In this situation I would reach out to the facility and/or VMS and ask the reasoning for her being floated further than originally discussed. I would also find out if this is something that would continue or if this is just needed for a few weeks. If it is something they are wanting to continue, I would get my manager/client manager involved to discuss with the facility or facilities that this is not what we'd agreed upon, and not what was in the contract.
Since this is out of her competencies, we would tell Nurse Betty to please speak with a manger from L&D and/or NICU and state that this is out of her competencies and she will not float.
I would tell this nurse that she definitely doesn't have to stay there tonight. I would try and set up a hotel for the night for her or have her check into a hotel and I'd reimburse her for that night (or a few if she needed to stay there while finding new housing). I would also start looking into new housing options for her.
First of all, I would prevent this from happening by educating this nurse on the area before she gets there. This would prevent the surprise of the different landscape she had envisioned. If for some reason that didn't happen though, I would obviously check in with her to see how she was, I would find out if she'd be able to stay through the end of her contract even with harvesting going on. Then I would make note, to discuss areas in depth moving forward for next assignments to prevent that from happening again.
First off, I have no idea how this would ever happen. There are so many people that double check things, the recruiter, client manager, compliance, - that I don't understand this happening. If for some reason it did, I would apologize to the nurse, have her try and relax for the day while I sorted things out. I would immediately have my client manger get in contact with the VMS or hospital and ask why we were under the impression that this nurse was supposed to start and why she was supposedly cleared. I would try and get her set to start later in the week or the next Monday. If that wasn't an option for this facility, I would find her something else in the area.
Communication is key!! Don't go dark on a recruiter! Even though you might feel bad that you took an assignment through another company, that's alright. Let the recruiter know so they at least know that you found an option. A good recruiter will not get mad that you took a contract with another company. The worst feeling as a recruiter is when a nurse goes dark on you and you dont know if they took another assignment, don't want to travel any more, are mad at you for something, or if they are even alright. The least you can do is communicate with your recruiter, keep them in the loop and they will do the same for you.