How to Negotiate a Cardiac Travel Nurse Contract: CVICU Scope, CMC and CSC, and the Stipend Ceiling

“Cardiac” covers several different jobs on a travel board: the cardiovascular ICU, cardiac step-down and progressive care units, and the cath lab. When we read BluePipes’ travel CVICU listings page on 27 October 2026, it gave a median of $2,242 a week and an average of $2,173 for travel cardiovascular ICU RN listings over the previous seven days, with 2,273 jobs listed that day. The states with the most listings were Texas (256), Arizona (228) and Ohio (180).

The same day, BluePipes’ travel cardiac cath lab RN page gave a median of $2,570 a week and an average of $2,631, with 519 jobs. Both are rolling figures from job listings, not a survey of signed contracts, and they move from day to day. If your opening is in the cath lab, the cath lab negotiation guide covers call pay and procedure scope in detail; this guide is about cardiac inpatient units. Our own cardiac figure is an editorial estimate, not measured data: see the cardiac travel nurse salary page for it and for the stipend range by location.

1. Find out which cardiac unit it is

A listing titled “cardiac” can mean a fresh open-heart recovery bed or a monitored medical floor. Ask the recruiter, or the manager on the interview call:

• Unit type. CVICU, coronary care unit, cardiac step-down, progressive care or cardiac telemetry?
• Surgical population. Do you recover patients straight from the operating room after coronary bypass or valve surgery, and for how many hours before step-down?
• Devices. Which mechanical support devices does the unit run (for example intra-aortic balloon pumps, ventricular assist devices or ECMO), and are travelers expected to manage them?
• Drips and lines. Which vasoactive infusions do nurses titrate, and do they manage pulmonary artery catheters, arterial lines and temporary epicardial pacing wires?
• Ratios. What is the usual assignment for a fresh post-operative patient, and on nights?

Experience with the same patients and devices is your case for the top of the rate range. If the unit expects you to run a device you have never managed, say so before you accept: a competency gap found on day one of orientation is a cancellation risk, not a negotiation point.

2. Use CMC or CSC if you already hold CCRN or PCCN

The AACN’s cardiac credentials are subspecialty certifications. On its CMC and CSC FAQ (read 27 October 2026), the AACN says CMC is Cardiac Medicine Certification and CSC is Cardiac Surgery Certification, and that candidates “must hold a current clinical nursing specialty certification”, giving CCRN, CCRN-E and PCCN as examples. You do not sit CMC or CSC alone; it is attached to the certification you already have.

From the AACN’s CMC (Adult) and CSC (Adult) pages (read 27 October 2026):

• Two-year option: 1,750 hours of direct care of acutely or critically ill adult patients in the previous two years, with 875 of them in the most recent year. For CMC, 875 of the 1,750 hours must be with acutely or critically ill adult cardiac patients. For CSC, 875 must be with adult cardiac surgery patients within the first 48 hours after surgery.
• Five-year option: at least five years of practice with a minimum of 2,000 hours of direct care of acutely or critically ill adults, 144 of them in the most recent year. Of the 2,000, 1,000 must meet the same cardiac (CMC) or cardiac surgery (CSC) rule.
• Exam fee: $150 for AACN members, $240 for nonmembers, for either exam. The FAQ describes both as 90-item exams.
• Renewal: on a three-year certification period, with 25 Category A Clinical Judgment CERPs and 432 hours of direct care, 144 of them in the 12 months before the renewal date.

No public source publishes a dollar premium for CMC or CSC, so don’t expect a fixed add-on. What a CSC does is show a recruiter, in one line, that you have recovered fresh cardiac surgery patients, which is the experience a CVICU screens for. The PCCN rules and the CCRN guide cover the base certifications; our certification ROI guide covers whether an exam pays for itself.

3. Keep ACLS current for the whole contract

Cardiac listings commonly require ACLS and BLS. Check the expiry date of each card before you submit. A card that lapses mid-assignment is a credentialing problem for the facility, and some will take you off the schedule until it is renewed. The telemetry guide has the American Heart Association’s validity rule.

4. Negotiate floating, call and cancellation

CVICU travelers may be floated to the general ICU or to cardiac step-down; step-down travelers may be floated to telemetry or medical units. Get the terms in writing:

• Which units you can be floated to, by name, and only where you are competent. If you have never recovered open-heart patients, say in writing that you will not take a fresh post-operative assignment.
• On-call. Some CVICUs keep a nurse on call for overnight returns to the operating room. If the contract includes call, get the call rate and the call-back rate written down.
• How often you can be floated, with a cap per pay period.
• Guaranteed hours. How many shifts can be cancelled for low census without pay?

Our guides to floating clauses and cancellation policies cover the wording to look for.

5. Compare the whole week, not the hourly rate

A cardiac offer is a taxable hourly wage plus tax-free housing and meal stipends. The stipends are tax-free only if you keep a qualifying tax home, and only up to the GSA per diem rate for the assignment locality. Two different ceilings apply:

• The housing stipend ceiling is the GSA lodging rate × 7.
• The combined per diem ceiling is (lodging + meals and incidentals) × 7.

Using GSA’s FY2027 rates (October 2026 to September 2027), in the three states that led the BluePipes CVICU listings:

Phoenix is the one seasonal locality here: its lodging rate is $165 a night in January and from September to December, $232 in February and March, $171 in April and May, and $122 from June to August. A contract that starts in spring and runs into summer crosses three rates, so check the stipend against the month you are actually there.

Compare a housing stipend with the housing column, not the combined one. A housing stipend above the lodging ceiling should be taxed as wages; ask how the agency handles it. Every locality, with its month-by-month schedule, is on the per diem pages for Texas, Arizona and Ohio.

Put two offers side by side in the contract comparison tool and check the stipend with the stipend calculator.

Before you sign

1. Unit type, surgical population, devices and drip-titration scope confirmed.
2. ACLS and BLS valid through the last shift.
3. Float units and limits written into the contract, including no fresh post-operative assignments if you lack that experience.
4. Any on-call and call-back rates written down.
5. Guaranteed hours and cancellation terms in the contract.
6. Housing stipend checked against the GSA lodging ceiling for that locality and month.

Grade the final offer with Contract Grade before you sign. For general tactics that apply to every specialty, see the travel nurse contract negotiation guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do cardiac travel nurses make per week?

Weekly pay varies by location, unit and the stipend split. When we read BluePipes on 27 October 2026, its travel CVICU RN page gave a median of $2,242 a week and an average of $2,173 for listings over the previous seven days, with 2,273 jobs listed that day. Its travel cardiac cath lab RN page gave a median of $2,570 a week with 519 jobs. Those are listing figures, not a survey of signed contracts, and they change daily.

What are the CMC and CSC certifications?

They are AACN subspecialty certifications. CMC is Cardiac Medicine Certification and CSC is Cardiac Surgery Certification. Each is added to a current clinical nursing specialty certification you already hold, such as CCRN or PCCN; neither can be held on its own. The AACN lists the exam fee as $150 for members and $240 for nonmembers.

How many hours do I need for CMC or CSC?

Under the two-year option, 1,750 hours of direct care of acutely or critically ill adults in the previous two years, with 875 in the most recent year. For CMC, 875 of the 1,750 must be with acutely or critically ill adult cardiac patients; for CSC, with adult cardiac surgery patients in the first 48 hours after surgery. The five-year option needs 2,000 hours, 144 in the most recent year, of which 1,000 must meet the same cardiac or cardiac surgery rule.

What is the maximum tax-free housing stipend for a cardiac travel nurse?

For a traveler with a qualifying tax home, the housing ceiling is the GSA lodging rate for the assignment locality times seven. For FY2027 that is $791 a week in standard-rate areas, $931 a week in Houston and $966 a week in Columbus, Ohio, all year. Adding the meals rate gives the combined per diem ceiling, which is a different, higher number.

Data reviewed 27 October 2026. Weekly pay figures attributed to BluePipes are that site’s own, as published on 27 October 2026. GSA figures are GSA’s FY2027 locality rates. Certification requirements are from the AACN, as published on the date shown. This is general information, not tax or legal advice.