Travel Nursing

Editor: Today’s post is from a guest RN writing about her experiences in travel nursing.

I have recently been considering a travel nursing job.  I love to travel and there are parts of the country that I have yet to see.  I have known a few travel nurses, and they all say the same thing, “I love it!”  Never one to get stuck in a rut, I decided to do a little research.  I searched the internet and found a wonderful site where I could put in one application and it would be sent to 21 travel nursing agencies.  I love efficiency so I decided to do that.  Then I wanted to know more of the pros and cons about this type of nursing.  Since within minutes of applying, I received several emails and a phone call, I talked to the first recruiter and asked about the benefits and detriments to travel nursing.

The pros were numerous.  Travel nurses earn, on average, more than 20% than their hospital-based full-time counterparts.  There are bonuses of several thousands of dollars for completing the entire assignment (usually 13 weeks).  Travel nurses, because of the bonuses, are able to take off 1-2 weeks, or even an entire month, between assignments (I’m still looking for the downside to that!)  Traveling the country, full benefits, no mandatory in-service or staff meetings and no hospital politics. Utopia?

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Editor’s Note: Today’s post is by a guest RN, if you’d like to write for our blog contact us.

I don’t work in my community.  I drive 25 miles to the northern end of another county to work as a cardiac nurse.  I didn’t think about the location affecting my interaction with patients and other health care staff when I took the position.  I didn’t know it could.

When I first began the job, I struggled a bit with spelling of the doctor’s names and learning their specialties.  After a year I still have to ask ‘what type of doctor are they?’  Patients refer to their doctors and ask if I’ve ever heard of them, or if I think they are a good doctor.  Sometimes they ask me for recommendations of doctors.  I smile and say I’m from a different county and am unsure of the best doctors in the area.  I have come to know a few of them well enough to know whether or not I trust their judgment, but in any professional setting I would not recommend one over another.

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Many nurses seek employment with nurse staffing agencies as they have can more flexibility in how much they work and where they work.  Many healthcare staffing agencies are the providers of choice for long-term care facilities when they are in a pinch during call-offs or as staff members leave their employment.  The nurse functions as an employee of the staffing agency.  The agency may offer full benefits, paid time off and a powerful advocacy for the nurse choosing to work with them.  A major draw for working with an agency is that a nurse may be able to leave an assignment before the completion of an assignment if they find working conditions to be less than desirable.  If a nurse is working in an area with an acute shortage of nurses, the wide availability of open nursing positions gives the nurse more options in choosing the places they work.  If one position is no longer a viable place to work, there are plenty of other options.

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