Travel Nursing - In SERIOUS need of advice

msbarb1288 · Oct 11, 2015

Hi! I am not a nurse (yet) but I think that you have already made up your mind. I love traveling myself...I was an army brat and moved around a lot when I was a child. I say go after your dreams before a child comes into the picture because although they are a blessing they do cause your plans to and dreams to shift a little. I want to become a traveling nurse but I have to keep in mind my child. I tell myself that I can always get into when she's off to college but I think by then I will want to be close to home. I'm not saying that it will never happen for me or that I regret my family but if I had the opportunity to switch a few things around I would. I say if your husband supports you and you all still are not expecting just yet...go for it and enjoy or you'll always say "what if". I hope my rant helps you!! Best of luck!

bagladyrn, RN · Oct 12, 2015

One thing to factor in: As a travel nurse you do not get PTO or sick leave. Any time you take off is on your own dime and may also incur financial penalties. If you do get pregnant while traveling you will not be eligible for FMLA.

Been there,done that, ASN, RN · Oct 12, 2015

You can't have it both ways..."traveling is almost imperative to me. /But we REALLY want kids."

Only you can decide which comes first.

Travel nursing will more than pay the bills. But where will your husband be when you travel?

You could choose to travel for a year or so.. baby can come later. Once you are a mother, travelling will be much more difficult.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Oct 12, 2015

Since this post contains an inquiry about travel nursing, it has been moved to our Travel Nursing forum to stimulate more responses. Good luck to the OP.

NedRN · Oct 12, 2015

You can take off as much time as you like between assignments.

You can also bring children with you too! Small children are somewhat easier logistically unless you plan to home school. All the successful travelers with kids that I've met have traveled with a non working (or home worker) relative.

A bit bit of a pipe dream, but I always thought it would be cool to have a nurse spouse. You can each work opposing three days and do full time child care the other three days. Full time parent, oodles of money and professional satisfaction, and one full day off together as a family (plus a few hours daily). It almost happened to me, but alas she proved fickle.

Barkow · Oct 12, 2015

My last staff job was great in that my manager was really supportive about vacation requests, so don't underestimate the benefits of a staff job in which you are established and know the ins and outs of the scheduling processes. As a full-time employee I was able to take several international trips each year by self-scheduling efficiently and using minimal PTO. Depending on your travel RN contract you might not have that flexibility, and taking time off between assignments means not getting paid during that time. You don't need to be a travel nurse to travel, it's about just going for it.

NedRN · Oct 12, 2015

While anyone can do holiday travel, there is a very big difference between vacationing and working a relatively long term in an area in getting to know it. I had a traveling construction job before I became a nurse and my typical "assignment" was two to three weeks in a hotel in a given location eating restaurant meals. It was like heaven becoming a travel nurse and spending a quality three months working with locals and living locally in an apartment submerged in the local culture and being able to cook my own food. You don't get that on a typical vacation. Travel nursing is a working vacation and instead of spending huge amounts of money being a tourist, you actually earn money and develop professionally in a way you cannot do with a staff job.

Staff jobs have their place for mass employment, are good for benefits that many require as well as the orientation now required by new grads, and for those whose ties to the local area are too strong to work away from home. Since this thread is now in the travel nurse forum, you can expect posts to be travel biased.

Argo · Oct 12, 2015

They both have their benefits, Travel vs Staff.

Having young children isn't a deal breaker if your husband doesn't mind either staying home and not working or working from home. Agencies will accommodate you on housing and your pay will be at least what you make now. Just remember that you still have to make your home payments when you are on the road. With small kids I think the easiest way to move around would be in an RV. The payment in general will be way less than your stipend for housing(unless you go way overboard with a $300k+ RV).

I homeschooled my son from 6-10th grade, I would not want to do elementary school at home though. We now have a home base in Oregon and he is going to school in a real school until graduation. After he graduates I will buy a small house wherever he wants to go to college and keep that as my "home". My wife and I will travel for 6 months while working in high pay areas and then spend the other 6 months doing whatever.... She will not be working on the road.

Barkow · Oct 12, 2015

There are obviously differences between a vacation versus 13 weeks somewhere, and it looks like the OP may be able to do a few assignments given her circumstances. However, she said she wants to use travel nursing to help pay down debt, which may or may not be a good idea depending on a variety of factors we don't know, and whether her husband can be employed on the road. She also does not particularly like her current specialty and would like to cross-train to something else entirely, and is actively working toward a NP degree. While travel nursing might be good if she needs a way out for a bit, most of her long-term goals seem better served in a permanent setting. I was just pointing out that those wanderlust needs can be accomplished in different ways, or the OP may simply be better served relocating to a larger city.

Argo · Oct 13, 2015

I have way more free time as a travel nurse than I did as a staff nurse. I also make more than I can working staff. Having an in demand specialty is nice, ICU/ER/OR/L&D...... My contracts always have it written in to pay for education up to $2500 per contract(first contract was $1000) I have used $1500, on average, out of each of the last 3 contracts. I don't think that is too bad since a lot of employers don't pay too much any more for education reimbursement. That equals $10k a year IF I used it all. It is for listed for use on licensure, certifications, CEUs or continuing education.

You can also travel on your own for some away time and plan it out right. Fly home a couple times during contract with written in time off working around your shifts, written in your contract, and fly your SO out to see you a couple times. Depending on where you are it can be cheap. Flights from Denver to Portland over summer were about $150 round trip...

ahoppen · Nov 28, 2015

Just getting back on here and seeing all these replies. You guys seriously rock. :-) Thank you so much for all the advice and support!

After much much discussion, tears and frustration, Hubby and I have decided to go for travel nursing. All the particulars haven't been decided on yet, I'm going to post another thread asking for general advice/information regarding some questions I have related to travel nursing, but we've decided we'd both like a break from trying to get pregnant and would like to do something for ourselves. TMI, but we've had issues with fertility for the past two years and we've been so stressed that we just reached a point where we wanted something different!

I dont know know how long we will travel, as I do still plan on getting my NP and he'll want to settle down and work eventually, and of course we want a family, but I'm only 24 so we have plenty of time. :-) It was really tough making the decision to hold on babies for a while and throw caution to the wind and go travel, but I think it will be good for me. I need to sew my wild oats before a baby comes along I suppose!!!

And if it means I'll be stuck in med/surg for a little while longer, I've made peace with that. I do have some step down experience and was considering asking if I could go that way instead, but I can hold off on cross-training if it means I get to travel sooner.

Thank you guys so much again!!! If you see my other thread with my questions, feel free to drop by! You guys are awesome!