WHAT TO CONSIDER BEFORE BECOMING A TRAVEL NURSE

A travel nurse is a nurse that takes up short-term jobs at hospitals or regions that are short on the medical staff. As the name implies, travel nurses tend to travel a lot since the need for their services is not restricted to just one location. For instance, a travel nurse, upon completing a job assignment in Florida, might take a new job assignment in California. Due to the general shortage of medical staff, there are now many Florida travel nurse jobs. This has, in turn, prompted a lot of people to become travel nurses. Before taking up a travel nursing job, several things should be considered. Some of these things include:

Experience

If a nurse decides to start taking up travel nursing gigs, the nurse must carefully look back at all the experience they have had before proceeding with it. One important thing before becoming a travel nurse is self-evaluation. The nurse needs to ask questions like Am I experienced enough to take this on? Will I be able to handle a change in the environment? Will I be affected by constantly traveling? Upon asking these questions, the nurse can be sure that travel nursing is the right thing to do. Nurses that have extensive experience working with different medical institutions may not have trouble deciding considering they have had similar work experience, and that will make them perfect for the job.

Contract Terms

Whether or not a nurse is a first-time travel nurse, the contract terms of the recruiter can be a deciding factor. The contract between the travel nurse and the recruiter usually would contain all that is expected from the nurse as well as the provisions that the recruiter will make available for the nurse. For instance, a new travel nurse may want a contract that states housing will be provided upon arrival. This is because the nurse will be coming to a new environment and needs to get settled in to be able to work optimally. The contract terms should be critically considered before taking up any travel nursing jobs.

Housing

When moving to a new place, getting accommodation is a major concern. Considering that travel nurses travel a lot, it is vital to know that they have a place to come back to after fulfilling their daily work obligations. Imagine a travel nurse having to work a long shift only to leave work and start hunting for a place to stay for just three months. It is a less than ideal situation, and it will affect their performance at their station, which will defeat the purpose of being contracted in the first place. Hence, travel nurses should always consider the accommodation situation of the job destination before choosing to take up a travel nursing job.

Paperwork

If the travel nursing job available is in a different state or even country, the travel nurses might have to process some paperwork and licenses that will allow them to work in that destination. The licensing and regulations for practice in different states differ from one another. So, if a travel nurse is licensed to practice in the United States, the nurse may not be able to practice somewhere else without getting the proper licenses. The processing of the new license can be overwhelming for some as it may mean they have to process new licenses three times in a year. Thankfully, some travel nursing staffing agencies tend to help their candidates with the processing, thereby alleviating the stress associated with it. Nurses looking to become travel nurses must consider this before choosing to take up travel nursing. 

Staffing Company

Staffing companies help link work candidates with institutions that require their services. They perform the function of a middle man that ensure things run in favor of both the candidate and the institution. In travel nursing, the staffing company does not only link travel nurses with job opportunities but also helps them settle in a new location so they can perform optimally. Travel nurses should always consider their access to travel nursing staffing agencies and the benefits offered by the agencies before finalizing their decision to take on a travel nursing job.

After considering all these, interested travel nurse candidates can decide if they are truly willing to take up travel nursing or they simply don’t have what it takes to stick it through. Once a decision is made, there are several trusted travel nursing sites and agencies that nurses can consult with to take on this fulfilling profession.