I was 28 years old when I first began my travel nurse career. I had never lived in any city besides my home and college towns. I had not resided in any state other than Florida. I had not yet explored the world nor was really educated on cultures and lifestyles that existed outside of my immediate radius. For lack of better words, I was slightly naïve but knew enough to know, there was so much more to learn. This was the initial motivation behind what we will call my “exploration era.”
Starting my Travel Nurse Career:
I took a leap in 2017 to seize an opportunity in southern California in the form of a very generous paying travel nurse contract. This was the first time I’d be leaving home for an extensive period of time and to say I wasn’t a little nervous would be a lie. Ironically, fear has always guided me in the right direction. On the other side of fear is everything you could ever want.
My travel nurse career today
Fast forward 8 years later, I have worked in almost 30 different hospitals all over the states of California and Florida. I have visited 33 countries on 4 different continents. As much as I have seen, I know there is still so much more I have not. I have made a valiant attempt, however to satiate my burning desire to learn as much as I possibly can.
I have witnessed countless amounts people take their last breath before my eyes in my career. It has taught me every single day is a gift, and I am one diagnosis or accident away from not being any different from one of my patients.
I have visited countries that are actively at war, such as Israel. A missile could come flying from a hostile neighbor at any given moment. Majority of their buildings have bomb shelters for that reason. It has taught me safety is not a right, but a luxury.
In Costa Rica, affluence is not abundant, but pura vida is. In Europe, the wine is plentiful, each meal prepared with passion, and its people have a perfect sense of work-life balance. Why else would a siesta be a cultural norm? These countries taught me that money isn’t the only essential component to being truly wealthy.
I have wept with family members over the loss of their loved ones and have had to make really tough decisions in regard to patient care. I’ve lost countless nights of sleep beating myself up over whether I made the correct choices. This has taught me that growth and learning never truly end, medicine is a practice, and as much as we may strive for perfection, we must accept ourselves in all of our humanness. Mistakes and all.
All of my experiences have made all of the “problems” that I deemed insurmountable not just in my life, but in our country, so miniscule. First world problems if you will. The more you learn, the more perspective you have. We should never stop seeking answers, questioning reality, and counting our blessings each and every day. The ability to open our eyes in the morning and go about our days as we please is a greater gift than many may realize.
We hope you enjoyed reading Jenn’s travel nurse career journey. Would you like to share your travel nurse career story? Comment below.
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