Hey guys! I am planning to move from VA to NC some time in the next 3-5 months. I've been looking at hospitals in the area I'm planning to move to, but I'm not very excited because I'm starting to get a little bit of burnout in the hospital environment. I've looked into travel nursing because my boyfriend is in the military and by working through a travel nursing agency, I thought that if he goes on a deployment I can look for assignments in areas with family or friends while he's gone instead of staying in NC alone waiting for him to get back just to keep a job. I also want the flexibility of travel nursing because I plan on working on my bachelors degree.
The part where corrections comes in: I found many assignments to work in a correctional facility about 30 minutes away from where i plan to move. I currently have 2 1/2 years hospital experience in the resource pool at my hospital, which includes a mix of med-surg, telemetry, PCU, and some ICU experience, though I really only take ICU patients that are intubated mouth care, turns, maybe a couple drips, never the "crashing" patients. I understand that with travel assignments there is no time for a lengthy orientation as contracts are typically 13 weeks at a time. Would it be too much to try to take on a corrections position without any previous experience or would the experience I have be enough with the short orientation period?
For those of you who work with travelers, how do they typically do? Is it a pain when someone new comes in without any experience? What could I do to better prepare and not be a burden, but a productive team member?
I really, really want to try something new and am looking forward to new experiences, and I like that travel nursing gives you the opportunity to "try" things without the commitment of a company hiring you, and then feeling as though you are letting them down if it doesn't turn out to be right for you. At the same time, I don't want to be a disappointment or put people at a disadvantage by taking on a position where I don't have specific experience in that field. However, I am a quick learner and enthusiastic so I hope that will help.
Any advice anyone can offer would be very much appreciated!
