If you are a staff nurse who has never traveled or been interested in being a travel nurse, there is a good chance you might not understand exactly how travel nursing works. Sure, you get the gist of it: the nurse must have some sort of experience, they are hired through an agency, and they will be there for 13 weeks.
But…what kind of experience? Are there checks to make sure they actually know what they are doing? Are they just in it for the money?
Here are a few things every travel nurse wants the staff on units to know. Because we do take pride in our jobs and want you to feel confident when we come to work in your department!
Starting a Travel Assignment Isn’t Easy
Our first assignment as a travel nurse requires a lot of paperwork. We have to gather all of our medical records and get a TB test and drug screen (for Every. Single. Assignment.) We need regular physicals and fill out a lot of paperwork. Usually, once we think we have everything together, there is something else we have to track down. All of this to say–you have to be motivated to travel, and usually for more than just money! Just getting into your first assignment takes a ton of time and effort while continuing to work your regular job.
We Take Regular Competency Tests
Each agency, hospital, and department will have a preferred set of skills checklists and assessments we have to complete before starting our job. This can range from a checklist assessing our comfort with certain diseases to medication calculation tests. Generally, if a hospital requires it upon hiring for full-time staff, we have to complete it as well. Plus, our skills checklists give your manager an “average” of what we rate ourselves in different areas, so they know exactly what they are getting upfront.
Your Hospital Sets the Experience Requirement
Some facilities will take travelers with 1 year of experience, while others may require 2 years. It is also up to the facility whether or not the experience has to be relatively “recent”. Of course, as nurses, we care about our licenses and should not take jobs that we don’t feel confident in, but ultimately, it is the hospital or department that decides what the experience requirement will be.
We Take Pride in Our Work
Just because we don’t have a “home” job doesn’t mean we don’t take pride in what we do. In fact, most of us are self-motivated and take personal pride in our work. We do our best to provide the best patient care no matter the situation or location–even if it’s not an ideal work environment!
We Know There Are Bad Eggs
That being said–we know there are people that give travel nursing a bad name. We usually understand if you have been burned by an inexperienced or unmotivated traveler and are hesitant to trust us. If you have experienced a travel nurse that makes you wary of all travelers, let us know! Maybe we can help reassure you or at least validate the experience you had.
We Are Not in it Just For Money.
While travel nursing can be quite lucrative, there is also a lot of work that goes into it. The credentialing is extensive, but even more taxing is the moving between locations. From finding short-term housing to packing your belongings every 3 months, the sheer effort of relocating causes many travelers to go back to staff eventually. So yes, the money is nice, but we also have to love working as travelers–the money isn’t enough to keep you going long-term!
We Aren’t Here to Change Your Unit
We might have learned how to do things differently than you do things, but that doesn’t mean we are trying to change your department. If you want to learn a new way to do something, we can show you. But if we haven’t seen your way of doing things, it doesn’t mean we aren’t educated–there is always something new for us to learn as well.
In the end, we are professionals and people just like you. Sounds cheesy, but it’s true. We are usually happy to make friends or keep to ourselves. We appreciate being included in things, but we also recognize it can be hard to warm up to us right away. Feel free to ask about travel nursing–most of us love to talk about our journeys!
Find Your Next Travel Nurse Assignment with Our Job Board!
Are you on the hunt for your next travel nurse gig? Look no further than our job board! Click here to explore all our current opportunities.
Discover the Perfect Housing for Your Next Assignment
Need somewhere to stay on your next travel nurse assignment? We’ve got you covered. Check out our housing page to find your ideal home away from home. Click here to start your search.
