Do travel nurses get mistreated?

Lunalista,

Travel nursing isn't for everyone, and you need to have tough skin, flexibility and experience to fall back on. I've had bad assignments and good assignments, it's a mixed bag. Most floor nurses are nice to travelers, because if they run you off, they are stuck having to pick up more shifts with a bad census. I always like to interview the nurse manager before I start so I know what kind of unit I'm getting in on.

There will always be drama, personality clashes and issues; as long as there are alot of people working in an intense situation, but you just learn to be nice, smile and don't sweat the small stuff.

Re: Getting bad Assignments: This doesn't really bother me much in the ICU (they are all bad). When I did tele, I was first to get an admission, but it just made my assessment and admission skills stronger. I also got floated a ton but that just broadened my experience in other fields that I normally wouldn't have done (Neuro, Ortho, ER).

Re: No help from staff: That's not true. You have to just open yourself up and ask if you get overwhelmed or don't understand the paperwork and what's going on. How can you learn if you don't ask questions? Most staff are very easygoing and are willing to teach and show you stuff. The more you travel, the better you will get with equipment, computer charting etc.

I think stereotypes play a huge role in the perception of floor nursing versus travel nursing..but I love the money, flexibility and huge learning curve that travel nursing brings.

Lunalista - I agree 100% with Spiderella. No offense to your "reliable source," but I've been a travel nurse for 2 1/2 years, and went into it with just 1 year experience, and I love it. Yes, it can be challenging and you do have to be veryflexible and able to "play well with others," but you will never learn as much at one hospital that you do traveling. My experiences have been 99% good and I've worked with many very good nurses and managers, and have learned much from them. It can be stressful when you first get started, but as Spiderella said, the more you do it the more confident, and experienced, you get. Go into it with an open mind, don't hesitate to ask questions when you need to, and don't hesitate to go to your manager if you think you are being treated unfairly. Good luck.

Please don't be discouraged. My dream is travel, also. I had the same concerns as you but after talking to some co-workers who have traveled a lot, I feel relieved. They told me that most of the time, the nurses are glad to have you and are willing to help. My co-workers have only done ICU and ER, so I don't know if that made a difference. I have two yrs. ICU experience and am finally ready to bite the bullet!