To become a traveler, a nurse has to work at least 1-2 years in their chosen specialty and grow confident in their ability to work independently. Travel nurses take short-term contracts (often around 12 weeks long) and jump straight into short-staffed units with little to no orientation. This is a difficult transition no matter how experienced you are. I’ve been travel nursing for over a year and have narrowed down five major lessons that travel nursing has taught me!
1. Not everyone travels with the same priorities.
I work with many people who are only there for the famous “travel nurse” paycheck. They clock in, do their job (usually very well!), and clock out. They aren’t interested in making too many friends because they travel home to their families every moment they’re off work. The other side of the spectrum travels to experience new things and meet new people. They are the friendly nurses that might talk your ear off while you’re charting and always want to make plans on your off weekends. If it’s possible to fall in the middle, that’s where I find myself! I love new experiences, exploration, and adventures in a new city, but I will hit up those extra shifts for the paycheck!
2. We are not all single in our 20s.
While I partially fit that stereotype, many travelers are career nurses with 10+ years in their specialty. A surprising number of travelers I’ve met have spouses, loved ones, kids, and jobs back home. These nurses are the ones I admire the most! For them, these contracts are a means to an end. While traveling is not for everyone, it can help people from a wide variety of backgrounds reach their financial goals.
3. Our contracts are not legally binding.
Agencies actually call them “work agreements.” Hospitals constantly drop our pay, float us to other units in their hospital, and end our contracts on a dime. Unfortunately, travel nurses are frequently blocked from that hospital system if they leave their contracts early. According to experienced long-term travelers, these practices were unheard of pre-COVID. Traveler forums are filled with uproar about these practices, but legal action is slow and inefficient. This is one of the downsides of traveling.
4. Housing is hard.
Safe, affordable housing can be tough to find. Most of us use Furnished Finder, a website specifically designed for healthcare travelers to find short-term furnished accommodations without extra fees. I’ve been fortunate enough to find suitable housing at each of my contract locations. Still, many other nurses are not so lucky! Some nurses lose deposits to scammers or end up in some pretty crazy housing situations if they aren’t careful.
5. Traveling can make you an incredible nurse.
Functioning in new environments every few months can teach you endlessly valuable skills, improve your critical thinking, and broaden your knowledge of specialty care. My abilities have blossomed over the past year of traveling. I never could have become the nurse I am today if I had stayed at one location my entire career! Travel nursing teaches you to think on your feet, stand up for yourself, and help you broaden your clinical approach past simple protocols.
While it’s not feasible for everyone, I believe that travel nursing has valuable lessons to teach every nurse. To read more about my nursing specialty, click here! If you are a nurse and have been peripherally following the travel nursing world, keep an eye on this blog for practical help to get started!