Interested in traveling in October, and don’t know much about it. Do all contracts have the possibility of being canceled or rates being changed?

I am a RN who did travel assignments off and on over a period of 10 years. When I first started out, the pay was pretty good, all travel expenses were paid up front (including car rental), and the company put me up in very nice extended stay hotels. Within a couple of years, the travel expenses, car rental, and meal allowance were reduced and when the company was bought out by a competitor I took that as my cue to leave. After a break of about 18 months, I went with a different company and started working contracts where they wanted me to help with survey prep and recovery in LTC facilities. It was a great job, but as time went on it became more and more stressful and I needed more time to recover between assignments.

What makes travel nursing stressful? It can be a lonely life...you show up at a facility and it is pretty common to be viewed skeptically by the staff there, you don't know who you can trust, and sometimes management still hasn't made concrete decisions about the details of your role there (r/t staff discipline/education, deficiency reporting, etc.) Yes, contracts can be cancelled at any time, and rates can change when contracts expire and new ones start (but it is rare when you are working additional time after a full contract is completed).

On the positive side, travel nursing can be a great experience in terms of providing you with the opportunity to explore different parts of the country. Also, the places where you will be working will offer many opportunities for learning, especially if they are experiencing staffing/budget pressures or are working to implement new practices/systems....being "under the gun" encourages learning new ways to do things and work cooperatively with others.

So, if you are a person who likes challenges, can think quickly on your feet, copes well with change, and you have hide like a rhinoceros, travel nursing may be just the thing for you.

Yes.
I travel and haven’t had my contract cancelled yet. I have extended at the same rate, and chose not to extend when rates dropped. I haven’t experienced a rate change mid contract.
I’d advise you stuff your piggy bank before starting. You’re not paid initially for 2 weeks and experience up front expenses like housing and transportation to assignment prior to your first payday.
Good luck if you go for it!

Rates are already changing (most decreasing) and contracts can be cancelled at anytime essentially.

They do. I was canceled two weeks early spring of 2021 from a covid contract when the government money stopped. A lot of other nurses with less experience were canceled sooner. I worked October to June of this year at the same hospital and the rates would change during renewals. One travel nurse I talked to there was canceled early, she had only a year experience prior. The last 8 weeks I was floated to a different unit everyday. Make sure you don’t end up on a float pool. You get the worst assignments on units you’ve never been to.

If you read your contract it will probably state whether or not you will be expected to move between units d/t changes in census/staffing. Many contracts use a rather general statement about job title and duties, like, "hired for a period of __ weeks to perform ________________________________________________ and any other duties as assigned by management". So, yes, you can be expected to move to other units sometimes.