Traveling Nurses (please inform me of this :-D)

[ScreamBoxDolly]

alright, so i have some experience behind me (newbie here), but i will admit having half a year of med surg isn't enough (for me) to start traveling. from what i see you need to have at least 2 years to be safe! i want to hear from everyone who knows about, knows another rn doing it, etc.

what should i be prepared for, what agencies are good to work with, reading materials to read? (i have already bought [color=#003399]highway hypodermics: on the road again (2009) by epstein larue; just waiting for it arrive) ever since i have been in nursing school, i have wanted to travel. i don't mind change, i like meeting new people, and med-surg i do like (and yes it has its days ).

so i would like to hear from everyone's exp...good and bad! deep down in my heart i really want to try it out, i think the "waiting" till i have enough exp is the hardest part!

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

Moved to the travel nursing forum

[flnursemichelle]

I know that people keep saying this but it really is true. As a travel nurse, you have to be able to hit the ground running, on your second shift, you are more than likely going to be taking a full load so if you are not sure of your nursing skills, you should wait. I think that most companies make you wait at least 2 years but if you are still having any doubts about your nursing care, take longer to learn the nursing part of it.

You have to be able to stand on your own in order to make it in this field. The nurses you will work with won't always be nice and helpful and if you have a patient going bad and you can't get any help, you will have to trust your gut as to when to call the code.

You should also be very good at time management. One of the major questions I ask before I take an assignment is "do you have cna's or tech's and how many patients do they have?" There are some support staff that will be nice to you because you are new and there are some who will be rude to you because you are new. I learned very early on to try to figure out what their "schedule" for the night is and try to assist as much as possible.

My biggest complaint with the travel nursing is that you get a day or so of computer work and then they send you to the floor to be trained by a nurse. Which is fine except that nurse hardly ever knows where the policy book is and how someone witout "access" to the employee specific areas on the computer can get to them quickly.

If after 2 years, you feel comfortable floating alot, try taking a per diam/as needed job with an agency. this will give you a similar experience since they give you little to no training. Also, offer to float to another department any chance you get, the more experiences you have, the better it will be later on.

I wish you best of luck and take care!

[ANNIENURSEANGEL]

I thank god for my rural nursing experience. My hospital has an 11 bed unit, and at times I am running the floor with a CNA. The ER nurse, just has the ER. After 4 years, I can organize, and prioritize. I love jumping into things. I learn better that way.