By Favorite Healthcare Staffing

August 28, 2024

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How to Maintain Relationships While on a Travel Assignment

Favorite Healthcare Staffing provided this article.

We know that being away from loved ones during a travel assignment can be hard at times. However, there are many easy ways to stay close and connected while still being far apart in distance. Here is our list of tips on how to maintain relationships while you’re on a travel assignment.

Tips on how to maintain relationships while you’re on a travel assignment:

relationships

Stay in consistent communication. 

Even though you can’t talk face-to-face when on a travel assignment, you’ll always be able to pick up the phone and give your loved ones a call. If you’re not big on phone calls, you can also text, video chat, and email. A good way to stay in communication is by having a set day or time that you talk to one another so that you make it a part of your routine.

Give the person you’re thinking about a call when you’re either on your way to work and have a long drive, when you finish working a shift, or even during your lunch break. No matter when you choose to talk, at least you’ll be able to catch up and chat.

Try to make it fun by creating traditions.

A fun way to distract yourself from the fact that you’re away from your family and friends is by creating traditions. The day or night before you leave for an assignment, you could make it a tradition to spend the day together doing your favorite things. Other fun traditions include having a special date night, taking a short trip once you return from a long assignment, or even just watching a show together but separately while on your assignment.

Use social media to stay connected.

relationships

A fun and easy way to stay connected with loved ones is through social media. If you’re on an adventure and want to be able to share the moment, send them a Snapchat so they can see what you’re up to! You can also just send posts that you see to one another to show that you’re thinking of each other. If you’re not a big social media user, you can also stay connected by playing games together, such as Words with Friends!

Plan surprises

A thoughtful way to show that you’re thinking about your family, friend, or partner is by surprising them. If it works out for you, you can either surprise them by traveling to see them or even by sending them a simple gift. Either way, they will appreciate the effort that you put into making them happy.

Have a set plan

It’s crucial to have a set plan when traveling on assignments. Have a specific date of when you will be returning home, as well as when you’ll travel to see each other if that is an option. If you aren’t too far from home, you can even plan a few days off to travel back to see your loved ones. Many people think that travel nurse assignments have to be far away from home, but they can actually be closer than you might think. This can benefit you greatly if you’re prone to getting homesick.

Set expectations

Setting expectations is also very important to remember when maintaining relationships on travel nurse assignments. Know that it can be hard at times to be away from your family or partner. However, you just need to remember that it is only temporary and that you will get through it. It’s also important to know that being a travel nurse on assignments means that you have to be flexible with not only your schedule but your approach to connection as well.  As long as you’re aware of what travel assignments entail, you’ll have the best time on your adventures, making memories that last a lifetime.

We hope these tips help all travel nurses maintain their relationships while they’re away on assignments. How do you maintain your relationships while on assignment? Are there any more tips for maintaining relationships that should make our list? Comment them below. You can also search our open jobs if you’re looking to book your next travel nurse assignment!

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By Jackson Nurse Professionals

March 12, 2021

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Can Your Relationship Survive Long-Distance? 3 Ways to Know…

This article was provided by Jackson Nursing Professionals.

While travel nursing comes with many ups, long-distance romances can be a downfall if you or your partner aren’t equipped for it. Many travel nurses involved in romantic relationships find themselves maintaining their partnerships from afar. Still, it takes a lot of drive, dedication, and effort from both ends to make it last.


If you’re ready to take your nursing career on the road, but you’re not sure about leaving your significant other behind, here’s how to know if the time is right:

Are you willing to put in the extra communication effort?

Long-distance relationships can work – but it’s work. Surprisingly, research conducted a few years ago shows that long-distance couples can be more satisfied with their communication than couples who live near each other. Wow, right? With that in mind, long-distance requires that you either “over-communicate” or set aside time in a way that works for both of you. For instance, you may need to schedule a video chat every night, make a rule on discussing serious matters through text, or set a time to talk every day. If one end of the relationship starts to drop the conversation, it just can’t work long-term.

Does your partner support your travel nursing career?

One of the many benefits of a relationship is having that steady support system. But, if your partner doesn’t believe in your career as a traveling nurse, you may begin to doubt your decision to travel or even find it difficult to share your experiences. An interesting study conducted by Washington University in St. Louis found that your partner’s personality can play a direct role in whether or not you succeed in your career. According to the study, “workers who scored highest on measures of occupational success tended to have a spouse with a personality that scored high for conscientiousness.” So, a key question to ask yourself might be, “is my partner careful, attentive, hard-working, or ambitious?” If the answer is no, long-distance may not be the best choice for the two of you.

Are you willing to compromise?

According to Dr. Gabrielle Morrisey, before you ask your partner to “give up” something (like your nearness to them), you have to be willing to give up something yourself. It’s only fair. So, if your partner is willing to continue a relationship with you while you work as a traveling nurse, your compromise may be in the number of contracts you do back-to-back, or maybe it’s by traveling together – in between contracts – to areas you’re both interested in. Or, maybe you compromise by communicating more frequently than you might normally, especially if your partner is a better communicator than you. Most relationships require some kind of compromise; long-distance relationships just might (occasionally) require more.


Regardless of the distance between you, relationships are work. So, consider your answer to the above 3 questions before approaching your partner about pursuing a long-distance relationship. It might just save you (or them) a lot of heartache.

By The Gypsy Nurse

June 7, 2017

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The Long Distance Relationship Survival Kit For Travel Nurses

This article is sponsored by Travel Nurse Across America®

Long-Distance

10 Helpful Hints to Stay Connected

Hey Gypsies! As a travel nurse, you’ve embarked on a very exciting career, and it probably keeps you on the move most of the time. That’s exactly what attracts professionals to travel nursing—the variety of assignments, new places, new people, new patients. However, it can be challenging to maintain those important relationships when there are so many miles between you. As adventurous as “new” can seem, we still require stability and the people who are familiar to us, trusted, and part of an important support system. If not for these relationships, often the ability to cope and perform, even celebrate, might be much more difficult.

So how can you protect these cherished relationships during your time as a travel RN? It is possible to survive a long-distance relationship. Whether it is with family, friends, or a budding romance, there are ways to help make the miles less painful for everyone involved.  Probably the biggest change for today’s travel nurses is the amazing technology at your fingertips. You can instantaneously share a photo, video, or any moment that’s happening to you with someone via text or email.

Video calls were once something out of a futuristic film and only found in million-dollar corporate offices are now affordable and available to the general public. What’s more, one of the greatest tools is your heart, your emotions, and the ability to stay compassionate and empathetic as a Travel RN while you are apart—that costs nothing but a little time and determination. Here are some helpful hints and tips to keep your long-distance relationship healthy and happy whether you are 100 or 1,000 miles apart.

Here are 10 ways Gypsy Nurses find to stay connected:

1.) Acknowledge your emotions

There will be tough days when you really miss someone. That is the sad truth, but accepting your emotions will help better manage the relationship in general. Don’t keep your feelings bottled up. If you are having a bad day, then cry, scream in your pillow, punch the sofa cushion, whatever helps you release some of that frustration.

2.) Keep some normalcy

Whenever possible, keep things as normal as they were when you were together. These can be very simple—say good morning and goodnight every day. If you can’t call, then text, or send an email. If you are accustomed to starting and ending your day with each other, try to keep up the routine.

3.) Talk

This might seem obvious, but the key is to talk about a wide range of things. Don’t reserve your conversations for big news, heavy topics, or critical decision-making. Be sure you also talk about the little things that are part of your lives. Mixing in the weather, a funny joke, or current events can keep things interesting.

4.) Do things together

Just because you are not in the same room doesn’t mean you can’t share experiences. Play an online game together, watch a TV show or movie while on the phone, or explore a website in sync.

5.) Visit virtually

Today’s technology gives you many options to video conference and talk “face to face.” You can use Facetime or Skype and many other apps you can search online.

6.) Set expectations

This sounds like it could get complicated, but depending on the situation, you should gauge reasonable expectations for the long-distance relationship. Agree upon things such as frequency of visits, convenient calling times, social plans, and dating “rules.”

7.) Be honest

Don’t try to keep everything to yourself. You depended on this relationship for support and comfort before the physical separation, so you should be able to rely on it now. Share when you are lonely, sad, and happy. This will help all parties stay open about feelings and rely on that special connection regardless of location.

8.) Send it snail mail

It still brings a smile when the mailbox has something other than bills and junk mail. Send a postcard, a framed photo of yourself, some selfies the old fashion way.

9.) Enjoy your alone time

Try to take advantage of “you” time for some unexpected cheer. Eat the things only you like, go to places that interest you, watch your favorite movies, and make your own schedule when possible—take a nap, go to bed early, sleep in.

10.) Be supportive

Long-distance is tough on all parties. Be supportive and understanding on all fronts. Don’t keep score or try to win the contest of who has it harder.

We hope these help those Gypsies Nurses out there to stay connected to their significant others!