Travel Nurse Specialties

Travel Nurse Specialties

If I am a new nurse, what specialty is best for me? How do I get experience in other departments as a traveler?  How do I change my specialty?

These questions among many more are asked frequently by travel nurses. Jill, Wendy, and Brittany will be answering these questions as well as sharing their expertise on choosing and changing specialties as well as answer any questions you may have!

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Jill Eliassen, BSN, RN

As TNAA’s VP of Clinical Services, Jill provides clinical support to client facilities and travel nurses throughout assignments to create a successful temporary staffing experience for both. Working with many of TNAA’s internal departments, Jill is involved at every step of an assignment’s creation and placement, ensuring that each one meets the needs of the facilities and the nurses’ goals. After receiving her nursing degree in 1998, Jill spent 12 years working in multiple acute care settings. She has been in the travel nursing industry since 2011 and serves as a member of the NATHO Clinical Executive Council.

Wendy Bledsoe, BSN, RN

Wendy Bledsoe has been an RN for thirty-five years. After graduating from a hospital-based school of nursing in Canada she headed down to Southern California to work at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles on a pediatric floor.  She then took advantage of an OR internship and worked in the OR at Children’s then moved to UCLA to work on their heart team.  While working on this team she developed a strong interest in transplants and left the OR to become an organ donor coordinator in the Southern California region.  Her family then moved across the country to North Carolina where she continued in the transplant field working with the families of organ donors and assisting with the recovery of hearts, lungs, livers, and kidneys all across the country.  Family demands brought her back to the CVOR for a few years and then she made the switch to work in the Emergency Department.  She worked there full time for six years and then continued to work PRN while working as the lead nurse at a College Student Health Center and traveling as an ER and Pediatric ER nurse for 2 years with TNAA.  While Wendy was traveling for TNAA she was able to complete her BSN through Aspen University.  She was an Ambassador for the company and this led to a position with TNAA’s Clinical Department as a Director of Nursing where she continues to act as an advocate for healthcare professionals as they pursue their travel careers.

Brittany Garcia, BSN, RN, CPN, CCRN

Brittany has been a nurse for 9.5 years, with most of her time spent in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Nursing is actually her second career, her first bachelor’s degree is in Biomedical Sciences where she helped research ethanol fuel production.  She attended the University of Miami’s Accelerated BSN program and began her nursing career in the PICU at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Texas. During her time there she received her Certified Pediatric Nurse credential. She spent about half of her professional career traveling the country with her family as a TNAA travel nurse and earned her Pediatric Critical Care Certified Nurse credential. While traveling, she had the opportunity to work in some of the most prestigious children’s hospitals like Boston Children’s, Seattle Children’s, Arkansas Children’s, Children’s Hospital Colorado, and Children’s Hospital of Orange County.  Along the way she also gained experience in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Pediatric Cardiovascular ICU, Pediatric Urgent Care, and General Pediatrics. Brittany’s passion for nursing and travel has most recently led her to a position within TNAA’s internal Clinical Department, where she looks forward to being a resource for travel healthcare professionals across the industry. She is also continuing to work in the PICU at a local children’s hospital to maintain her skills and relevance to the travelers she collaborates with.

Follow along with her #GypsyNurseAdventure on Instagram @GoingGoingGoneGarcias

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