New Traveler

Good for you - Glad to have you here!

Traveling is awesome. I'm seen more/done more/made more that I ever hoped to do working at one facility. Sure, there have been average & poor assignments, but the good outweighs the bad.

If you're flexible with where you lay your head, there's no limit to where you can go.

My .02 :-)

-Craig
RN, BSN, and others.

Thanks for such a positive post!!

I know people come here to vent, but sometimes I get a little depressed when I read so many negative things about nursing. Sometimes I have to take a break from this site so I can feel a little better about my choices.

But yeah, it's good to know that while there are some bad things out there, there are some good things too. You just have to decide if the good is good enough to make the bad bearable.

After getting a couple years' experience under my belt I would like to do travel nursing. I am so ready to see the country, and I especially love what you said about getting the chance to try out things you never would if you had stayed in one place. Makes me feel so much better about my decision.

Thank you.

Yeah thanks Craig,
I plan on traveling soon and I was nervous because most of the posts are very negative when it comes to travel nursing. I felt like i had to be overly cautious.

I hope everything works well when i start my first assignment.

I have met some great travel nurses that I still talk to. I wish I could travel, but I am not sure with my mixed experience that I would get anything. Sounds exciting to be somewhere different all the time and not having to have a very long commitment.

I don't think your reading negative things about traveling per se. It's having to deal with those travel companies out there that are not out there for the nurse, but rather for themselves. I have never read a post from a traveler that had a bad experience going to new places, meeting new people, and basically seeing the world, as no other way possible.

It's normal to feel nervous about trying anything new. But you will definately find much support on this forum, as well as the other travel forums.

I am a new traveler myself. Don't hesitate. Start the ball rolling and get out there and see the world.

Kathy

Hi,

I'm currently on my first travel assignment. I live in Orlando, FL and spent my first year and a half as a nurse in my dream field Labor and Delivery. I graduated in May 2006 and started working in L&D on nights at Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies. After about a yr I wanted to start traveling but was a little apprehensive because you're right - you do tend to hear/read more negative and scarey stories about traveling than you do positive/good ones. I wanted to be totally ready for what may come so I purchased that book by Epstien LaRue - Highway Hypodermics, so that I'd have an idea of what I'll need etc. I spoke with any travel nurse that I came across - when I got a bad story I asked them to tell me what they thought was good about it and received their positive stories. After a 1-1/2 at my hospital, I was mentally, physically, occupationally ready for "more". My hospital is a high risk, high volume, high acuity hospital for women and babies. They deliver 35+ babies a day, 13K a year, 1300 a month. When I started praying for "normal" labor pts on my commute to the hospital I realized that I was ready to travel. I researched a few agencies mentioned in that Highway book and I also spoke with some of the travelers on my shift and got a feel for their agencies/ recruiters, etc. I spoke with a traveler at my hospital that had this to say about her recruiter: "They aren't the highest paying, but my recruiter is always available to me, she's gone to bat for me when I needed her to, I've always been placed in beautiful, safe housing, and she always works any extra $ in the assignment budget in my favor whenever and wherever she could". Once I heard that, I decided to look no more. That recruiter is now my recruiter. When I mentioned to her the top 5 cities I wanted to try, not only did she excitedly verbalize 3-5 hospitals in each that were great L&D hospitals, but she made suggestions that helped me formulate a plan for my travel experience for 2008. This way I would be able to experience those cities/states at their best times of year. The company also stays in contact with me all the time via email. Whether it be housing checking on my accommodations, payroll making sure all was well with my pay, account mgr making sure everything is ok, clinical liason calling to introduce herself, or my recruiter just calling to say hello and touch bases - it feels good to know that I'm supported on this first assignment.

I'm having a GREAT TIME traveling and the hospital staff members are so incredibly grateful for my being there. My first day off orientation - where I was looking for evil looks and negative energy/vibes - everyone that I was introduced to said "Thanks for coming to help out" and the support that I've received from the nurses and doctors made me feel right at home. So, all around, I'm glad I chose to travel and I'm happy that I chose my first assignment close to home in case I didn't have a good experience. I'm 2 hours from my apt in Orlando (which I kept because I wasn't sure how this travel thing was gonna turn out) and I'm glad because when I needed things for this assignment that I forgot to bring, I was only a drive away to grab it! Now I feel I'm ready to go full steam ahead for the next assignment. Maybe New York or Seattle for the spring!

Wow. Thanks for that great post. It's very inspiring. I hope I can have as great an experience as you. It seems that the right recruiter is the secret to making things work well.