I have a staff job but I really want to travel. I'm really nervous about quitting my staff job (even though I hate it) because I'm the primary breadwinner of my family and I'm apprehensive about leaving a stable job to travel. I thought traveling was more stable until I read horror stories about nurses being canceled in the middle of their contract and not being able to find another contract right away. So I want to know:
1) Did you have a staff job right before your first contract?
2) If so, how soon before your first contract did you quit?
3) Has there ever been a time when you've been scrambling for a contract?
4) Do you feel the industry of travel nursing as a whole is stable?
It takes at least 4 months to train a new grad. At least one month of that orientation is spent in a classroom so the new grad is kinda useless during that time, especially if the census is high. A traveler can just jump in and start working. Orientation for a traveler is usually one day and it's like, "The bathroom is over there. The Pyxis is over there. Here are your passwords. Here's your patient assignment. Now go! "
Yea, but alot of staff orientations are like that if they hook u up with a lazy preceptor. Even tho this is a travel job for me, I am going to voice my concerns w the manager during my eval next week. This floor hired a bunch of new grads,and 9 out of 10 preceptors sit on their butt at the desk while poor new grads are stressing out and running their asses off. Grrr.
ER is middling completive, middling commodity. Lots of assignments, lots of ER travelers. Pay is better than medsurg, but not as good as OR and L&D. You are better off traveling in ER than medsurg for sure and will not have difficulty finding assignments.
lucky you are l/d nurse so many jobs paying good money in cali, take advantage of it. As for the experience part you need 1-2 years. I say 2 years before traveling. they expect you to know what you are doing with little to no orientation. I hated being a staff ( miserable) couldn't wait to travel, like you said you are sick of the politics try something else. Ai gencies give benefits day 1 some 30 days later call and ask. I set up a roth with fidelity to start investing so i really don't need a 401k from one company.
raindrop
614 Posts
They wont hire and train a new grad, but they'll hire a traveler with 1-2 years of experience? I dont get it.