September 10, 2021

6783 Views

6 Fun Ways to Spend Quality Time with Family for Traveling Nurses

Posted on September 10, 2021August 24, 2021 by Kevin Devoto

Leaving your family for work is sometimes inevitable, particularly if you are a traveling nurse. Being away from your loved ones for prolonged periods can cause stress, anxiety, and sadness for everyone involved. If you travel for work and are looking for ways to spend quality time with your family when you are home, here are some fun ideas to try.

Family Quality Time Ideas for Travel Nurses:

Take a Family Trip

If time permits, take a trip with your family to get some stress-free bonding time. Family cruises are a great choice because they offer myriad activities to satisfy even the pickiest traveler. You also typically pay for the majority of the cruise upfront, so you aren’t hit with unexpected expenses while you travel.

Yet, it doesn’t matter how you choose to vacation — even a fun staycation close to home can be a great way to bond with your loved ones. Taking time off of work has health benefits as well as being fun, so be sure to take the time every so often.

Disconnect From Technology

Having your phone or iPad nearby isn’t always necessary, but many people are joined at the hip with their devices. When you are lucky enough to be home with your family, take the time to disconnect and live in the moment. Even if there are lulls in the conversation, everyone will appreciate your willingness to give them your undivided attention. You never know what interesting things you might hear and learn if you are free of distractions.

Have Dinner Together

Sit down at the dinner table and have a family meal. If anyone in your family likes to cook, help them in the kitchen or at least spend time with them while they prepare the food if cooking is not your forte. Having a meal together (disconnected from phones and technology, of course) is a great way to reconnect with everyone and keep the family interacting. Ask each person at the table about what is happening in their life, and share stories about your life on the road as well.

Have a Game Night

Having a family game night is a great — and inexpensive — way to have some fun with your loved ones. Let each person in the family choose a game that they want to play. If you run out of time to play every game chosen, schedule a second game night so everyone’s choices can be included. A little bit of friendly competition is a great way to bring some normalcy back into your life, particularly if you are traveling more frequently than usual or have recently started traveling for work.

Buy Gifts

Purchasing little souvenirs for your family when you are away is a fun way to show them that you are always thinking of them. You need not break the bank and choose expensive gifts — something unique to the area where you are traveling (food, inexpensive jewelry, etc.) is all that is needed. Even if you are not anywhere fabulous or exciting, grab gifts anyway. Your family will appreciate the fun little collection of items from around the country or globe that you have chosen for them.

Make an Itinerary

Unless you are forbidden to share your location, always ensure that your family knows where you are going before you travel. This is important for your safety, but it also keeps your loved ones in the loop and makes them feel connected to you while you are away. If you are traveling to multiple spots in one trip, create an itinerary and share it with everyone, so they know where you will be each day. Consider also adding hotel contact information in case you are unreachable by cellphone.

Traveling for work can be enriching and fun, but leaving the people you love can also be sad. Use some of these fun tips to keep connected and spend quality time with the ones you care about between assignments.

Are you looking for your next job? Click here to view our job board. Have a job but need to find housing? Click here to view our housing page.

If you are a new travel nurse or looking into becoming a travel nurse:

START HERE

Travel Nurse Guide: Step-by-Step (now offered in a PDF Downloadable version!)

By Tailored Healthcare Staffing- THS

September 8, 2021

11671 Views

Why Hospitals Hire Travel Nurses

Posted on September 8, 2021September 29, 2021 by Tailored Healthcare Staffing- THS

This article was provided by Tailored Healthcare Staffing.

Travel nursing has become commonplace over the last year, and travel nurses are being brought in by more hospitals and healthcare facilities. There doesn’t appear to be an end in demand for nurses, as the shortage for nurses is expected to continue into 2030, according to a study by The University of St. Augustine.

So, instead of hiring full-time nurses, why are hospitals turning to travel nurses to fill their positions?

Seasonal, Short-Term or Crisis Staffing

In many parts of the country, tourism is their economy. People who live in colder weather climates flock to the warmer areas. Those in the colder areas, seasonal illnesses can impact hospitals due to increased visits.

During these seasonal variances, more nurses are needed to treat the demand for care – whether it’s the flu, pneumonia, or vacation-related accidents during those seasonal peaks in travel – like hiking or skiing.

Some areas of the country require nurses to fill critical assignments. The south has to contend with a 9-month hurricane season, so depending on the severity, hospitals will make the call for help. New Orleans could be a hotspot for the next several weeks as the region tackles the fallout of Hurricane Ida. The Delta variant of COVID-19 is over-populating ICUs. Areas with a higher senior citizen community may also require travel nurses to meet demand.

Hospitals may utilize travel nurses to fill a short-term void. They can provide relief to cover a nurse’s time-off or fill temporary roles in between full-time hires.

Hospitals may keep staffing on hand; however, they need to be ready to meet the demand. These 13-week travel nurse assignments are an efficient way to keep up with the surge.

Fill Specialties

Whatever the reason for an opening, time is of the essence, and the hospital needs to fill a position quickly. They don’t have the time to go through a lengthy interview process. That’s where a travel nurse and agency come into play. The agency has already vetted the nurse, so really, a quick interview is sometimes all that is required before an offer is extended.

As a traveler, hospitals will sometimes turn to you first to fill their positions. Travel agencies have an expansive pool of travel nurses at the helm to fill these specialty positions. Some of the specialties that are always in demand:

ICU
Operating Room
Emergency Room
Medical/Surgical
Telemetry

Travel nurses can help hospitals fill these vacancies quickly – allowing them to provide the necessary care to their patients.

Cost-Effective

Travel nurses are not only an efficient way to quickly fill a position, but it’s cost-effective, as well.

It can be expensive to hire or replace a full-time nurse. On the surface, it’s not just the salary, but it’s all of the benefits and even onboarding and training time that’s involved. Hospitals are very budget-conscious.

Because hospitals reach out to travel nurse agencies, they don’t have to provide benefits that full-time nurses receive. Health insurance, PTO, retirement plans are typically not covered by the hospital. The costs associated with hiring another full-time nurse can go back into the hospital or diverted to the current staff on hand.

Time is just as important. HR doesn’t have to use hospital resources to post the jobs or coordinate schedules to conduct interviews.

Nurse Shortages

Hospitals can use travel nurses to cover nurse shortages. Like any other industry, labor shortages can be a stress on hospitals, especially since people’s health is at stake, as opposed to waiting an extra five minutes for your dinner to be served.

There are many factors which can result in these shortages. With the COVID pandemic continuing to impact ICUs, burnout has been one of the top factors. Nurses may be unhappy with shift distribution and feel certain nurses might be getting the more desired shifts. General turnover, as well. Nurses might be leaving for better offers at a higher rate.

Nurse shortages directly impact the quality of care hospitals provide their patients. Hospitals in smaller towns or rural areas may feel it the most. The pool of applicants might be smaller in their area, so they reach out to travel nurses to expand their radius.

Travel nurses fill the void and help hospitals reach a sustainable level of labor.

Reduced Turnover and Overtime Costs

The cost to replace a nurse is high. According to Nursing World, it can cost up to $60,000 to replace a nurse.

If a hospital lets a nurse go or loses one to another hospital, they just aren’t losing a body. Some of the costs associated with turnover include payment for unused vacation, advertising and recruiting costs and interviewing and onboarding costs.

White, the travel nurse rate, may be a bit higher, hospitals still may come out ahead in the long run.

Travel nurses also reduce overtime. It’s difficult to project increases in patient-to-nurse ratios. In some areas, hospitals may plan ahead because of potential natural disasters, but when these emergencies happen, hospitals end up paying high overtime. Bringing on travel nurses can save hospitals on overtime.

Travel nurses allow hospitals to run more efficiently and maintain their quality of care while reducing their labor costs, fill open assignments and cover the gaps when demand increases. Travel nursing can be an exciting and fulfilling endeavor, as well. You’re able to travel where you want and use your special skills to make an impact on a patient’s life.

Are you looking for your next travel nurse job? Click here to view our job board. Do you need to find housing for your next assignment? Click here to view our housing page.

If you are a new travel nurse or looking into becoming a travel nurse:

START HERE

Travel Nurse Guide: Step-by-Step (now offered in a PDF Downloadable version!)

By Solomon Wolff

September 7, 2021

8223 Views

Travel Nurses and PTSD: The Effects COVID Has Had on Travel Nurses

Posted on September 7, 2021August 23, 2021 by Solomon Wolff

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a Facebook post about COVID nurses experiencing PTSD. I shared it with the travel nurse forum, and it really resonated with many of the nurses there, having received over 1,200 likes and a ton of comments. I’m not alone in my silent suffering.

Nurses and PTSD

This weekend marks my last 5 nights of work as a traveler in a COVID ICU. My contract is up, and although they have offered to extend me until December, I just can’t do it any longer. Of course, I have grad school to finish, but even if I did not, I would have to take a long step away from being around patients in danger of dying.

I’ve seen a lot of death in these last 18 months.

I can tell it has affected me; how could it not? I’m an empath in a lot of ways. It helps me be a better nurse. But when exposed to so much suffering and death, it becomes more of a liability than an asset.

I thought we had beat this COVID virus back… and won the battle. On the July 4th weekend, we only had a single COVID-19 ICU patient, and he was from 100 miles away. The vaccine works. Social distancing and masks work. But I failed to remember the depths of human stupidity.

Now… a couple of weeks later, the ICU is full again. Hell, we even had a patient come to us from another state because 9 hospitals had rejected admitting them because they were already full of COVID ICU patients. They lived approximately 5 hours after their arrival. I worked on them for an hour, trying to resuscitate them without success. There were a bunch of worn-out ICU nurses from doing countless rounds of CPR that night. And that doesn’t count all the work done beforehand to stabilize the patient—another avoidable battle lost in this endless war.

I’m just tired of seeing people die despite my best efforts to save them.

This 4th wave of COVID-19 is going to be bad. There are 100 million people in this country who refuse to get the vaccine, but they are walking around, without masks, without social distancing, acting like they’ve been vaccinated. These are the people who think they are invincible or know their “rights” or maybe don’t believe COVID-19 is a big deal.

Maybe you won’t get COVID-19, or maybe just a mild case of it. But if you ignore those 10% of the people who end up in the hospital requiring oxygen or the 2% who end up in the ICU, knocking on death’s door, you need to understand this. When you or your loved one has a serious accident or illness, there won’t be any ICU beds or nurses for you. You might be transferred hundreds of miles away from your hometown to receive care. Because the limited number of hospital beds and staff are being used to treat all those COVID patients that you don’t think about. Maybe you won’t die of COVID, but your care will most likely be compromised because of it. I anticipate another 200,000 people in the USA dying from COVID-19 before this is all over. And I can’t physically or mentally fight this battle for you anymore.

I’m exhausted.

So stop being selfish. Stop thinking only about yourself. I’m glad people weren’t so self-absorbed and anti-vax when polio and smallpox were around. Get the vaccine. If not for yourself, then for everyone else.

But I digress. This RN is tired and weary from a fight that never seems to end. Calling me a hero doesn’t mean anything. Making COVID pay doesn’t fill that empty void. It doesn’t comfort me shift after shift of the non-stop dying. Calling families up and letting them know their loved ones have passed. Of holding the hand of someone as they exit this life. Of calling the end of a Code Blue and looking at all the hollow eyes of my fellow nurses and respiratory therapists, knowing we lost another human being to this damned disease.

Burnt out? Yes. Traumatized? Definitely.

I noticed I’ve been avoiding people and obligations a lot more lately. Self-isolating and ignoring my schoolwork. I probably need some counseling and a long, relaxing vacation somewhere quiet. With no alarms, bells, or loud noises. And maybe a stiff drink. Maybe a good cry.

Thanks for reading.

Please note: the views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect those of The Gypsy Nurse and its staff.

Nurses and PTSD

If you are a new travel nurse or looking into becoming a travel nurse:

START HERE

Travel Nurse Guide: Step-by-Step (now offered in a PDF Downloadable version!)

By Theodora Evans

September 3, 2021

4562 Views

How Travel Nurses Can Take Care of Their Teeth

Posted on September 3, 2021August 20, 2021 by Theodora Evans

Being a travel nurse is a very enjoyable profession but also a demanding one. Being on the move constantly can be a great learning experience, in addition to being a lot of fun. But, when traveling often, you can sometimes forget to stay on top of all the necessary daily routines – and one of the most important ones is to maintain your oral hygiene.

While taking care of the health of others, you shouldn’t lose track of your own dental care, which can easily happen, especially while traveling. Here are a few tips that can help travel nurses take better care of the well-being of their teeth.

Before you go

Even before you leave for your latest assignment, there are important things you can do for your teeth. The most important one is to set an appointment with your dentist. Do it early enough so you will have the time for a follow-up visit if there is a need for one.

This can seem obvious if you think about it, but many forget to do it while they are preparing for a trip. Seeing your dentist before you leave can save you a lot of trouble and prevent you from having an emergency in a new city.

Packing

Yes, packing itself can be an important part of taking care of your teeth as well. Don’t forget to clean the toiletries bag in which you keep your toothbrush while traveling. If not cleaned regularly, such a bag can become a home for many bacteria.

Additionally, you should remember not to pack a wet toothbrush for the same reason. Whenever you can, try to dry your toothbrush before packing it. If it’s not possible, clean it and dry it immediately after unpacking.

Maintain your routine

When traveling, it’s easy to forget to maintain your daily oral hygiene routine. This can be a big mistake, especially for someone like a travel nurse, who travels so often. You should always remember to brush your teeth at least twice per day, never for less than 2 minutes long.

In addition to that, don’t forget to floss. If flossing is not always convenient, using sugar-free chewing gum can be an efficient substitute. Studies have shown that using such chewing gum can be almost as efficient as flossing for getting rid of food particles from your teeth.

Be ready to act

While maintaining your routine is very important, it is also important to be ready to break your daily routines and act in case of an emergency. This can be especially difficult when you are in a new city, but when you have a dental emergency, which is something that can happen to anyone, you should be ready to find a local dentist and seek professional help.

Water

Unfortunately, not every place has clean drinking water available. Try and find out about the water conditions in the city you are moving to. If the local tap water is of low quality, it might be a good idea to use bottled water to rinse your teeth after brushing.

But having water with you at all times is generally not a bad idea when it comes to oral hygiene. It can not only help you stay hydrated but also be of great help in keeping your mouth clean at all times while traveling.

Travel food

When we travel, it’s easy to forget ourselves and to indulge in fast food, simply out of convenience. As much as you can, you should try and avoid consuming unhealthy sugary food. It can really have a detrimental effect on your teeth and health in general.

But we are all human, and sometimes it’s almost unavoidable to eat something unhealthy, especially while waiting at the airport in-between flights, for example. But when that happens, you should remember some of the previous advice about maintaining your oral hygiene and the daily routines which are connected to it. If, in such a situation, brushing and flossing are not convenient, you can always use water and chewing gum to clean your teeth and mouth.

Travel nurses dedicate their professional lives to helping other people with their health problems. But as is the case with many professionals, it is sometimes easy for them to neglect their own potential health problems. This is especially true for professionals who travel a lot, and travel nurses as a profession defined by it.

This is why it’s imperative to learn to always maintain certain practices connected to oral hygiene in all kinds of surroundings and also while traveling. Informing yourself about the place you are moving to is also a big part of that, as is being ready to act in a new environment and seek professional help when necessary. But above all, the key is in avoiding bad habits and maintaining your daily oral hygiene routine.

We hope you found these tips for caring for your teeth while on assignment. Have you found any ways to care for your teeth while on assignment? Comment them below.

Are you looking for your next travel nurse assignment? Click here to view our job board. Have the assignment secured but need to find housing? Click here to view our housing page.

If you are a new travel nurse or looking into becoming a travel nurse:

START HERE

Travel Nurse Guide: Step-by-Step (now offered in a PDF Downloadable version!)

By TheraEx

September 2, 2021

5531 Views

How Nurses Can Stay Optimistic During the Pandemic

Posted on September 2, 2021August 18, 2021 by TheraEx

This article was provided by TheraEx Staffing Service.

Nursing can be stressful, especially in the midst of a global pandemic. As a nurse in 2021, it’s even more important than usual to make every effort to stay optimistic. Optimism is connected to motivation, and patients deserve motivated nurses. While it may seem hopeless sometimes, there are plenty of things you can try to maintain a positive mental attitude necessary for proper and reliable care. The following tips not only apply to nurses but to just about any healthcare professional, from occupational therapists to medical technologists.

Have Gratitude

We understand that gratitude during these times may be hard to come by. However, no matter the circumstance, it is always possible and beneficial to see the good amongst the bad. Rather than focusing on the negatives, remind yourself of the things that make you happy and hopeful. Think about how thankful you are for your fellow nurses working hard alongside you. Recognize that you are saving countless lives every day just by doing your job. Pay attention to the good things that happen during your shift – like making a patient smile or receiving a compliment from a hospital staff member. It’s always helpful to keep a journal of all these positive thoughts. If you write down three things you are grateful for every day, this way of thinking will become more natural, and you will start to dwell less on the negatives.

Surround Yourself with Optimism

It’s no surprise that if you surround yourself with optimistic people, you’re more likely to be optimistic yourself. While complaining with other disgruntled coworkers can feel cathartic in the moment, it doesn’t boost your mood like genuine positivity does. If you are talking to an unhappy coworker, try not to let negativity dominate the conversation. Make an effort to engage in positive topics. However, we understand that this is certainly easier said than done, especially during the pandemic. So, if you find yourself surrounded by negative coworkers, the next time you’re on break, choose to take a walk. Limit your time with negative people and maximize it with those who exhibit a positive outlook.

The same thing goes for when you’re on social media at work and at home. Follow uplifting accounts in order to not to get bogged down by the drama that exists on social media. At TheraEx Staffing, we try to spread positivity through our social media – by posting inspiring nursing stories or funny nursing jokes.

Focus on Yourself

We know that Covid-19 has put a huge strain on our healthcare and rehabilitation facilities. With these facilities overwhelmed by the massive influx of patients, nurses and other healthcare staff have had to endure stress on another level. And when your job involves taking care of others, it’s easy to prioritize others’ needs above your own. As a nurse, you need to fulfill your own basic needs in order to effectively care for others and avoid compromising your immunity. If you are running on little food and sleep, you can’t expect to perform your best. Taking the time and effort to care for yourself isn’t selfish – it’s necessary for functioning properly and reliably. Don’t feel guilty if you need to take a quick break or eat a snack. Don’t be afraid to reach out to support initiatives for mental health help too. One positive outcome of the current chaos is that it is motivating healthcare leaders to start prioritizing self-care, which is certainly a step in the right direction.

Travel Nursing with TheraEx Staffing Services

While optimism can be hard for nurses to find these days, understand that you have options. Consider joining the world of travel nursing with the help of TheraEx Staffing. Our staffing agency works to match nursing and allied health professionals with facilities where they can shine. You’ll be able to work 13-week assignments in locations all around the country, forwarding your career and giving hope to communities that need your services. Contact TheraEx today to find the perfect facility that can keep you optimistic and successful.

We hope you found this article helpful. Are you looking for your next travel nurse assignment? Click here to view our job board. Have the assignment secured but need housing? Click here to view our housing page.

If you are a new travel nurse or looking into becoming a travel nurse:

START HERE

Travel Nurse Guide: Step-by-Step (now offered in a PDF Downloadable version!)

By Christina Lee

September 1, 2021

4752 Views

7 Easy Self-Care Tips for Travel Nurses

Posted on September 1, 2021October 4, 2021 by Christina Lee

Nurses spend so much time caring for their patients’ health that it is often easy to neglect their own health. A stressful job combined with long, unpredictable hours and being away from home can weigh heavily on a nurse’s health, so it is important that you look after your own mental and physical health so that you can be in top shape to help your patients.

Check out these seven easy self-care tips to ensure you look after yourself while out on assignment!

Easy self-care tips:

1 – Get Plenty of Sleep

Easier said than done, eh! Travel nurses work irregular hours and alternating shifts so getting the adequate amount of sleep is not always easy. However, to function at its optimum, your body needs sufficient rest, so it’s vital to prioritize sleep in your schedule. To ensure a good rest, avoid eating any big meals before sleep and try to put away all electronic devices at least one hour before bed. If you are finding it tough to get to sleep, you could try some apps like Pzizz or Calm, which have sleep meditations and music that can help you catch those well-needed Z’s.

2 – Maintain a Healthy Nutrition Plan

Long hours and a stressful working environment can mean nurses find it difficult to find the time to cook up healthy meals. This leads to binge eating and indulging in those unhealthy snacks from the hospital vending machines during break time. “An unhealthy and unbalanced nutrition plan can lead to serious problems in the long term as well as affecting your ability to tend to your patients. Some ways of maintaining a healthy diet while on the road include packing healthy nutritious snacks, prepping meals the day before, avoiding added sugars, and drinking plenty of water,” says Melissa Mullin, a psychology writer at Student writing services and Essay Roo.

3 – Try Meditation

Studies have shown that just a few minutes of meditation every day can significantly help in the management of stress and anxiety that we face in our daily lives. In a job that can be stressful and hectic at the best of times, travel nurses around the world have turned to meditation to help cope with the demands of the role. Beginners can start off with 5 – 10 minutes of meditation prior to work and can gradually build it up. Apps such as Headspace and Insight Timer have excellent guided meditations as well as soothing soundscapes to help you relax and ease your tensions.

4 – Don’t Forget to Exercise

Finding the time to exercise as a travel nurse can be tricky, to say the least. Shift work and long hours mean exercise can often be neglected, but its importance can not be understated. Exercise leads to the production of endorphins which helps with reducing stress. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends exercising for at least 20 – 60 minutes 3 – 5 times a week which will help keep a healthy cardiovascular system and boost your mental health. Walking, cycling, running and swimming are all excellent activities which you can do whilst on the road. Making them perfect for our list of easy self-care tips.

5 – Explore Your Surroundings

It’s important to find a nice balance between your work and social life as a travel nurse. While tending to your patients is obviously a major part of your life, you also need to be able to let your hair down and have your own fun. “Living away from home can be a lonely prospect, but it certainly doesn’t have to be that way. Try to connect with other nurses and socialize on your days off. Go out for dinner, have a few drinks or enjoy the surrounding nature with fellow nurses or even better meet some new friends away from the hospital,” says Alice Barber, an HR manager at Write my essay and Resumention.

6 – Work For a Reputable Recruiter

It is important that travel nurses work for a recruiter who prioritizes their employee’s health and wellbeing. Being overworked and not looked after properly can be seriously damaging to a travel nurse’s mental and physical health, so choosing a reputable recruiter going forward is vital. You should have a good relationship with your employer, who should be available anytime to support you in your journey.

7 – Consider Therapy

Having a trained mental health professional can be really important for a travel nurse. Having somebody there who can evaluate your mental health and map out a path for going forward will really help you cope with the pressure of the job. Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP’s) offer emotional support to nurses, and you should ensure you have access to this through your recruiter.

We hope you found these 7 easy self-care tips helpful. Have you found any easy self-care tips or routines on your journey as a travel nurse that you would like to share? Comment them below.

Are you looking for your next travel nurse assignment? Click here to view our job board. Already have your next assignment but need to secure housing? Click here to visit our housing page.

For more easy self-care tips click here to read more articles on self-care.

If you are a new travel nurse or looking into becoming a travel nurse:

START HERE

Travel Nurse Guide: Step-by-Step (now offered in a PDF Downloadable version!)

By HealthTrust Workforce Solutions

August 31, 2021

10178 Views

6 Benefits of Working Full-Time as a Travel Nurse

Posted on August 31, 2021August 17, 2021 by HealthTrust Workforce Solutions

This article was sponsored by HealthTrust Workforce Solutions.

Travel nursing has a tremendous amount of perks, however many nurses believe it is a job that can only be done for a short period of time. Surprisingly, there are a lot of nurses who work full-time as travel nurses. There are so many benefits to working full-time as a travel nurse such as long periods of increased pay, flexibility with vacation time, and much more.

Flexibility and Adventure

The options for traveling around the country, even internationally, seem endless when working as a travel nurse. Travel contracts that are 13-weeks long allow nurses to move about the country or a region pretty frequently, giving options to explore different cities, participate in unique activities, and meet new people. For those that like the beach, there are options across the country to work in different beach towns. The same options are available for mountain escape destinations or big city living. For nurses with family or friends all over the country, there are opportunities to work in cities nearby to see them. The options are endless!

Matching Benefits and Time Off

Some travel companies offer more benefits and paid days off once a travel nurse has worked for their company for more than a year. Nurses still work contracts wherever they like, but the contracts are with the same travel company. Additionally, a lot of travel companies will start matching retirement account contributions after working with them for an extended period of time.

Higher Pay

Plenty of nurses choose to leave permanent nursing positions for travel nursing because of the allure of higher pay rates. Travel nurses get paid weekly, with a large portion of the pay being a non-taxable housing stipend. The ability to change travel contracts after a period of typically 13 weeks gives nurses the opportunity to move to another area for a contract that pays more money or is more in line with what they are looking for in a contract.

Holidays and Vacations

One of the biggest benefits of working as a travel nurse is being able to either request specific vacations off before signing a contract or not working at all during a time period when more than a few days off is desirable. Many permanent nurses have to compete for time off during peak seasons with a lot of vacation requests, such as during the summer or winter holidays.

While travel nurses can’t just request massive amounts of time off during contracts, they can choose with quite a bit of flexibility when they start a contract. Since contracts are typically 13-weeks long, a contract might end the third week in November. A travel nurse planning to be off for all of December may decide to not start their next contract until January. This type of planning allows travel nurses to plan for time off in between contracts.

Another way to be off for certain days is to request it before signing the contract. Some hospitals will want travel nurses to work holidays, and this information can be discussed prior to signing a contract and starting the job.

Friends Everywhere

Travel nursing is all about making new connections with people from across the country. Travel nurses tend to gravitate towards each other at assignments or meet up by staying at the same RV parks. Building friendships in new cities makes traveling less lonely or isolating. Plenty of travel nurses will travel together or even back to previous locations because of friendships or because they enjoy the people working in a specific unit or hospital.

Professional Confidence and Skill-Building

Working full-time as a travel nurse builds resilience at work by increasing professional confidence and the ability to adapt to new environments while providing quality patient care. Travel nurses adapt to the unique setting of each new contract, helping them maintain their skills at a high level. Moving to new hospitals and seeing different cultures builds nursing skills, and shows new ways to approach problem-solving. It takes a lot of confidence to be new to a unit and come in to provide safe patient care.

Travel nursing offers full-time benefits and opportunities for nurses looking for higher pay, adventure, and flexibility to take vacations more readily than permanent staff nurses. The skills, confidence, and connections that can be gained from long-term travel experiences are invaluable and last a lifetime.

HealthTrust Workforce Solutions is a wholly-owned subsidiary of HCA Healthcare, the nation’s largest health system. We help travelers find high-pay, rewarding assignments across the country. We offer both traditional travel contracts and full-benefited, full-time travel positions, as well as local contracts. Click here to learn more.

By Frank Hamilton

August 30, 2021

9087 Views

A Complete Guide to Market Yourself as a Travel Nurse

Posted on August 30, 2021August 17, 2021 by Frank Hamilton

The pandemic triggered the demand for travel nursing professionals. But at the same time, it created fierce competition among specialists. Finding a decent job is no longer as easy as before, as travel nurses have many new requirements.

How to overcome tough competition in the labor market and become one of the first to receive the best offers? What is possible to do? Use the following tips to promote yourself as a nursing professional.

Top 5 Tips To Market Yourself As A Travel Nurse

Against the background of increased demand and competition, you have to improve your qualifications and get new experience within the framework of your career. It is time to learn how to promote yourself in the labor market properly. Get started with the following tips to find the best jobs in travel nursing.

Create a Quality CV

The first place to start is to update and rewrite your CV. Most likely, you have gained new skills and experience when dealing with the challenges 2020 made us face. Many people forget to update their resumes from time to time, especially when they have constant work. But for the travel nurses, keeping your resume up-to-date is a must-do.

Do not forget to add new certificates or knowledge of foreign languages. Any international experience will be a great point in your CV. Highlight your traveling nurse experience, plus describe the challenges you have faced and the ways you overcome them.

Create Your Site

The next step for successfully promoting yourself as a specialist is to think about creating your own website. It will be something like a business card or an online resume. You can also run your blog to share your expertise, use-cases, and stories to showcase yourself as a nursing professional and personality at once.

Remember about SEO promotion, as it will help your site reach the top of the search results. Accordingly, your site will be better discoverable and findable by those in search of travel nursing services.

As for promoting your blog, consider using guest posting to reach your target audience and improve your website’s position in the search result. All you need to do is find sites that accept medical guest posts and write some valuable articles that will link back to your website. Find more details here about medical blogs that accept guest posts and how to collaborate with them. By the way, you can discover more about this topic on a medsnews.com website as well.

Use LinkedIn

LinkedIn is one of the best platforms that allow people to find new business connections. Medical service is no exception, which means that you can find travel nurse agencies with top salary offers within this social network.

There you can post your resume and link to your website. It is noteworthy that there are many HR managers on this site, and they are in constant search of the specialists they need. Therefore, creating a profile on this platform is a potential opportunity to receive tempting offers even without additional promotion effort. But if possible, you should devote your time to updating your Linkedin profile and connecting to those who can offer you a job you are looking for.

Find a Recruiter

One of the best ways to stop worrying about your career is to make a connection with a reliable recruiter. As noted earlier, you can find a suitable one on LinkedIn and stay in touch all the time. The new job opportunities can appear unexpectedly, and there are always a lot of applicants for a vacancy.

Therefore, friendly relationships and ongoing communication with recruiters are a good idea for those who want to remain attractive to employers and be the first to receive the best offers. Some specialists keep in touch with several recruiters so that you can follow this tactic as well.

Follow Nursing Ethics

Another important piece of advice for travel nurses is always to follow the rules of medical ethics. As one of the points, it’s about always being positive about your customers. The main thing is to never complain to your new employer about your experience, especially if this experience was negative. Try to turn negative situations into positive experiences. Focus on the ways you dealt with them and the skills you gained in the process.

Moreover, travel nursing companies are always looking for specialists who know how to care from a medical perspective and a human one. Therefore, politeness, calmness, and a positive attitude are needed for those who want to promote themselves as great specialists and get the best jobs offers.

The Bottom Line

Travel nursing services are in great demand. Make sure to show your future employers you are serious about taking care of people – your professionally created CV, website, and well-developed LinkedIn profile can already say a lot about you. Also, don’t forget about making a good impression as a personality and a human since your personal qualities are no less important than professional ones.

With the market as hot as it is right now for travel nurses, it is more important than ever to know how to market yourself as a travel nurse. We hope you found these tips helpful. Have you found ways to market yourself as a travel nurse that has helped you on your travel nursing journey? Comment them below.

Are you looking for your next travel nurse assignment? Click here to view our job board. Already have your assignment but need housing? Click here to view our housing page.

If you are a new travel nurse or looking into becoming a travel nurse:

START HERE

Travel Nurse Guide: Step-by-Step (now offered in a PDF Downloadable version!)

By Jennifer Traub

August 29, 2021

13129 Views

Traits to Have as a Travel Nurse

Posted on August 29, 2021August 29, 2021 by Jennifer Traub

I have been a nurse for eight years and a travel nurse for three and a half. I’ve learned some traits and qualities and ways you can act to be stellar at what you do throughout my journey. They are as follows:

Traits of Travel Nurses:

Adaptability

BE ADAPTABLE! – you will be thrown into a new atmosphere with new coworkers and ways of doing things. Learn to fit in and adapt quickly. Get familiar with the culture of the unit. It will make for a smoother transition.

Don’t be negative

Don’t talk smack about your unit to your coworkers. Consider yourself a guest in someone’s home. No one wants to hear your negativity about their home while you’re coming to visit.

Keep pay to yourself

We all know travel nurses can make bank. Don’t brag to your whole unit about how much money you’re making. Your co-workers don’t want to hear it.

Pack light

Travel light and be a minimalist. Sometimes contracts fall through, or life gets in the way. It is a lot easier moving when you don’t have a lot of stuff to lug around.

Events

Attend travel nurse events. Look up events going on in your local area or city. Other travel nurses may have arranged meetups and social events. It makes life less lonely on the road.

Offer help

Always offer help to your co-workers. Maintaining a good relationship with people on your unit is always nice because you never know if you’ll want to come back or sign on permanently. Never burn your bridges!

Cancelling a contract

Don’t cancel contracts. It is not good for your reputation, and you may make yourself unhireable to sister facilities.

Have fun!

Have as much fun as possible! A new city means hundreds of new things to do with new friends! Go out there and explore!

Experience

Make sure you have at least 1-2 years of experience before you go out traveling. Sometimes you don’t know what kind of unit you’re getting yourself into, so the more experience you have, the better.

Have a positive attitude

Adopt the mentality: I can do anything for 13 weeks. I have worked some amazing contracts and some not-so-good ones. However, none of it matters because there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.

Hope these tips helped!

Travel nursing has been one of the greatest experiences I have ever had, and I have become passionate about helping others do what I did! It is a great way to enjoy life, work, and see our beautiful country.

We hope that these tips for traits of travel nurses have been helpful. Are there any traits we missed? Comment them below. If you would like more information or tips for travel nurses, check out the articles below!

If you are a new travel nurse or looking into becoming a travel nurse:

START HERE

Family Quality Time Ideas for Travel Nurses:

Take a Family Trip

Disconnect From Technology

Have Dinner Together

Have a Game Night

Buy Gifts

Make an Itinerary

If you are a new travel nurse or looking into becoming a travel nurse:

Travel Nurse Guide: Step-by-Step (now offered in a PDF Downloadable version!)

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Fill Specialties

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I’ve seen a lot of death in these last 18 months.

I’m just tired of seeing people die despite my best efforts to save them.

I’m exhausted.

Burnt out? Yes. Traumatized? Definitely.

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Travel Nurse Guide: Step-by-Step (now offered in a PDF Downloadable version!)

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Before you go

Packing

Maintain your routine

Be ready to act

Water

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If you are a new travel nurse or looking into becoming a travel nurse:

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Have Gratitude

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Easy self-care tips:

1 – Get Plenty of Sleep

2 – Maintain a Healthy Nutrition Plan

3 – Try Meditation

4 – Don’t Forget to Exercise

5 – Explore Your Surroundings

6 – Work For a Reputable Recruiter

7 – Consider Therapy