cross-training and traveling

[FAMU_RN]

Hello everyone,

I have approx. 2 years of med-sug experience. I am seriously thinking about traveling nursing. However, I would like to be placed at a facility that will train me for a progressive care unit or ICU (particulary in Florida). I do not want to relocate and start off in a med-surg unit and make the same amount of money where I am. If I take a travel assignment, I want it to be in a PCU. I know most travel assignments are 13 weeks. I also know some hospitals,depending on the shortage and situation, will renew the contract after 13 weeks.

Does anyone know of any traveling agencies or hospitals in Florida that assign nurses for cross-training?

[Selke]

You must be experienced in the area of nursing already to get a travel assignment. Find a staff job in your area to get training in the area you wish, work it at least a year, preferably two, then apply with travel agencies. Nobody will hire you as a traveler to train you. Read these boards, there are other threads on this.

That said, if you want to relocate and find a staff job in another community, some agencies may facilitate this. You can also directly contact hospitals in the area you might want to consider relocating to and find out if there are jobs available in the area you wish to train in; they may have a training program. There are nurses who do just this, find a job long distance, relocate, and work a year or two or indefinitely, as staff.

[bagladyrn, RN]

What Selke said is correct. Hospitals hire travelers because they have gaps in their staffing and need someone able to come in and take a complete patient assignment immediately. If you want cross training you need to be willing to commit to a hospital for long enough to make it worth their while.