Between a rock and a hard place

[NurseLdyYo]

Hello my fellow Nurses,

I am an LPN waiting to take my boards for RN. My question is does anyone know if Travel agencies hire "new" RN's? I really don't consider myself a new nurse because I have been an LPN for awhile. I really would like to do the travel nursing rather than be in one city everyday...any suggestions...I will gladly welcome them.

[NedRN]

Generally not. It may depend on your specialty, if you do LTC for example, you may have a shot, or if you worked as an OR scrub. For the most part though, you have to put in 2 years into a specialty as an RN to be valuable to future employers. I'd recommend getting an internship at a major teaching hospital and putting in your two years.

No offense, but being an RN can be a difficult adjustment for a lot of LPNs. Completely different perspective and the buck will stop with you. You are the manager, and will have to delegate and plan total care, and be a leader. You may have done some of that as an LPN, but not to the same degree or the same level of responsibility, despite having better basic skills than most new grads. An agency may be foolish enough to submit you for assignments, but if you put yourself in the place of a nurse manager, would you hire a new grad in a temp role when you have other choices? A traveler has to hit the ground running, and that is difficult for someone who is new to the role of RN, much less travel to a completely alien hospital culture.