Nurses seeking a new lifestyle should consider a career in travel nursing. It’s a profession that brings nurses to all fifty states and sometimes to overseas locations. There are people all over the globe who need professional medical care, even if their caregivers are from somewhere else. As a specialized professional, a travel nurse might work in hospitals, nursing homes, or rehab facilities, responding to a need to fill a nursing shortage. Here are four reasons why qualified nurses might choose the travel option:
1. A nurse who travels to different locations around the U.S. can usually earn excellent pay and benefits. It’s not just a matter of earning a high salary, up to $110,000 per year. In this career, a nurse can secure private housing options, free health, life, dental, vision, and professional liability insurance, relocation costs, and licensure reimbursement. There are other ways to earn money too, such as earning bonuses for completing each assignment and for recruiting other nurses into the profession.
2. Going beyond employment in a local hospital or long-term care facility helps a nurse to expand her knowledge and personal arsenal of nursing skills. In each new facility, a nurse is exposed to new medical procedures and emerging technologies. If she can learn a new technique or procedure in a travel setting, she can take that experience back to her home base or onward to the next job. Each experience occurs in a new clinical setting and adds to the nurse’s experience, beefing up her resume and making her more valuable to future employers. After completing a nursing travel assignment, an RN is ready to be more flexible in a traditional job.
3. In the traveling scenario, a nurse can broaden the horizons of her own family. When she takes her spouse and kids with her to a new location, the whole family can adjust to a new culture. If the nursing assignment takes the family abroad, there is also an opportunity to learn a new language and to study history and culture from the perspective of a different nation. Taking the kids to a new location is not always desired, and another option is to request an easy commute. When the kids are off, it’s easy to take them to work at the nearby location.
4. The best part about traveling in the nursing profession is exploring new places while earning money. Traveling can be expensive. For most professions, this is a recreational activity enjoyed during small blocks of vacation time. Even teachers will only travel extensively during summer vacation or for one week at spring break or two weeks at the end of the year.
Working as a nurse in different geographical locations means that arriving at a new destination is only the first step of the journey. Then it’s time to live in a new place and experience how helping people is universal. People always need high-quality patient care wherever they live.
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For more information on Travel Nursing, contact Jeana Olchowy. Follow her @jolchowy25.
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