To Travel or Not?

[Stella_Blue]

I'm looking for advice from any travelers out there. I've worked ER for almost 2 years now, with a prior 2 years of acute care experiance on top of that. I also have to LTC experience, but I know that doesnt exactly apply to what I want. I'm thinking of traveling specifically to ER's.

My question is bow has traveling been for you so far? I've been friends with travelers and they either love or hate it. I dont have any kids so I'm able to anywhere luckily (I'll just miss my boyfriend and dog ?) I've heard that taxes and insurances can be a pain in the you know what. Is finding a gig or an agent as easy as a Google search? I've been considering doing this after maybe another 6 months or year or experiance in the ED.

I currently work a smaller 15 bed ED of a descent sized town. Stroke and MI certified, so we at least see some things, but not a lot of trauma patients. They are either flown immediately or in and out within 20 minutes. I have ACLS, PALS, and am working on TNCC.

One of my biggest reasonings for wanting to do this is I want to relocate so badly, but cant get my boyfriend on board. I think doing this will help broaden or maybe narrow down where it is I would like to settle to. Not to mention I could potentially make good money and learn new dynamics while doing so.

Any feedback would be appreciated. The only thing I'm not willing to compromise on is leaving the ER. It took me 3 years to get there and I love it!!

[guest974915]

I travelled for a while and while the money was good, it isn't nearly as lucrative as everyone thinks. Outside of learning new policies, practices, EHRs.....there's also the downside of constantly searching for the next contract and being without work sometimes for weeks due to the need to drive to the next destination and waiting for an orientation window to open. Lastly, for older nurses who travel for years, their take home pay (due to a reduced taxable income) may be more, however, they may also receive less in the way of future Social Security earnings because of that fact. This alone was the straw that made it not worth it for me but everything in life is relative and mine is just one opinion.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

Traveling is good for finding the place you want to settle permanently, but I didn't care for the actual traveling. I was always the newbie, and the permanent staff assumed that I didn't know anything. I came from a huge, prestigious teaching hospital in the CTICU, and I was used to far more acuity than what I saw in the smaller community hospital where I took an ICU contract, but I had to watch bad things happen because the charge nurses and the physicians didn't know that I knew what I was doing, what I was saying. That's the thing that made me stop traveling . . . watching poor patient outcomes and there was nothing I could do.

It also got old, having to find a new grocery store, dry cleaner, etc. and when I had a toothache, my dentist was three thousand miles away.

[NedRN]

OK, how about some upsides to travel? New hospitals, procedures, pt populations, and culture keep you sharp, learning, and motivated. Outside of work, a never seen before area gives you lots to explore. Or if you have visited or vacationed there before, you get to see it from a new perspective with more time to do it right (and the location was your choice). Cash heavy pay (similar to per diem) means you can quickly pay off loans or save for a house or family.

[Swellz]

I think it's something everyone should do, at least for a couple contracts. It's not as glamorous as it's made out to be, and likely not as lucrative as you think, but it's a lot of fun and a great experience. I got to see the way different hospitals work, I got to try out different specialties, I made new friends, and between the actual locations and road trips to the locations, I've seen a lot of the country. My favorite contract was in a location I picked because I have family there, and I was able to spend the winter holidays with them which I never do.

I also think it's great you'd use it as a way to check out places you might like to move to. That's what my husband and I did, and it helps you to get a feel for an area and it's culture to live and work there for a few months rather than visit for a couple weeks.