What do travel nurses do?

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I was curious as to know what travel nurses do? Do they go around and work in other hospitals or peoples homes? I am really clueless so if I have it wrong please tell me.

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Specializes in ER/MED-SURG/ONCOLOGY/CARDIAC.

A Travel Nurse In My Opinion Is A Pioneer At Heart. They Like To Travel To Unknown Places (places You Would Have Always Wanted To Go)..now Here Is Your Chance. Meet New People, Learn Different Cultures, Get The Opportunity To Really Decide What You Want To Do As A Nurse. You Will Make Eternal Friends With Other Nurses And You Just Might Find What You Are Looking For In Life..it Is An Adventure And I Learn Something New Everyday..i Am 53 And Have Been In The Medical Field For 23 Years..good Luck And Keep On Shining..AND THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION, YOU CAN WORK IN HOSPITALS, NURSING HOMES, CLINICS, IN HOME CARE, WORK WITH THE NATIVE AMERICANS IN REMOTE PLACES...JUST DEPENDS ON YOUR EXPERIENCE AND DESIRE ...

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Specializes in OB.
I was curious as to know what travel nurses do? Do they go around and work in other hospitals or peoples homes? I am really clueless so if I have it wrong please tell me.

Basically, travel nurses contract to work for a facility (hospital, clinic or home health, etc.) for a set period of time, usually 8-13 or 26 weeks. This enables facilities to cover temporary staff shortages (as in vacation periods or if staff have a planned absence) or temporary increases in patient numbers (as in areas with "snowbirds"). Of course in some areas of shortage travel nurses are the only way facilities cover basic staffing.

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Specializes in ER.

I agree with redsnapper and add: some of us have been in the profession for a while and are tired of the staff nurse/managment politics, rut and just plain old B..well you get the idea. I've been in the medical profession for 40+ years, including 20 years in the US Army!! I've been a RN for only 13 years and wanted "something different" yet staying in my chosen specialty. Some use it to "find" what they want to do, but me I'm just out to learn different ways to do the job, take care of a different patient base, and most of all HAVE FUN while providing the best patient care I can!! It's another good way to discover what type of hospital you may want to work in. The 1,000 bed major medical/trauma center or the 40 bed, or less, small rural hospital, where "everybody knows your name" :D

Guess to sum it up there are as many different reasons we do what we do as there are us doing it!

Sarge

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This sounds like something I would like to do once my daughter goes away to college.

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