As a travel nurse, your job is very demanding. You’re constantly on the go, meeting new people and learning new things. Finding time to relax and recharge can be tough, especially when it involves extra planning or travel. That’s why a staycation is the perfect option for taking a break with little spending, planning, and traveling.
Here are a few ideas to help you start planning your next staycation:
Play tourist for the day.
No matter where you’re on assignment, there are bound to be local attractions, museums, historic districts, and experiences you haven’t tried. Many of these usually offer free or discounted admission for healthcare workers! If you’re in a major city, consider checking out CityPass or Go City for a pass that bundles several attractions to save even more on admission.
Book a spa day.
After a long day (or week) at work, there’s no better way to unwind and relieve stress than with a massage or spa treatment. Try dedicating a full day to self-care by booking a pampering service at a local spa or resort. Pro tip: bring something to read so that you can unplug and relax your mind too.
Spend a day at the beach or pool.
Make time to relax and soak up the sun if you’re lucky enough to live near a beach. You can also get the same combination of sunshine and water at your local pool or water park.
Visit a national, state, or local park.
Take advantage of outdoor activities offered at national and state parks, from hiking and biking to kayaking and white water rafting. These activities help boost your endorphins through exercise while enjoying the fresh air. Don’t have a national or state park close by? Try a local park where you can walk or pack a picnic lunch to enjoy.
Go to a concert or sporting event.
Looking for a fun and exciting way to experience your city? You’re sure to find something you like among the various summer concerts and sporting events. Use apps like Eventbrite or All Events in City to check out what’s scheduled near you.
Take a cooking or art class.
Learn something new and stretch your creative muscles by taking a class. Checking out cooking or art classes in your area can help you learn a new hobby, meet people, and enjoy a delicious meal that you can cook again and again.
With a little research into what’s available in your area, you can create a relaxing and fun staycation using these ideas. Start your next adventure and travel around the US, providing top-quality healthcare by joining us at: https://amaremedicalnetwork.com.
Being a travel nurse offers a lot of opportunities and challenges. It allows nurses to explore different locations, meet new people, and enhance their skills. As a travel nurse, choosing your destination plays a crucial role in your work experience, success, and overall happiness. In this blog post, we will discuss what factors to consider when choosing your travel nurse destination.
1. Job Opportunities:
Nurses have different specialties, and destinations have different staffing needs. It’s important to consider the job opportunities available in your chosen destination. Research the different healthcare facilities and the types of jobs available. Consider the demand for your specialty and the competitiveness of the market. If you have a chance, speak with other travel nurses who have worked in the selected location to get insights about their experiences.
2. Cost of Living:
Another factor to think about is the cost of living in your destination. Research the average rental rates, transportation, food, and other essentials in the area. Consider how much your salary would cover these expenses. It’s essential to budget your finances to ensure that you’ll be able to meet your expenses for the duration of your contract. If the cost of living is high in your chosen destination, you might need to negotiate a better compensation package or look for other alternatives.
3. Distance from Home and Loved Ones:
Being a travel nurse involves a lot of time away from home and loved ones. Consider the distance from your family, friends, and support network. It’s essential to have a support system while working as a travel nurse. Think about how far the destination is from your home and the travel expenses involved. It’s also important to check if the healthcare facility offers housing assistance or if you need to secure your own accommodation.
4. Amenities and Entertainment:
One of the perks of being a travel nurse is exploring new destinations and trying new experiences. Consider the amenities and entertainment available in your chosen location. Are there local attractions, restaurants, shopping centers, or recreational activities to try? Research the local culture, traditions, and tourist spots to get an idea of what to expect. Remember, exploring a new place is not just about your work. It’s also about living your life to the fullest.
5. Traffic and Commutes:
Finally, consider the traffic and commute in the area. Do your research on the transportation options in your chosen destination. Check the traffic conditions during rush hour or peak season. Consider the distance between your accommodation and the healthcare facility. Planning your commutes ahead of time can save you from stress and anxiety during your work schedule.
Choosing your travel nurse destination is an exciting and important decision. Consider the job opportunities, cost of living, distance from home and loved ones, traffic, and commutes when choosing your destination. Research the different factors carefully and thoroughly, and don’t hesitate to ask for input from other travel nurses or professionals in the field. With the right preparation and planning, you can ensure that your travel nurse journey is a memorable and rewarding experience.
Figuring out how to furnish a temporary apartment without emptying your pockets can be challenging. How do you come up with the furniture and decor you need to be comfortable and feel at home without wasting the average housing stipend for travel nurses you receive on things you’ll inevitably leave behind?
If you’re planning to take a temporary position in a new city, you’re not alone. More than 25,000 nurses in the US work as travel nurses, taking assignments that generally last from 8 to 26 weeks unless you’ve availed of travel nursing extensions.
When there’s a market need, there’s bound to be someone to fill it, and furnishing temporary housing has an established business model through furniture leasing. But you can also look at a limited-time home as an opportunity to be playful, try out minimalism, or hone your bargain-shopping skills.
Let’s dive into all things apartment furnishing.
How Do You Furnish a Temporary Apartment?
The short answer, hopefully, is cheaply.
The truth is apartment furnishing can be incredibly expensive—especially if you’re trying to buy everything new. By considering used items, you can quickly furnish a temporary apartment and never even have to check the bank account.
To help you find tried-and-true bargain sources, consider:
Garage sales – Garage and yard sales are a great way to find deals and uncover new interior design choices you’d never imagined. Plus, while you’re there, you can get to know the neighborhoods around you.
Free furniture (if you can pick it up) – One step beyond the garage sale are the items that people will happily give away in return for you carting them off their property. Check Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, Freecycle, OfferUp, and the Barter and Recycle sections of Reddit.2
How Do You Furnish an Apartment Long Distance?
Furniture leasing is a great model for either covering your furniture needs in an unfurnished apartment or starting out with critical pieces. At the same time, you fill the temporary space with bargains as you settle in. You can have furniture with a short-term lease of at least one month or indefinitely.
A great feature of this model is being able to shop online and have your items selected and your delivery day scheduled before you cross the country.
CORT furniture rental has been around for decades, but there are more options to choose from depending on where you’re headed, such as Feather, Brook Furniture Rental, Oliver Space, and Aaron’s.
Search for furniture rental by zip code or city to see which providers service the area, and choose one that suits your style the best.
Turning a New Apartment Into a Home
Creating a home is more than just unpacking your boxes and finding the perfect loveseat for Sunday evenings in front of the TV. You need room to give you that cozy, sigh-at-the-end-of-a-long-day feeling where you can fully relax and have a sense of space.
So, what makes it feel like home? Think about:
Scent – Every realtor knows the trick of baking chocolate cookies before an open house to trigger a happy home feeling. What scents evoke feelings of safety and care for you? A high-quality vanilla candle might be something to add to your just-landed shopping list.
Color and pattern – You may have some flexibility in furniture lease selections, but you’re likely not going to be adding temporary wallpaper to this apartment or installing custom drapery. Consider a large, lightweight throw that you can drape over a couch to provide a punch of red-orange, paisley, or whatever your favorite color or pattern is.
Texture – If you’re in a semi-furnished apartment or unfurnished apartment with painted white walls and neutral flooring, you can introduce welcoming textures that feel velvety, soft, plush, or furry to generate warmth. Particularly if you’re in a new place on your own, you want your home to feel like a warm hug. This can be done through texture.
What Do I Bring With Me to a Temporary Apartment?
Of course, your new apartment will feel like a home if you transport every framed photo and decorative item in your possession. But aside from the hassle and cost, you’d be missing out on the opportunity to move lightly, start fresh, and try out new environments.
Essential items that you can fit in a suitcase to help decorate the new digs may include:
Custom-printed textiles – Order a throw with a funny family photo or occasional pillow covers with your favorite vacation snapshots from a vendor like Shutterfly or Canvas Champ.
Photos – Grab some copies of friends and family photos printed on full-size pages and some removable poster putty to hang them. They’ll cover more wall space and cause no worries if they’re damaged or lost.
Practical items with sentimental value – If you’re headed to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, you’ll be bringing winter duds anyway, so why not pack the scarf your cousin knit for you inside a tote bag from your favorite hometown market? When you only have enough room for the necessities, look for the items that remind you of the people and places you love.
Ready to Plan Your Move?
If you are going to live in temporary quarters and change travel nursing jobs every few months, it helps to have a dedicated resource by your side every step of the way. At Host Healthcare, we partner with travelers to ensure their travel nursing experience is flawless.
We’ll work with you to find opportunities that will delight you professionally and support you in the process of becoming an active traveler.
Reach out today to talk to one of our friendly recruiters.
Many travel healthcare workers are familiar with a steady workflow in bigger cities. But, if you’re interested in something different, you might be considering making the switch to a rural area. Maybe you’re already on your way to your first rural position.
Either way, it’s important to know what to expect. There are major differences between rural and urban healthcare needs. Beyond that, if you choose to relocate to a rural part of the country, the changes you experience can impact your lifestyle and work experience. Even if you’re just traveling for a specific assignment, there are unique rural health challenges and benefits that you might not experience with typical urban needs.
Let’s cover a few things you should know about your first job in a rural area. Your expertise and experience will carry you through, but being prepared for what’s ahead and having a better idea of what to expect will allow you to care for your patients more thoroughly without feeling bogged down by new challenges and obstacles.
The Shortage Solution
One of the first things you’re likely to realize in a rural area is that there’s a severe shortage of healthcare providers. Even though rural areas make up only fourteen percent of the population in the U.S., they contain two-thirds of designated healthcare provider shortage areas. Because of this, your first job will likely turn into caring for multiple patients very quickly. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Your role as a travel healthcare provider can be vital for many individuals who work in trades that are common in these areas, including farming and ranching.
While that might seem overwhelming at first, it’s actually one of the benefits of doing this type of work in a rural setting. There’s less competition for assignments, for one. Whether you’re trying to gain experience or you’re ready to start your own practice, these areas of the country are great for establishing yourself and picking up a long list of patients very quickly.
Perhaps most importantly, you can take pride in the fact that people really need you. In urban areas, healthcare providers are everywhere. People may be more likely to choose one based on who shows up first in a Google search, but that’s not usually the case in rural settings. Your patients will rely on your expertise and personal care, and that can go a long way in helping you realize your work makes a difference.
Getting Used to Long Distance
Even though you might have an influx of patients, it’s important to understand what they might have to go through to get to you. Many rural communities don’t have “centralized” locations; rather, people are spread out. They tend to own more land and live away from town.
You might even end up buying or renting a place to stay that’s miles away from where you’ll actually be working. You’ll need to keep that commute in mind when it comes to giving yourself enough travel time each day and knowing how you can save on gas. Some of the best ways to beat high gas prices include:
Checking your tire pressure;
Slowing down your speed;
Getting rid of extra weight on your vehicle.
When it comes to accommodating your patients, consider offering telehealth services. For people who live even further away from your office or might not have the means to drive into town, telehealth is a fantastic way to make your services accessible to them. The healthcare industry’s digitization has created a more inclusive sector that allows people from all walks of life and backgrounds to get the care they deserve. So many rural patients don’t get that care because thanks to fewer providers in these areas. Your patients can talk to you from the comfort of their own homes, and if that’s what allows them to get the help they need, you’re going above and beyond your call of duty.
Creating a Community
Because people tend to live further apart in rural areas, fostering a sense of community will be different than what you’re used to in an urban setting. That has both pros and cons. Some of the best parts about building a patient base in a small town include the following:
Getting to know your patients;
Providing personalized care;
Developing closer relationships outside of work;
Devoting more time to learning your patients’ history.
But, because there are fewer residents and socializing options, it’s essential to take care of yourself and make sure you’re getting the social interaction you need outside of the workplace. Technology can help. Calling friends and family on the phone, hopping on video conferencing calls, and FaceTiming are all great ways to stay connected with familiar faces.
If you plan on staying in the community for a while, however, it’s also a good idea to meet as many locals as possible. The way you meet people might be different. There aren’t as many “gathering places” in rural communities as in urban areas. Open yourself up to more authentic experiences, like talking to someone in the grocery store or while you’re walking in the park.
There will be some eye-opening challenges you’ll have to face as you take on your first job in a rural area. People’s needs are different, and your lifestyle will undoubtedly change as long as you’re there. But you might find the change of pace refreshing, and knowing you’re able to provide personal care for so many people in need will remind you exactly why you started this career in the first place.
As a nurse, you feel it in your mind, body, and soul — and you see it in your colleagues’ weary eyes. Between an ever-growing nurse staffing shortage, an increased need for patient care, and a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, nurse burnout is at an all-time high, and nurse mental health is suffering.
“I’ve been a nurse since 2014, and I love people, but I could not find my niche in nursing,” Alyssa Gainer, RN, said. “I switched jobs every one to two years, and after COVID started, I was ready for a new profession.”
Gainer, a Medical Solutions traveler, could’ve packed it in then, leaving an already struggling healthcare industry with one less nurse during a pandemic. But traveling gave her a path to keep going in nursing.
“I had friends that were traveling, and I love to travel, so I thought, ‘Let’s do it!’” Gainer said. “My husband and pets travel with me, and it has been such a blessing to go to hospitals that sincerely appreciate you being there.”
While she’s enjoying the journey — 7,000 miles so far, filled with “breathtaking views” — it’s also helped improve her mental health and recenter her focus on patient care.
“Travel nursing changed my outlook on being a nurse,” Gainer said. “I feel like I’m actually making a difference, and I’m no longer burnt out! I get to take breaks in between assignments, and I cannot express the joy of being a traveler.”
Luckily for Gainer, becoming a travel nurse gave her a new career outlook, and she addressed her own mental health while she continued to care for her patients. Unfortunately, Gainer isn’t alone; many nurses face burnout and mental health concerns.
Are the Nurses Alright?
Nurses tend to be strong, stoic in many situations, and so used to caring for others that they sometimes forget to care for themselves. While many Americans suffer from mental health issues, nurses have faced heavy personal and professional mental health burdens during the continuing nursing shortage, increased need for patient care, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
In February 2023, Medical Solutions conducted a survey on mental health benefits — answered by 260 Medical Solutions travelers. The survey revealed a lot about nurse mental health and how travel nursing can improve it! We started by asking people to rate their overall mental health, and 55% said it was “good” or “excellent,” 28% “neutral,” 15% “somewhat poor,” and 2% “poor.”
In a series of questions, 56% of clinician respondents affirmed they have difficulty sleeping, 56% often worry about things that are out of their control, and 35% are often fatigued to the point that it impacts their ability to function. Another 16% reported they have difficulty seeing the positive in things.
But it’s not all bad news! We were happy to see 65% of respondents say their mental health was better since becoming a travel nurse than it was when they were on permanent staff. They said they felt the following aspects of travel nursing help improve their mental health: 90% said less involvement in workplace politics, 83% said the flexibility to choose jobs/locations, 71% said better work/life balance and change in environments, 32% attributed the improvement to better support as a travel nurse, and 11% said agency-provided mental health support.
In the same Medical Solutions survey, 61% of travelers responded that becoming a travel nurse actually improved their willingness to continue working as a nurse! This is very significant because it shows that travel nursing is actually keeping nurses working in the healthcare industry — which has great benefits for nurses, patient care, and facilities during the ongoing nurse shortage.
As many nurses know, taking care of your mental health is also important to your physical health. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), people with depression have a 40% higher risk of developing cardiovascular and metabolic diseases than the general population, and those with serious mental illness are nearly twice as likely to develop these conditions. Data from NAMI also shows mental health issues can lead to substance abuse and an increased risk for unemployment.
Mental Health Care Solutions
The Medical Solutions team works really hard to put our travel clinicians first and consider them as whole people — body, mind, and spirit. While we know your recruiter is incredible — a rock, a sounding board, and an overall accomplice in the great world of travel nursing — sometimes you have a concern you need to discuss with an objective person. For those times, we offer an amazing Employee Assistance Program (EAP), free to all our current travelers. It provides access to various mental health resources and tools, including 24/7 virtual and in-person counseling sessions with licensed providers (up to five free sessions per issue per calendar year!), crisis lines, on-demand videos, webinars, forums, advocacy contacts, and other similarly helpful resources. Your EAP also extends to your immediate family members and can offer help with relationship and parenting issues, depression, anxiety, stress management, substance abuse, grief, work conflicts, child and eldercare concerns, financial issues, and more.
Code Lavender is also a great program for clinicians and staff facing a serious, in-hospital trauma. A Code Lavender team usually includes hospital chaplains, social workers, holistic certified nurses, trained volunteers, and others who quickly deploy (ideally within 30 minutes) to support a member of the facility’s team with a variety of helpful interventions meant to stabilize them mentally and emotionally.
Another Nurse Helped by Travel
Jennifer Randolph is a Medical Solutions ER RN who’s been in nursing for nearly 20 years.
“I’ve held many titles and roles, but my most proud is being an emergency room travel nurse,” Randolph said.
When the healthcare world changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and nurses faced an unprecedented level of mental and emotional strain, she decided to jump out of her comfort zone and try travel nursing.
“Travel nursing has come with an enormous amount of personal and professional growth,” Randolph said. “I’ve met so many amazing people along the way, and it’s renewed my spirit and desire to be the best nurse I can possibly be.”
Take that nurse burnout! Randolph said the best part for her is she knows this is only the beginning of her career renaissance — a journey that so far proved inspiring and reignited her passion for nursing.
“I never thought that at this point in my career, I’d be traveling the United States and enjoying life so much,” Randolph said. “I’ve found a company that supports its nurses and a recruiter who truly has my best interest at heart… it’s brought new life and opportunities to this grateful nurse — and definitely proven it’s never too late to try something new.”
“Travel nursing has been the opportunity of a lifetime for this Midwestern girl,” she said. “I’ve not only flown high in a hot air balloon in Scottsdale, then conquered Thumb Butte Mountain, but I’ve also gone off-road in a Jeep, taking in all the beauty of the Red Rocks in Sedona, and I’ve toured Jerome, Cottonwood, and Clarksdale where we took a passenger train ride in Verde Valley Canyon. There have been so many sunrises and sunsets that I would’ve never had the opportunity to see otherwise.”
“God opened a new path for me, and I am grateful for Medical Solutions for making the journey very fun,” she said. “We’ve traveled over 7,000 miles since starting and have seen the most breathtaking views. If you’re considering traveling, I say do it! It truly has changed my life.”
Admittedly, it’s hard to achieve the perfect work-life balance as a nurse.
The hours are long, and nursing is an inherently stressful profession, one that already carries a risk of burnout. On top of that, there is the challenge of the ongoing nursing workforce shortage, further exacerbating the problem. Plus, if you’re a travel nurse, you may be living a long way from home and your usual support system.
It’s all too easy to let work take over your whole life. But you can achieve a better work-life balance, feel better and keep your career on track by being deliberate about it, said Travis T., senior recruitment manager for American Mobile, the nation’s leading travel nurse agency.
Defining work-life balance for Nurses
You may ask yourself, what exactly does “work-life balance” look like? In a 2012 paper entitled “Striving for Work-life Balance” that was published in the American Journal of Nursing, Susan Simmons, Ph.D., ARNP-BC, defined it this way:
“Work-life balance means bringing work, whether done on the job or at home, and leisure time into balance to live life to its fullest. It doesn’t mean you spend half of your life working and half of it playing; instead, it means balancing the two to achieve harmony in physical, emotional, and spiritual health.”
8 tips to help travel nurses find work-life balance
Here are some key steps to help you achieve the optimal work-life balance as a travel nurse:
Prioritize self-care.
You can’t achieve a healthy balance between work and the rest of your life if you don’t prioritize yourself (and your well-being). “I always remind travelers, ‘Take care of yourself,’” said Travis. “No one else can do it for you.” If you have to schedule self-care activities in advance and put them on your calendar to follow through, do it! Set reminders on your phone so you don’t forget.
Take time off
One of the best perks of travel nursing is the flexibility to set your own work schedule. You can schedule your travel nursing assignments back to back to back…but whether you should do that is another question. It might be better for you to take some time off between assignments and decompress. “I celebrate it when a nurse tells me they need to take a few weeks or even a month off,” says Travis.
Seek mental health care.
“Your mental health really does need to come first,” said Travis. Talking to a mental healthcare professional can help you learn to balance all the stressors in your life. You can call AMN Healthcare’s employee assistance program (EAP) to receive free confidential counseling sessions or access other resources that might help you. Or you can go through your medical insurance company to seek out a provider for mental healthcare services.
Experts have long recommended journaling to help people gain better self-awareness. If you take the time to write out your thoughts and examine your feelings, you may stumble upon some areas to work on. In the AJN article, Simmons noted that it may be easier to achieve balance when you know yourself better.
Exercise
If you need an excuse to carve out time for a workout, here it is: exercise can actually help you achieve a better work-life balance, according to research. Exercise has also been shown to reduce stress and improve your mood. Plus, as you probably tell your patients, exercise is good for your physical health and can help you keep your weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels in check. If your travel nurse assignment is near a state park or national park, check out the hiking, skiing, or kayaking opportunities. You can also try out the gym in your housing complex, ask someone to join you on the local running trails, or even pull up a YouTube video and exercise in your living room.
Enjoy a hobby.
Do you ever feel like all you do is work, sleep, and then work some more? Time to break it up with a fun diversion. Pull out those knitting needles or paintbrushes, learn a new language online, or do whatever else makes you happy. Meetup groups are a great way to find other people in your community with similar interests. Another option: check out community colleges and recreation centers in your area to find a class that you can take. You might even discover a new hobby that you can take along on your next assignment.
Talk to your recruiter.
Your recruiter really does have your best interests in mind. If you feel like you need a break between assignments, or you want to switch gears and take a different kind of assignment in the future, let your recruiter know, said Travis.
Take your pet or family member with you.
There’s no one like your loved ones for companionship and support, so why not take them along on your travel nurse assignments? Together, you can conquer anything and have a fun time exploring new areas together. Whether you choose to bring your significant other, your kids, and/or your beloved pet, you can find a number of housing options to make it possible. Just talk to your recruiter or your agency’s housing specialist to coordinate the details.
Achieving work-life balance as a travel nurse is a big goal! It might take some trial and error to figure out what works best for you. Start by picking one area where you can make some small, positive changes. Give it a try, see how it goes, and then assess your situation before deciding on your next steps.
Are you looking for your next travel nurse assignment? Click here to view our job board. Do you need housing for an upcoming assignment? Click here to search our housing page.
If you are a new travel nurse or looking into becoming a travel nurse:
“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts. It even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”
-Anthony Bourdain
What I learned from my first travel assignment:
1. Taxes are a real BIOTCH.
Get a tax professional’s help like www.travelnursetax.com to help you through the headache and loopholes. Don’t plan on getting any money back on taxes; you will likely have to pay, so plan for that.
2. I understand what it feels like to truly be an outsider.
The unit I was on was very “clicky,” and many were unwelcoming. It took a solid month before people would warm up, even in the slightest. I ultimately had to grow thicker skin. Traveling is not for the faint of heart! Not everyone you meet will like you, which is okay. Just keep plugging away and taking good care of your patients. It is only 13 weeks, right?
3. I learned so much as a nurse and about myself.
Also realized I have SO much to learn, and it will be endless learning. At times I will feel really stupid and make mistakes, but ultimately it will provide growth. Growth requires a bit of discomfort. That is partly why I chose this route. If you are looking to coast by, this is not the job for you.
4. I learned valuable skills but also picked up on what works and what doesn’t.
With many methods to do the same job, some are less than ideal. Know when to speak up if your “Spidey-Senses” are saying something is wrong. Ultimately it is your license on the line, a patient’s life. Trust your instincts above all.
5. I found strength and courage I did not think I had.
Against all odds and shadows of doubt, I showed up every day and gave my best. Amongst rude people who want to see you fail, a chaotic assignment most days and with very little gas left in my physical and mental tank. I showed up.
6. I valued the kind people who offered me nonjudgmental assistance.
I learned the magnitude of JUST BEING KIND to others and the difference it makes. Before travel, I always tried to include travelers in everything because I could only imagine how difficult the new transition was. Never forget how much a small gesture of kindness can help somebody!
7. I realized nurses are IMMENSELY underpaid, unappreciated, and undervalued.
Looking at my paychecks now, I feel like I am willing to work through hard days and go the extra mile because I am being paid well. You want the people caring for you to feel valued and compensated. It makes a difference. As a traveler, you have to deal with immense bullshit in unfamiliar environments, so there is a reason you are paid so well!
8. I had to learn to be extremely flexible and adaptable.
I offer a very chill exterior, but my inner self is a typical Type A, eldest child, control freak. You know, the typical nurse personality. I’ve appreciated a deep level of flexibility I did not even realize I had. I developed a more “well shit, here we go, we’ll just have to figure it out” attitude.
9. You will be expected to do more by some staff
you will sometimes get shittier assignments, but you know what? The day will go by fast; I can wipe the tears with hundred-dollar bills for 13 weeks. You’ll have good days and bad days, like any job!
10. For the love of god, trust your instincts and gut.
Even if they seem confident in their answer, permanent staff may be flying by the seat of their pants. This will help keep you from avoidable chaos. From here on, I will trust my instincts and ask the doctors or charge directly. Trust your instincts and do right for the patient.
I am thankful for taking the leap of faith into uncertainty and immense self and career growth. I think it will come with some troubling, stressful times, but it will also come with a vast amount of learning and experience. I think this path will take me in new directions, and I will just have to trust the timing of life.
The gypsy life is not for the faint heart, but it is worthwhile for new experiences. If you are thinking of traveling, you totally should jump on in!
How was your first travel assignment? What did you learn from it? Do you have any advice or tips for fellow travel nurses about to embark on their first travel assignment? Comment them below
Being a traveling nurse is one of the best jobs out there. It’s a flexible job that offers many traveling opportunities, freedom, professional growth, the opportunity to meet new people, a great salary with numerous benefits, and other similar advantages. However, being a traveling nurse is not all that easy. What you might not have known is that traveling nurses also have to be great team players. They come into already formed nursing units, where everyone knows each other well. And coming to an already-formed unit is quite intimidating. If a traveling nurse is joining your nursing unit, there are certain team-building activities that you can all do to make a new nurse feel welcome and comfortable. Different fun things and games that you can all participate in and make the new nurse feel a part of your team.
Here are 7 motivating team-building activities for traveling nurses.
Extend support
Everyone, both senior staff and the rest of the nursing staff, should make the new traveling nurse feel welcome once they first arrive. Extend support, show them the ropes, and train them without making them work to prove themselves. With this approach, you are more likely to build morale, loyalty, and mutual respect. As a senior or mentor, make sure you also invite the new traveling nurse for a coffee or to hang out with everyone from the unit.
Introduce them to company culture.
Every hospital and every unit has a different set of rules. These rules and customs are often unspoken, and a new nurse might not be able to pick up on them right away. This is where you can be of help. Introduce the new traveling nurse to company culture, and rules, both said and unsaid, and show them how your team is organized and how you function best. All this will help them integrate into the team faster and perform their duties better as well.
Organize group hangouts or dinners.
The best way to make someone feel welcome and a part of the group is by inviting them to group hangouts or dinners. This will allow you to get to know the new traveling nurse a bit better out of the work environment. It will also allow you to bond and build a relationship faster. You can organize game nights where you’ll play different kinds of games or sports. You can even go a step further and get everyone custom sportswear – shirts, jerseys, or something similar. This will be a great chance to see how the new nurse is handling team games. Additionally, you can show your traveling nurse around the area. Show them all the important and interesting landmarks, take them to your favorite places around the city, or something similar.
Team-building and ice-breaker games
It’s not easy being an outsider and joining a formed team. That’s why you can make it a bit easier on new nurses by organizing team-building and ice-breaker games. Some of the most popular games include scavenger hunts or scattergories. When it comes to the scavenger hunt, here, the new traveling nurse can introduce themselves while looking for things. Scattergories require dividing your unit into two groups. A third party should pick a letter between A-Z. The letter will dictate what all answers to each category must begin with. If you have any other game ideas, feel free to try them out. Games are a great, fun way to both make the new nurse feel more comfortable and to get to know her better.
Assign a mentor
You should make sure to assign a mentor to the new nurse. Mentors are really important because they can help traveling nurses with assignments, they can provide tools, and help the nurse bond with the rest of the team. Traveling nurses often have a very short orientation period, so having a good mentor in their corner is highly important. Mentors are there to help the new nurse network as well. A mentor is usually an experienced nurse who knows and has a good relationship with other nurses, administrators, doctors, and other hospital staff. So, the mentor will be able to introduce the new traveling nurse to everyone they know in the hospital.
Have traveling nurses introduce themselves at staff meetings.
One of the crucial things for a nursing unit is a sense of community. This is exactly what staff meetings are made for. Regular staff meetings are there to help build communication, respect, and loyalty in the nursing unit. So, when you introduce a new traveling nurse to the unit and have them introduce themselves, you are breaking the communication barriers and allowing easier relationship building.
Send a welcome package.
It could also be a good idea to send a new traveling nurse a welcome package. This welcome package will help the new nurse feel welcome right away. It will make the first day at a new workplace much easier and more comfortable. Since the traveling nurse is not a local and she doesn’t have much time to explore the new place, in the welcome package, you can include a map of the facility, information, and the phone number of their assigned mentor. If you think that the welcome package is a bit too much, you can just email them the map, key numbers, and other information that may be useful.
Everyone loves to feel welcome and accepted at their new workplace. And even though traveling nurses are used to always changing their work location and being new, it’s never a bad idea to do something to make them feel comfortable and welcome to a new unit.
If you are a travel nurse who recently entered the job market, rest assured – the jobs are not gone! The travel nursing job market has been more volatile in the last three years than any other time. Between the pandemic, mass shifting within internal jobs, and hospital systems scrambling to recuperate from increased costs associated with market fluctuations, the travel nursing workforce is in a state of trying to rebalance.
Prior to 2020, average travel nursing pay packages ranged from $1,500 to $2,000 per week. Rates above this were only seen in states where it was difficult to be licensed, such as California, or for very short-term contracts, such as strike nursing.
During the pandemic, rates soared to three and four times that upper amount. Hospitals needed staff immediately and did not have time to wait around for a new hire to finish orientation. Travel nurses were the only answer because they were able to hit the ground almost immediately after being hired.
Needless to say, this also caused a decrease in staff retention. Staff nurses who were being paid essentially the same as before the pandemic but working in much more dire conditions chose to leave their homes to travel. A lot of these new travel nurses included less traditional travelers, such as nurses who were married or had children back home.
As these higher rates continued to hang on, even the non-traditional travelers were finding it worthwhile to stay on the road due to the flexibility and high pay that travel nursing offers. For example, a working mom might be able to work nine months out of the year while her children are in school and save enough money to be able to take a full summer unpaid.
Hospitals had extra funding provided at state and federal levels during the pandemic. As Covid hospitalization numbers stabilized, the funding dried up, and hospitals struggled to pay the higher subsidized rates. This was a struggle for nurses who were previously making life-changing money at the higher pandemic rates.
When people fear things slowing down, they typically want to work closer to home. This, paired with the fact that nurses are burnt out and have extra reserves, contributes to the growth we’re seeing in staff and per diem positions.
The Growing Market for Staff and Per Diem Jobs
“Going staff” can be a hard choice for travel nurses who are accustomed to the perks of travel nursing. However, most travel nurses will admit that at some point or another, the chaos of travel life can get tiring, and everyone has moments where they start to feel out of staff and per diem job options.
As the demand weakened for travel nurses, hospitals saw a nice opportunity to add to their permanent staff, and travelers didn’t want to take the risks associated with traveling, so the demand for staff and per diem increased. Hospitals came up with creative pay packages to entice them to come on board, which benefited the nurses who wanted to be close to home because they were able to capitalize on those staff and per diem options.
What Does the Future Hold?
We’re seeing growth in the market. Due to the weakening in travel nursing demand, allied demand is growing, as is per diem and staff. The market correction impacted mainly travel nursing.
What does this mean? Now that travel nursing has stabilized at pre-Covid staffing levels, we should see the normal staffing patterns we saw before the pandemic. As children go back to school, the typical illness patterns will drive normalized doctor visits and care at predictable levels.
Rest assured, the jobs are still out there and in demand but staff and per diem are the new growth leaders in today’s market.
