NICU Travel RN

[taygmeeg]

Hi guys! First time posting. I have been a NICU RN for 3 years at a level III NICU in CT. For the past few months I have been looking into opportunities as a travel nurse, and was looking for any advice/insight.

I am mainly interested in California/Colorado. My biggest concerns are:

1. I have only worked as a NICU nurse, and am nervous/curious about floating to different units

2. My unit does no do surgeries or trachs, so I have no experience with either. I am comfortable with vents, oscillators, central lines.

Any advice or insight is GREATLY appreciated!!

[PeakRN]

If we hire travel nurses to the NICU they don't do patient care on other units, if for some reason the NICUs are really low census they may be floated as a sitter elsewhere in the hospital, but I've never actually seen this happen (this happens pretty frequently with our adult med/surg travelers). It is unlikely that we would ever give the sickest patients to a traveler anyway, so I wouldn't be that concerned about not having surgical or trach experience.

[RN/WI, ADN, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN]

Hello! I would first ask yourself what is the main reason you are gravitating towards becoming a travel nurse? It appears that you are happy in NICU and you do not float in the hospital that you currently work in. Have you been in touch with Agencies yet? If not contact a few and they can answer any questions you may have. There is a ton of info on this as well as other online sights. Good luck😊

[NedRN]

Some hospitals, more likely the smaller ones, do float NICU travelers to mother baby. However, those requirements should be known to recruiters before you agree (or not) to be submitted to a particular assignment, and would (or could) be discussed in your interview. Even with such contracts that allow floating, your own travel contract may specify no floating with the agreement of the hospital.

There are a wide variety of patient populations in specific hospitals. In my experience, surgeries on neonates is very rare outside of large hospitals. You certainly don't have to take such assignments either (travel is about personal choice - you don't go where an agency demands you go), but if you are interested in expanding your practice, you can explore such opportunities. Discuss with the manager during your interview about orienting to such patients. As a nurse, it is of course your obligation to turn down patient assignments you are not competent in.

So there is little reason for your concerns as long as you are proactive. That said, flexibility is an important trait for travelers. Every assignment can be dramatically different in almost every way that you might not be considering now. Patient load, breaks, hospital culture, local culture, charting, and policy and procedures.