NLC Compact, Pacific Northwest adventure, and a genuine rural healthcare crisis that drives $2,200–$3,500/week across specialties. From Portland to the high desert, Oregon has consistent year-round travel demand.
Live openings updated every 4 hours. NLC Compact license holders can start immediately.
New Oregon openings posted regularly — rural positions especially active.
Join Priority List| Specialty | OR Weekly Pay | NLC Compact | Demand |
|---|---|---|---|
| ICU / Critical Care | $2,800–$3,500/wk | NLC Compact ✓ | High |
| OR / Perioperative | $2,700–$3,400/wk | NLC Compact ✓ | High |
| ER / Emergency | $2,600–$3,200/wk | NLC Compact ✓ | High |
| L&D / OB | $2,400–$3,100/wk | NLC Compact ✓ | High |
| Telemetry / PCU | $2,200–$2,800/wk | NLC Compact ✓ | Very High |
| Med-Surg | $2,200–$2,700/wk | NLC Compact ✓ | Very High |
| Psych / BH RN | $2,000–$2,600/wk | NLC Compact ✓ | Very High |
| Rural / Critical Access | $2,300–$2,900/wk | NLC Compact ✓ | Extreme |
Cities: Portland (Marquam Hill)
Specialty: Level I Trauma, academic, transplant, burn (RC Sturdivant Burn Center), children's
Oregon's only academic medical center and only Level I adult trauma center — highest-acuity and highest-paid travel assignments in the state; OHSU sits on a hill above downtown Portland accessible by tram
Cities: Portland, Medford, Seaside, Newberg, Hood River
Specialty: Full service, cardiac, oncology, maternity
Providence Portland is Oregon's largest community hospital; consistent travel nurse volume for ICU, tele, and ED positions year-round
Cities: Portland metro (multiple), Silverton
Specialty: Level II Trauma (Emanuel), maternity, behavioral health
Legacy Emanuel (Level II Trauma + Portland area's busiest ER), Legacy Good Samaritan, Legacy Meridian Park — all use travel nurses regularly
Cities: Eugene/Springfield, Cottage Grove
Specialty: Full service, cardiac, oncology
Sacred Heart Medical Center (Eugene) is the dominant health system in the Willamette Valley — Level II Trauma, significant travel nurse volume
Cities: Medford, Ashland, Grants Pass
Specialty: Full service, cardiac, Level II Trauma
Southern Oregon market — medically underserved corridor near California border; consistent travel demand, lower COL than Portland metro
Cities: Bend, Redmond, Prineville, Madras
Specialty: Full service, Level II Trauma, cardiac
Central Oregon / High Desert — fastest-growing Oregon market; Bend is booming; St. Charles Bend = Level II Trauma with persistent travel gaps due to rapid regional population growth
Eastern and rural Oregon has some of the most extreme healthcare worker shortages in the country. These markets pay crisis-level premiums because travel nurses are often the only RNs keeping these hospitals open.
Population: 7,400 | Hospital: Harney District Hospital
Most remote county in contiguous US — 10,000+ sq mi with one hospital. Crisis-level travel pay standard.
Population: 7,700 | Hospital: Lake District Hospital
Frontier designation; 4-hour drive to nearest Level I trauma. RN travel rates at crisis premium.
Population: 6,900 | Hospital: Wallowa Memorial Hospital
Isolated Eastern Oregon; no specialists locally; travel nurses cover all acute care.
Population: 23,000 | Hospital: Curry Health Network
Pacific coast isolation; serves high-risk outdoor recreation injuries; ER/ICU travel demand.
Population: 31,000 | Hospital: Saint Alphonsus Ontario
Idaho border market; serves large agricultural migrant worker population.
Yes — Oregon joined the NLC Compact. If you hold a multistate compact license from any of the 40+ NLC Compact states, you can work in Oregon immediately. This makes Oregon much more accessible than California or New York for travel nurses. Oregon's combination of NLC Compact access, Pacific Northwest lifestyle appeal, and genuine staffing shortages (especially in rural areas and Portland metro) make it a top-10 destination for experienced travel nurses.
Travel nurses in Oregon earn $2,200–$3,500/week depending on specialty and region. Portland/OHSU market commands the highest rates ($2,800–$3,500/week for ICU and OR). Telemetry and med-surg in the Portland metro average $2,200–$2,800/week. Rural Oregon is where the most dramatic premiums exist — critical access hospitals in Harney County, Lake County, and Wallowa County regularly post crisis-level travel rates ($2,500–$3,200/week for med-surg nurses) because they simply cannot maintain permanent staff.
Oregon has a dual shortage: (1) a severe rural healthcare access crisis affecting 17+ frontier/rural counties where many hospitals have fewer than 25 beds and travel nurses are often the primary acute care workforce; and (2) a persistent urban shortage driven by Portland's rapid population growth outpacing local nursing school graduation rates. OHSU (the only Level I trauma center in Oregon) consistently uses travel ICU and OR nurses. The Oregon Nurses Association (ONA), Oregon's major nursing union, has pushed for staffing ratios — which has further increased travel demand as facilities build in supplemental staffing.
OHSU (Oregon Health & Science University) is one of the most clinically prestigious assignments available in the Pacific Northwest. It is Oregon's only academic medical center and Level I adult trauma center. OHSU is also home to the Doernbecher Children's Hospital, a nationally ranked burn center, and one of the top cancer research institutes in the US. Travel nurses at OHSU gain academic medical center experience that is highly marketable for future high-acuity positions. OHSU sits on Marquam Hill in Portland and is accessible via a gondola tram from the South Waterfront — a genuinely unique environment.
By market size: (1) Portland — OHSU, Providence, Legacy Health, Kaiser NW; highest OR pay; (2) Eugene/Springfield — PeaceHealth Sacred Heart (Level II Trauma); (3) Bend — fastest-growing market, St. Charles Level II Trauma, strong outdoor recreation appeal; (4) Medford/Ashland — Asante Health, Southern Oregon corridor; (5) Salem — Salem Health, state capital, Mid-Willamette Valley; (6) Rural Eastern Oregon (Burns, Lakeview, Enterprise) — crisis pay, extreme shortage, dramatic landscape. Bend is particularly popular with travel nurses who want Pacific NW outdoor lifestyle (skiing, hiking, whitewater) with smaller-city living.
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Compact license holders start immediately. CatSol places travel nurses across Oregon — from OHSU in Portland to critical access hospitals in the Eastern Oregon high desert.