 15–30 minutes off-peak and up to 40-plus at peak, while Mira Mesa/Sorrento Valley is 15–35 minutes (45-plus peak) and Chula Vista or Oceanside 25–60-plus.
Buses run the big corridors; the Trolley and COASTER (Oceanside to downtown in 35–45 minutes) help, but residents still call transit weak. Street parking is competitive in North Park, and traffic plus parking are the inconveniences people say show up after the honeymoon.
Outdoors+Balboa Park’s 1,200 acres of gardens, trails, museums, and the San Diego Zoo sit in the geographic middle of daily life. Torrey Pines State Reserve is the signature hike, including Razor Point Overlook down to the beach; Sunset Cliffs and Cabrillo National Monument (historic lighthouse plus cliff tide pools) occupy Point Loma. Mission Bay is the easy bike loop (rentals by the hour; Superbloom next door), and a Golden Hill-to-Coronado ferry-landing ride is a local scenic workout. Pacific Beach’s pier and Belmont Park’s vintage Mission Beach coaster cover the classic beach day; La Jolla Cove and sea-cave kayak tours are the water postcard. With 266 sunny days and rare rain-outs, dog walks, after-dinner strolls, and weekend sports run year-round.
Balboa Park’s 1,200 acres of gardens, trails, museums, and the San Diego Zoo sit in the geographic middle of daily life. Torrey Pines State Reserve is the signature hike, including Razor Point Overlook down to the beach; Sunset Cliffs and Cabrillo National Monument (historic lighthouse plus cliff tide pools) occupy Point Loma.
Mission Bay is the easy bike loop (rentals by the hour; Superbloom next door), and a Golden Hill-to-Coronado ferry-landing ride is a local scenic workout. Pacific Beach’s pier and Belmont Park’s vintage Mission Beach coaster cover the classic beach day; La Jolla Cove and sea-cave kayak tours are the water postcard.
With 266 sunny days and rare rain-outs, dog walks, after-dinner strolls, and weekend sports run year-round.
San Diego is a 70-mile patchwork of neighborhoods stitched by I-5 and I-805, powered by weather so reliable—about 266 sunny days, winters that barely freeze—that outdoor life becomes the default after a shift. For a nurse the employment draw is concrete: UC San Diego Health, Sharp HealthCare, and Rady Children’s sit inside a biotech-defense-military economy with unemployment cited at 3.8%. Hillcrest and North Park offer Craftsman blocks, 30th Street breweries, Pride, and about 10 minutes to Mission Valley; Clairemont, Scripps Ranch, and Rancho Bernardo trade that buzz for quieter streets, parking, and schools. Inland buys more house than the coast. The Trolley, COASTER, and corridor buses exist, but locals still plan around a car. What people refuse to surrender: Balboa Park and the Zoo at the city’s center, Torrey Pines and Sunset Cliffs, and taco-and-craft-beer density from Little Italy to Liberty Public Market.
