Have you ever wanted to travel the country, spend stretches of time on the road, and get rid of burdensome ties to a house or property?
Well, if you have a background in medicine or are willing to go to school to earn nursing credentials, a career as a travel nurse may be the job for you.
The Need is There
By 2022, the nursing workforce is expected to grow to 3.24 million, up from 2.71 million in 2012, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Travel nurses are especially in demand at hospitals, hitting a 20-year high in 2015.
The greatest demand is for nurses, but other travel healthcare professionals are also needed including in specialized areas such as radiologic technology, mammography, midwifery, occupational and physical therapy, and speech pathology. Even for nurses with advanced degrees, there’s a large demand for travel nurses. Do any of these career paths strike a chord with you?
Why Become a Traveling Nurse
Travel nursing is a challenging, exciting, adventurous, and rewarding career choice. Plus, there is a lot of freedom one is afforded. Travel nurses get to choose where they want to work, in which specialty, and for how long.
The pay is good. According to Monster.com, hourly wages range from $18-$35 an hour with travel companies offering sign-on and completion bonuses designed to attract specialists. Bonuses typically range from $500-$2500.
Housing and travel costs are usually included, so instead of being tied down with rent or a mortgage, many nurses look at short-term rentals or decide to join a growing community of traveling nomads who live year-round in their RVs. That’s one way to experience traveling around the country!
Nursing is a popular career choice because of the high demand. There’s also another incentive with a loan forgiveness plan called the Nursing Education Enrollment Plan that helps students reduce student debt for people willing to work at specific health facilities where there’s a dire need for staff.
Qualities of Travel Nurses
Every patient wants a professional who’s compassionate, smart, empathetic, calm and respectful. You also need to have a passion for helping others.
Combine a sense of adventure and wanderlust, and you’d make a perfect travel nurse. Most assignments are about three months which is enough time to experience a new city and different culture, and meet people.
In addition to love of travel, nurses need to be adaptable and flexible, and have high emotional intelligence (EQ) skills. Travel health care professionals not only need soft skills, they also need a minimum of an RN degree, experience in their specialty, a valid license in the discipline practiced, an updated physical, vaccinations and CPR card.
While job satisfaction is typically high in travel nursing, it’s still a stressful occupation given the nature of caring for others. You’re a community leader in a lot of ways, someone who creates positive change in so many ways. Even nurses who are calm in stressful situations need to take care of themselves.
If your current life and living situation are conducive to a traveling nurse assignment, you should go for it!
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