The Unexpected Upsides of Travel Nursing
You've heard that going from staff nurse to travel nurse can improve your income, but have you thought about the other improvements it could bring?
When recruiters and nurses discuss the benefits of a travel nurse career, they often focus on the logistical, professional, and financial benefits of traveling. Travel can help individuals relocate to a new city, experience different professional settings, and increase weekly take-home pay. Less frequently discussed are the personal benefits that can arise from travel nursing.
Break Free of Routine
As a staff nurse, it is easy to get stuck in a rut. You report to work day in and day out at the same hospital in the same unit on the same floor with the same coworkers. While the routine can be comforting, it often causes the days to blend together. Instead of living each day to its fullest, days turn into weeks and weeks into months with little excitement or change.
Not so for the traveler. While you will undoubtedly establish routines throughout your travel nurse career, you'll also find yourself in new cities, at new hospitals, in new units, and with new coworkers, encouraging you to expand your horizons. Daily activities as simple as finding your way to work and getting lunch will have to change as you learn to navigate in your new surroundings. In the words of Pat S., Telemetry, RN, who has taken several assignments with American Traveler,
“Each part of the country has a different flavor, a different sensation to it, and there’s just a little different seasoning at each institution as far as medicine, state of the art equipment, people that you work with. I have really enjoyed the changes.” Then, just when everything seems to be settling into routine again, you can choose to take another travel assignment somewhere new and exciting and begin again.
Face New Challenges
Breaking from the routine of staff nursing is also sure to bring challenges that will grow you as a person. Everyone has moments of anxiety - those thoughts that sneak in when you consider diving into a new adventure. Maybe you’re a bit of a control freak, and only knowing where you’ll be for thirteen weeks at a time is a paralyzing thought. Maybe you’ve
always lived in the same small town, and you’re worried you won’t fit in anywhere else, or you feel self-conscious whenever you have to meet new people. For Pat S., Telemetry, RN, it was the realization that she and her husband became empty nesters.
"I have been a staff nurse for 37 years, when our youngest child went off to college we decided to take a road trip. Our "road trip" idea lead to taking a travel nursing assignment in North Carolina." Travel nursing at any age is possible!
Whatever your concerns, travel nursing is sure to push you outside of your comfort zone -- in a good way. Not only are you making your way in a new location (success!), you're also learning new nursing procedures, and new systems in new clinical settings. And don’t forget that as you do so, you’ll have the satisfying distractions of meeting new people and making top pay!
Become a Better Version of Yourself
Opening yourself to new experiences and new challenges will enrich your life and help you become the best and more confident version of yourself. Instead of days passing in a blur, you will fill each day with unique and exhilarating experiences. Each challenge you face and conquer will give you courage to take another step from your comfort zone, until you find that your new life is full of new adventures.
Tips for Capitalizing your Travel Nurse Career
Once you’re at your travel nurse job, there are concrete steps you can take to ensure that you make the most of the experience. It can be hard to break old habits and routines - setting intentional goals can help!
- Identify one habit you hold on to for security, and begin to let it go. You don’t have to quit it all at once, but you should set concrete benchmarks to hold yourself accountable. For example, maybe no matter where your travel takes you, you always frequent the same coffee chain. Tell yourself that you will only visit this chain three times a week; on the other days, you will brew your own coffee or test one of the many local coffee shops in the neighborhood. After a month, drop the number of visits to two, and so on.
- Try something new at least once a week. It can be anything - a new restaurant, a new movie genre, a new hairstyle, a new hobby. You’ll probably hate some of them and never repeat them, but you’re also sure to discover passions and loves you didn’t know you had.
- Commit to accomplishing one fear per month that will make you proud of yourself. Choose something quantifiable, such as hiking a specific trail, eating a specific new food, or reading a specific book. Once you accomplish your goal, celebrate and then set a new one!
- Learn a new skill. Whether it’s a foreign language or origami, backpacking or ballroom dancing, pick something that interests you and commit to mastering it. It will take time, but by doing so, you’ll avoid getting stuck in a rut, build discipline, and become a more well-rounded person.
Don't hesitate to rely on your Recruiter to ease the transition to traveling. A experienced Recruiter should be able to tell you all about your new location, provide insight into what other travelers enjoy about the destination, and also be there for a little impromptu encouragement and hand-holding, if you ever need it!
Last Modified On: Jun 21, 2018
The next stop on your travel journey awaits.
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