They typical day of a traveling nurse can range from the frantic work pace of an ER in a hospital, to a more relaxed medical clinic, waiting for foot traffic to come in. Generally, travel nurse jobs are chosen by the nurse him/herself, and this greatly determines how busy he/she will be each day.
Because the assignments which traveling nurses take are only temporary, there are a lot of different scenarios and situations for them to work under. Assignments range from as little as one week to as long as the nurse elects to stay on the assignment. Travel nurse jobs allow a nurse to work anywhere they want in the US and also allow them to refine their expertise. It is also ideal to gain new experience in new situations which may come up in different areas of the country.
The traveling nurse has the option of deciding which projects they would like assigned to them. There are more job responsibilities for traveling nurses, as they need to use more paperwork, relocate often, and hammer out job responsibility negotiations.
Cruise ships offer great opportunities for travel nurses. Most cruise ships are not allowed to sail unless there is a doctor and/or nurse aboard the cruise line. The nurse who has had aspirations of taking a cruise can now mix this with their nursing career – so long as the pleasure does not overcome their job requirements.
In the event of natural disasters or national emergencies, hospitals are built and/or reopened rapidly. In this event, travel nurses are in high demand. Times of crises, such as 9-11 and hurricanes Katrina and Gustav, employed many traveling nurses, who were deployed to these areas according to their areas of expertise and availability.
Because of these emergency scenarios, travel nursing jobs offer more rewards for the challenges that go along with them. Travel nurses are required to learn new skills rapidly, facing a lot of pressure to do so. The hands-on learning experience provided here offers the travel nurse opportunities to pad their resume with extensive, impressive credentials which are extremely helpful when trying to apply for a more permanent position.
Concerning the financial costs of relocation and housing, the good news is that the majority of travel nurse agencies will cover most, if not all, expenses incurred. There are even bonuses and other incentives which attract nurses to positions which need to be filled. Just by scanning the job assignment list offered will reveal some excellent nursing opportunities – the compensation and bonuses offered will be hard to turn down.
In closing, travel nursing jobs offer a great opportunity for aspiring and experienced nurses alike: if the idea of working in one place for too long causes the fear of becoming burned out, then perhaps looking into a career as a travel nurse is the way to go to advance a nursing career.
