Staffmax Healthcare Staffing and Recruiting provided this article.
Article was written by: Julie Hesseltine, RN, CNO, and Sr. Recruiter for Staffmax.
Most of us have a Bucket List of some kind. Maybe it is filled with certain places you’d like to see, foods you want to try, people you want to meet, or things you want to do. Traveling Healthcare assignments can fulfill many of these if you are up to the challenge. For Traveling Healthcare Professionals, it is important to set a few goals, but one must be ready for the challenges that lie ahead. In some respects, Travelers can be put into three generalized categories.
Bucket List Travelers: The three categories-
Travelers who want to see the world through their own eyes
First, we have the Travelers who want to see the world, not through the rose-colored glasses of someone else, but through their own eyes. Their bucket list may have a few states or 50 states that they want to see and explore. Perhaps there are specific places of interest they want to be near in to learn the history of the area they are now living in for the next thirteen weeks. Maybe it is the ability to simply have a picture taken in front of historical markers to send that photograph back home. Art museums, restaurants, cafes, bar scenes, music gatherings, cultural centers, and churches are all different as one travels across the nation. Imagine coming from an area like New York where the dialect is completely different than most and working in the deep South surrounded entirely by others who pronounce everyday words completely differently.
Local colloquialisms and idioms may make one feel as if they are in a different country. Then, of course, there is the wonderment of the local cuisines and learning about and maybe even how to cook new foods and dishes. Flowers and trees, grasses and gardens, architecture and design, the more traveling and exploring we allow ourselves, the more we will learn about this great country of ours.
Travelers who have set many goals
Next up are the professionals who have set many goals. These are the individuals who tell the recruiters that they are chasing money, and, in all reality, that is the most important thing to them. They have college loans to pay for, a mortgage to pay, children in college that they are helping, or are saving for a new home or car. Perhaps, in all honesty, they are hoping to retire early to enjoy life a little earlier instead of when their body tells them they need a knee replacement! These individuals can achieve what they have set out to do, all the while they are still able to enjoy the local traditions and explore the area in which they have landed, although they may be a bit more limited as to where they are going.
Travelers who are a combination of both
Finally, there are those who are a combination of both. These individuals will follow the better-paying contracts if possible but are willing to choose a lower-paying contract because there is a place they want to see or perhaps a family they would like to be around for a while. These professionals may choose to work a higher paying contract and then choose to go to a place they have always wanted to see even though they are not able to bank as much.
Travel contracts are everywhere, in every state in the nation. If there is one thing that every traveler learns, it is that every facility has a different protocol, and things will be different. We are there to adapt. Yet, the biggest thing that we can do for ourselves is to learn from others. Traveling Health Professionals gain hands-on education during every assignment. We learn what works better and what doesn’t work. As you fulfill your Bucket List, keep a diary of what you have learned, and always take lots of photographs. Years from now, you will have stories to tell about the places you have been and the things you have learned.
Our job board is a great place to search for your next travel nurse assignment. We have you covered with our housing page if housing is an issue. You can search for what you are looking for.
