Army Wife who wants to be a travel nurse.

[shonte19, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN, NP]

hello i have some questions and maybe you guys could help. first im a army wife and my husband is deploying in sept 2008, i plan on going home while hes gone cause i have no support up here and i have no kids. Home is MD area. i want to try travel nursing but only like local travel nursing. is that a good idea and then i will continue to travel nurse but only local travel nurse for each duty assignment we get. ie. we are in alaska now so when he comes back from iraq i would want to local travel in alaska, and then wherever else we go. i could still get the stipend that most companies offer for housing. does that sound like a good idea.

another question i have is i have 13mnts experience in med-surg because im a new nurse but i want to go into post-partum/couple care if i go travel, do they allow that or do i have to totally have at least 1 year experience in post-partum prior to joining. i do have some slight experience because before i was a RN i was a nurse extern for mother/baby unit. is travel nursing for me or is it a bad idea for my situation? also can i have a list of travel agencies that are highly marked so i could start my research, what should i be looking for, whats good whats bad. thanks for your advice.

[bagladyrn, RN]

Some parts of your plan are good - travel nursing assignments can work well for those only in an area temporarily.

You do need to understand though, that if you are doing what you call "local travel" and/or you do not have an established "tax home" then you will be taxed on the stipend money as well as your pay. (I'm not sure if the rules for what constitutes a "tax home" are different for military dependents - you may want to ask that of a financial advisor on your husband's base).

If you are considering changing specialties (such as to M/B) you should do so before attempting to become a traveler as hospitals generally want you to have a minimum of 1 year experience in the area for which they are contracting you. You will be expected to be able to function independently with 1-2 shifts of orientation to the unit at most.

Good luck and thank your husband for his service from the mom of another military man.