Taking a contract for a different specialty

[HikingNinja, BSN, MSN, DNP, RN, APRN, NP]

Question for you all. Has anyone here taken a contract in a specialty that is not your usual but that you could do? For example, I'm ED. I think I'd feel comfortable taking a tele or pcu/step down spot based on my training in the ED. At my home hospital it was not uncommon to hold pts for days (had a DKA pt once who was there a week & we discharged him from the ER). At another I was floated quite often to floor during low census, mainly ICU but some floor.

For those who have taken these assignments how did it work out? Did you end up loving it or hating it? I'm not married to the ED and will stop traveling next fall to complete my NP clinicals so I'm thinking I may want to explore other specialties that I'm qualified for.

[NedRN]

Well, since no one else has responded.... Doing just that is common as staff, especially in a small hospital. In fact, you might even be floated as a traveler. But if you cannot show time spent in a specialty area, it is unlikely you can get a primary travel position in a new specialty. There are exceptions. You might be able to do medsurg (and land an assignment), ICU traveler might be able to do PACU, but it would be a big push outside your comfort zone with different organizational skills required and really, isn't safe without significant orientation. Your occasional floating to the floor may not prepare you for a new hospital with a different patient population, different resources and adjunct help, and different and intensive charting.