Are there pediatric travel jobs available?

Double-Helix, BSN, RN · Jun 14, 2012

I see from your other posts that you have no inpatient pediatric experience. In that case, I think it would be very difficult for you to find travel positions that would hire you. Almost all travel positions will require acute care, hospital experience. You are given very little training/orientation in a travel nurse assignment. (Travel nurses in our PICU get three shifts of orientation.) There is no time to learn the ins and outs of inpatient care, prioritization, managing multiple patients, interventions, etc. You not only have to know these things going in- you have to be great at them.

Also, most inpatient peds units have a fairly large oncology population. If you aren't chemotherapy certified, you can't perform one of the major skills on that unit. Many units would not be willing to accept a travel nurse who is not chemo certified, as it would seriously limit the patients you could care for.

I'd suggest trying to move into an inpatient job in your current location and get some experience before starting travel assignments. Or, if you'd really like to relocation, search for a hospital position in a different area.

lkpdx · Jun 14, 2012

Thanks for the input. Since my last post I have been getting inpatient experience on a pediatric medical/surgical floor (currently have 1 year). Have been cross training to work in the pediatric ED. I have floated to PICU and Hem/Onc floors but have not worked at them consistenly.

NurseKylie · Jun 16, 2012

Hi there!

I'm a pediatric med-surg nurse and have not had any trouble finding a position in the last year of traveling. Now, I do agree with a lot of what Ashley said re: experience. Usually the minimum required to start traveling is 2 years, so you'll want to gain that first. I started with 3 years peds experience (4 as an RN) and my CPN. However, it does depend where you are as far as chemo-certification. Many smaller hospitals do not care for pediatric oncology patients (and even some larger ones) and many larger hospitals have separate oncology floors. I am not chemo-certified, so I don't apply for the positions that require it. I still have never had trouble getting where I want to go. I will say as far as peds jobs go, they are definitely more plentiful in the winter months and there is less variety in the summer, but they are still there.

One thing I have noticed is that usually the bigger companies tend to have more selection as far as jobs go. It is more challenging to get variety with a smaller company. Try checking out peds jobs postings on Cross Country Trav Corps or Medstaff to see what's out there (this is usually how I find the biggest selection for peds floor).

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any more questions, I'd be happy to help :)