Traveling Nurse: Is it For You?

You may want to consider becoming a traveling nurse. These nurses register with a travel nurse agency, which then places them in jobs across the country. The positions are considered temporary, but may last anywhere from a few weeks to a year. As a traveling nurse, you would fill in for hospitals and other facilities when they have a shortage of nurses. This could be due to:

• Lack of applicants in their area
• Large numbers of nurses on vacation
• Nurses on maternity leave
• New facility that isn't fully staffed yet
• Nursing strikes
• Not enough Human Resources people to interview and hire nurses that are needed

Most agencies will want you to have a year of experience as a nurse. After that, you can register and be hired quickly.

 

Some facts about being a traveling nurse:

 

• Pay is excellent, commonly more than the average nurse's pay. This is because it is not a permanent position and requires you to move, even if temporarily, away from your home. It may be up to $48.00 an hour in some cases.
• Your housing, including furnishings, is paid for by your agency; you pay nothing for rent
• Travel to and from your temporary assignment is also paid for
• You do receive benefits from the agency who employs you, in many cases exactly like any other employer (medical, dental, 401K, etc)
• Licensure is something to be discussed with your agency; typically a nurse who has passed Boards is licensed only in the three or four states surrounding that nurse's home. Read more about licensing for traveling nurses here: https://www.travelnursing.com/news/career-development/have-license-will-travel/

 

In order to be a good traveling nurse, you must be

 

• Flexible-willing to accept a variety of assignments in a variety of locations
• Adaptable-you can tune into your temporary location's practices and get along with others
• You genuinely like traveling-you're not going to be 'homesick'
• You must have high level skills: the hospital or other facility you are sent to expects you to be excellent at what you do and not need a lot of training
• You need to be independent and able to manage your time well, and to find your way in a new location-to look at it as an adventure

And as with any position, a facility has the right to dismiss you if you don't work out for it; you are not in a union with a contract type of nursing job.

 

There are also opportunities for specialty nurses, such as an Oncology, Pediatric, Cardiac, or Neurological nurse, for examples. You can also travel as a Radiologic Technician, Occupational, Physical, or Speech therapist; Nurse Managers and Nurse Practicioners.

 

This is a site that hires traveling nurses. We are not recommending it, necessarily, but it gives descriptions of Traveling Nurse positions: https://www.travelnursing.com/what-is-travel-nursing/traveling-nurse-RN-salary-benefits-housing/


If you want to travel, make good money, get a variety of experiences and learn more about people and places, consider being a travel nurse!