What is a travel nurse?

[guest042302019, BSN, RN]

Most people have no idea travel nurses exist and even fewer really know what travel nurses are. I can't tell you how many times I tell patients that I'm a traveler and they are like, "Huh? That's even a thing?" The same could be said about nurses. Most nurses heard of travelers but I get asked questions all the time. Honestly, I love talking about it though but I believe traveling is one of the best career moves I could've ever made. I hope this video clears up some of your questions as you begin to explore this awesome specialty!

If you have questions, feel free to contact me directly via my email or social media channels.

Thanks, Allnurses community for allowing me to share my travel nursing adventures with you. I can tell you I wouldn't have found success as easily without this super helpful forum!

[CeciBean, ASN, RN]

On the whole I loved my time as a travel nurse! There were times I felt kind of rootless, but that was mostly due to other things going on in my life at the time. What I most enjoyed about being a traveler was being able to take the best care of my patients and then go home, without having to be involved in hospital politics. I also enjoyed learning new ways of doing things, and sometimes being able to share the things I'd learned on other assignments. What I didn't like was, in some places, the way travelers were dumped on--given the worst assignments, always being the ones to be pulled first (often to places we had no training, experience, or orientation, and then being left to flounder and getting yelled at when we did), and being disrespected because we supposedly "earned more money" than regular staff, which in most places was definitely not true.

[guest042302019, BSN, RN]

On the whole I loved my time as a travel nurse! There were times I felt kind of rootless, but that was mostly due to other things going on in my life at the time. What I most enjoyed about being a traveler was being able to take the best care of my patients and then go home, without having to be involved in hospital politics. I also enjoyed learning new ways of doing things, and sometimes being able to share the things I'd learned on other assignments. What I didn't like was, in some places, the way travelers were dumped on--given the worst assignments, always being the ones to be pulled first (often to places we had no training, experience, or orientation, and then being left to flounder and getting yelled at when we did), and being disrespected because we supposedly "earned more money" than regular staff, which in most places was definitely not true.

I completely agree about the challenges you are describing. For the most part, we have really lucked out and had good experiences.