Questions about traveling nurses & BSN

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Hello,

I was wanting some advice about becoming a traveling nurse. How much experience do you recommend before applying as a traveling nurse? Any recommendations for great facilities to go through when that times comes? I also have questions concerning continuing education for BSN right after graduating with an associates. I don't know if I should take a couple months to recharge or just go ahead and start working on a BSN. I have quite a few courses already completed but unsure of what to do. Would it be better to gain some floor experience before starting another nursing program?

Thanks :)

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Specializes in ER.

Most companies require at least one year experience and then one year in your specialty prior to traveling. As far as continuing education, some programs require so much time as an active nurse prior to enrollment.

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Thank you so much for getting back to me :)

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Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.

Most of your BSN classes probably aren't going to be "nursing" classes -- you'll be taking things like statistics, nursing research, ethics, nursing informatics, service learning, organizational systems, leadership, communication. Think about it -- the 18yo kids who go into a BSN program right out of high school don't have any nursing experience before they take those classes, so I don't think that having nursing experience under your belt will make much of a difference in your ability to competently pass those classes.

However, whether to take time off or not depends on your personal need to recharge, or whether you'd like to offer yourself some time to acclimate to your new nursing job before taking on more stress.

I personally will probably take 6-12 months off before starting an online RN-to-BSN program. Between pre-reqs and nursing school, I've been at this for four years while also working a full-time office job and being a hockey mom. I'd like to spend a little time with my kid and maybe take the time to get a massage or go on a real vacation (sorry, weekends at a hockey tournament do NOT count as vacations!) before jumping back into the fray of homework and exams. But some of my classmates prefer to just keep right on going without stopping. Just a personal preference thing.

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