Opportunity is knocking..!

[niquilaRN]

Looking for tips/pointers/advice for the following situation I'm currently in..

So I have been speaking with a nurse educator who runs a peri-operative nursing program at an excellent teaching hospital.. we have been speaking on the phone and through email over the course of a week. She said she's interested in meeting me, and would like me to fly down (I would have to.. it's several hundred miles away from where I'm living currently) to meet her and shadow some nurses in the program.

However, there isn't an opening currently available for the program. She said that the next openings should become available in the spring and fall of this year.

After much thought, I decided that I'll fly down and spend the day there, and determined which day I am going to visit. To make it more worth my while, though, I asked if she could possibly introduce me to the nurse manager and someone from HR. She agreed. I figure that if I meet additional people who have a say in the hiring process - when time comes around that they do have openings again, I'll hopefully be one of their top choices!

So, am I crazy for flying down to do this for a position that isn't currently open? Should I make the most of it while I'm there? What else should I do or not do, in regards to this situation?? Any feedback would be really helpful!!