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In the know: Before you set out for travel nursing

Stressed Out Nurses Weekly, December 15, 2008

Many new nurses view travel nursing as the ultimate adventure. Visiting new places, free benefits, and a higher salary are just some of the perks that get nurses quickly packing their suitcases.

But before hitting the road, or seas, it is important to realize that as a travel nurse, you are expected to enter a new facility as an expert in the specialty to which you have been hired, capable of caring for all levels of diagnoses and levels of acuity, all while learning and adapting to new and different technologies. Travel nurses are also the first to float, cross-train, or have shifts cancelled.

So before you book your travel nursing itinerary, consider the following:

• You need to revel in as much continuing education as you can find. Travel nurses are not part of a unit's core staff, and therefore, continuing education opportunities may not be extended to you.
• You need mentors and role models. These may be hard to come by when your assignments are temporary and you're traveling frequently.
• You are just beginning to find comfort in supporting the entire family unit—otherwise known as family-centered care—and you may lose some of this comfort if you move to a new unit with so many new things to learn.
• You need to build relationships with physicians and multidisciplinary staff members. This helps you learn and grow in any specialty area, but it is made more difficult when traveling. Hospital staff members tend to regard travel nurses as temporary staff members (which they are) and do not always spend extra time teaching and developing travelers as they might their own staff.

There are many wonderful reasons to become a travel nurse. Just be sure to collect all the experience you can before setting out on your journey.

Source: Stressed Out About Your Nursing Career, HCPro, Inc. 2008. Be sure to pick up your copy today!

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