Is travel nursing for me?

[Elana]

Soooo..... here goes. I worked inpatient oncology for 2 years from aug 2017 to aug 2019. I worked night shift. The work was rewarding but night shift was brutal on my body. I ended up quitting because my body couldn't take it any more and I backpacked abroad for almost a year. I ended up getting a job in an ER because I thought it would be a nice change. However the hospital I work in is a train wreck. Found out we are only better than 2% of the nation when looking at press ganey scores. I get slammed with 5 patients at one time. There is no communication at the front. You have 5 patients no matter if you are in critical or intermediate care. Team work is horrendous and they staff stand around and gossip all day. ESI scores are laughable- everybody is assigned a 3. All acuities are placed anywhere and everywhere including in hallway beds. I've had patient with b/p of 60 systolic chilling in the hallway on no monitor. Doctors can take up to an hr to see a patient with an ESI of 2. OK so enough of my rant. I have worked in the ER for now about 4 months. I am so desperate to get out but I am also terrified of taking another job elsewhere without really knowing the facility. My dream was to travel nurse but now I just want to get out. I just found out from an agency that I can travel med-surg however I have not worked med-surg since August 2019- almost 2 years. I have friends who say to go for it and others who are little more cautious. This ER job has killed my spirit and desire to work as a nurse and I'm fearful of transitioning to travel (having not worked Med-surg in some time), and possibly getting burned x2. Granted if I don't like a facility I can leave because that is the joy of travel nursing. But the concern as well is that I wouldn't be ready. I'm thinking if I can survive this place, where travel nurses up and quit their contracts half way through, I can do medsurg after a long hiatus. Thoughts? 

[Jedrnurse, BSN, RN]

If I read your post correctly, you have been working for about 4 months after taking a year hiatus, for a total of about 2.5 years experience. Travelers often get thrown into very tough situations and are supposed to hit the ground running - do you feel confident/experienced enough to do this?

Also, if you break your contract(s) due to not liking a place you may be burning bridges as well...

[Elana]

I have been away from medsurg for 2 yrs total. I quit inpatient oncology (step down) in august 2019. I have worked in a hell of an ED for 4 months- 500 times worse then where I had worked at prior. I am confident with my safe care- I might not remember how to program a PCA pump or place a irrigation foley, however if I did it once I would remember. However we release orders in the ED all the time because our pts may stay there 2 days before being transferred up to a room- so in a sense that is floor nursing. Just curious, if anyone else has done this before?

[Elana]

also by leave the facility, I mean leave after a contract. Not just up and leave in the middle. That wouldn't make any sense.

[Jedrnurse, BSN, RN]

18 minutes ago, Elana said:

also by leave the facility, I mean leave after a contract. Not just up and leave in the middle. That wouldn't make any sense.

Ah. You referenced seeing traveler's leave half-way through, that's why I misunderstood you.

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

Check out the travel nurse forum. I don't know if med-surge travel would work for you. You will not get hired into traveling without one year's  recent experience in any specialty.  Sounds more like you need to do some agency work to find your niche.

Good luck.

[guest1168940]

I am kind of in the same boat but have one year to retire and was thinking of doing PRN at a local hospital to get back into it, just a thought.  And was a travel nurse for about ten contracts in the 90’s hand broke a couple of contracts. One hospital used us as their float pool for med surg while we were in an ICU contract they had plenty of local agency RN who did ICU, out to med surg every shift.