Advice for getting into travel nursing?

[CassB]

Hi Everyone!

I am going to be graduating in December with a BSN. I would love to get into travel nursing in 2011. I know that most companies require at least a year of experience, so as soon as I have that one year I am hoping to start. I am going to be going into the mental health field and I was just wondering what kind of opportunities there were in travel nursing in that field. What are the housing accommodations like? Will my husband be able to come with me? Are you able to pick where you want to travel to and how long you want to stay there? Do you recommend any companies? I'm currently in NC because my husband is in the military, but my state of residence is ND. Is that going to affect what company I am able to contract with? My husband is getting out of the military at the end of 2010 so should I look for a company in my state of residence? Does it even matter where the company is located? I'm sorry if I'm all over the place with these questions...but I would rather ask people who have experienced it instead of a recruiter who just tells you what you want to hear! :) Thanks for any info!!

[sjsch]

I would recommend typing in some of your questions in the search field on the forum, and just reading thru a lot of the threads.

There has been a ton of sage advice on this forum from some very savvy travel nurses.

Good luck to you, and congrats on your upcoming graduation

[RNERHOUSESUPOR]

Another question regarding the year of experience. Glad I still had it on my note pad. Read it again only if you want too. As far as the other questions, you can pretty much do as you please if you take the housing subsidy instead of the provided housing. You have to find your own housing and such but so believe this is a better deal. Would need to have a true "TAX HOME" though to really benefit. Is your husband retiring from the military or just finishing his time. I don't know if the benefits differ, but might want to check into what you can get while he is still in. I know on Hawaii, retired military could live in a campground on base for a lot less. Wish I had that option with my RV.

Rod

You can probably find companies that will talk to you without having a full year of experience, but finding a hospital that will accept you is a completely different story. I wouldn't even try it now.

I was able to secure my first nursing job as a travel nurse only because I had documented skills in Emergency Care for many years before I began my nursing career. Take your time. Get the experience you need and then embark on the amazing experience you can have as a Travel Nurse Professional. It will benefit you and the rest of us who love to travel.

It is much harder today to find a travel assignment. I have been told that unless you have a licence in the state you want to submit your information to the hospitals won't even look at you. That could get very costly. It's not free to obtain additional nursing licenses. My vote is for national licensing. The VA does it why can't all hospitals????