TNAA-Travel Nurse Across America provided this article.
Going from staff nurse to travel nurse comes with a lot of new experiences. It’s easy to get in your head and talk yourself out of a good thing when you don’t know what to expect. However, ask most travel nurses, and they’ll tell you to go ahead and do it scared because there are a lot of worthwhile experiences coming your way.
Travel Nurse 101’s Brandy Pinkerton and TNAA ambassadors share what shocked them during their first year as travel nurses and how they grew from the experience.
Having the Same Goal But Different Methods
Brandy with Travel Nurse 101
I was shocked at just how different facilities/units do things. There’s more than one right way to do things as long as you are being safe and achieving the same goal. Don’t ever say, “At my old hospital, we did it this way,” unless they ask you.
Lesson Learned
You’re likely used to doing nursing procedures a certain way based on what you were taught at your home hospital. When you become a travel nurse, expect to learn different methods that achieve the same result. Learning these new processes will only help you grow your skill set!
Being Flexible & Adapting
Kristy K.
The shock for me was how quickly jobs wax and wane. At the start of my first contract, there were tons of jobs posted, but just a few months later, there were so few that I was scared about how to keep traveling. When I first started traveling, I had no money, so going without a contract for a while would have been devastating. So learning how to adapt to take jobs, you aren’t really interested in location/shift/money-wise just to make ends meet can take a toll on you mentally if not prepared. But you have to learn to be open to it to make it work and pray that the contract won’t be so bad. It’s only 3 months, right?! With time and saving properly while on contracts, I’ve learned to keep a nest egg so I don’t have to rush into anything.
Leah T.
I knew I wanted to travel to certain areas. Sometimes it didn’t work out to go to one of those places at a certain time of year, and I got bummed about that. I learned to be more flexible (which is something I love that travel nursing changed in me), have multiple backup plans, and that things always seem to work out.
Lesson Learned
There are busy and slow seasons in the travel nurse industry, but being flexible will help you have consistent work and allow you to explore new places that lead to your favorite experiences.
Adjusting to New Environments
Ally F.
When I first moved to Dallas, I was in a hotel for the first week while my apartment got ready. I took my dog for a walk. After I got back, the desk asked where we had walked, and they looked at me, shocked. They said, “Don’t walk too far. It’s not safe.” Didn’t think anything of it until that moment.
Grace P.
So, I’m geographically challenged. I took my first assignment out in Reno, Nevada. Here I was, thinking I’ll be out West, and it will be beautiful and warm. Now, this was in January. Little did I realize how close I was to Lake Tahoe and just how much snow I was going to have to drive in. And I’m an Alabama girl and hadn’t dealt with snow like that since I was way younger. So there’s that. 😂
Lesson Learned
You might be a small-town nurse headed to a big city, or you might go to an area that has natural hazards you aren’t used to experiencing. We’ve all been there! Researching ahead of time can take away a lot of the anxiety.
Experiencing Loneliness
Debbie S.
The shock for me on my first assignment was being away from home and family for 13 weeks.
Staci S.
The loneliness of that first assignment can really be triggered after a hard shift. Find some activity in the community to help build relationships or some sort of local connection. I joined a local gym on my first assignment, and that really helped me have an outlet, as well as make friends in the area.
Lesson Learned
Having a great support system that you can tap into – whether that’s video calling your loved ones back home, making new friends on assignment, or using your agency’s support teams and resources – makes a huge difference in your day-to-day life and overall career.
Finding an Agency That Guides You To Success
You want to take on this new adventure as a travel nurse, but navigating the changes that come with it – from experiencing a new city and work setting to being away from your friends – can feel overwhelming. It’s imperative when researching agencies that you find the one that offers benefits, recruiters, and support teams that can guide you on your journey and can align your career path with your overall personal and professional goals.
Some agencies might have industry experts, like a clinical support team, that can walk you through difficult work situations, or they might have benefits, like free mental wellness resources that you can use whenever you need guidance. Having an agency that will support you makes all the difference when you’re taking on this new venture as a travel nurse.
*Travel Nurse 101 is an online community run by Brandy Pinkerton, who uses her experience in travel and flight nursing to provide resources and encouragement to those wanting to take on the career. TNAA reached out to Brandy for quotes due to the nature of the subject. For more about Brandy, you can follow her updates on Instagram and Facebook.
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.
