So, you are taking your first assignment and you aren’t sure what to expect, or you are looking for some advice. We frequently see posts in our Facebook group asking for tips and advice for new travel nurses. Veteran travel nurses are great about giving advice and being there to mentor new travel nurses as they start their assignments. In this article, we put together some of the best advice we have seen in our Facebook group for new travel nurses.
If you have questions, ask them
If you aren’t sure how something works or even where something is at your new assignment, just ask. There may be a few people who get annoyed answering your questions, but most will be happy to help you.
Protect your license
Just because you are a travel nurse doesn’t mean you should have to take a bigger patient load. If the floor tries to give you a patient load that you don’t feel is safe, speak up. If it continues to be an issue where you are constantly getting a bigger or harder patient load, speak to your recruiter to see what can be done.
Don’t talk about how things were done at other hospitals
While you may have learned other ways or methods of doing things at your staff hospital or even at different assignments. Others at your current facility are most likely not interested in hearing “well at this facility we did it this way or we did this another way at my staff hospital.” It may be hard, but just keep it to yourself.
Breathe
We know that sounds crazy but just breathe. You may feel overwhelmed at times during your first assignment, but you will get through it. Take deep breaths and just remember that you have the experience and expertise to do the job. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be there. Your nursing skills don’t change just because your job location does.
Remember it is only 13 weeks
Just keep reminding yourself that the assignment is only 13 weeks. You can do it. If the assignment gets tough or you are just having a hard time with it, remember you are moving on in 13 weeks and your next assignment will most likely be nothing like your previous one. You can get through it, you wouldn’t have signed on if you didn’t think you could make it.
We hope these advice and tips for your first travel assignment were helpful. Do you have any advice and/or tips for new travel nurses or first travel nurse assignments? Comment them below.
New travel nurses, just remember: You got this!
Are you looking for your first travel nurse assignment or your next adventure? Click here to view our job board. If you need to find housing for your next assignment click here to search our housing page.
