Travel Nursing

[flinky23]

Due to the lack of adequate staff in several of the larger hospitals, I noticed the influx of travel nurses about 2 yrs ago.

Due to the typical pathetic pay MS nurses receive, I too became a travel nurse. It is very hard to have been a nurse for 10 years with critical care experience and see these nurses who have been out of school for just over a year come in and take a job at your hospital for more money, great benefits and none of the BS such as dealing with hospital politics.

At first I was confused...many of the units where the travelers worked were downright mean to them. The unit I worked on (where I charged our rotation) was just so glad to have the help, we kissed the ground they walked on. Even the rotation opposite mine gave them heck though, to the point of basically running 3 off within a 2 month period of time. Their loss...

Now that I have been traveling almost a year, I realize it is not as glamorous as it looked a couple of years ago. I am enjoying it very much however, and already looking ahead to the end of the summer when my present assignment ends. It's a great way to see areas of the country you would never think of vacationing (due to cost or distance) and also make some pretty cool friends along the way.

My question is this...how do you (yourself, your nursing unit or hospital) feel about travel nurses? Do you feel betrayed by fellow nurses who have taken the road to avoid hospital politics, etc?

We in Mississippi do tend to to 'take care of our own', but I do think our state is facing a major crisis if changes aren't made in the field, especially in the pay area. I would love to live on the Coast, but the cost of living down there is much higher and the pay is MUCH lower than most of the state. Do the math.