Published Oct 6, 2015
samanthadaisyRN
17 Posts
Hi eveyone! I'm 27 y/o and have been in labor/delivery, postpartum, nursery, for almost 3 years. I live in a small town and work at a very small hospital. I love my job and am very happy with it but feel that I have maybe gotten too comfortable. I am single with no attachments to staying here and feel like I should travel while I can. I would love to start travel nursing but I'm feeling nervous about the whole thing!
I have done non-stop research for the past week and have some questions!
1) I've read conflicting reviews on making good money traveling. One of the main things I want to do is pay off debt! Is it likely I will make more than at my current job ($26/hr)?
2) where are some good places to travel to? I'm very open to traveling to absolutely anywhere.
3) will my experience of being in a small, rural hospital make me a poor candidate for traveling in L&D?
thanks for your time!
guest769224
1,698 Posts
Your L&D experience is more than sufficient and will serve you well. You will make very good money as an OB travel nurse. Your specialty is gracious to nurse travelers. You can knock out a TON of debt in one assignment. I recently saw one for $70+ an hr, with $100/hr overtime rate and guaranteed overtime. You will find desirable contracts in California, with mandated staffing ratios for safety to manage your patient workload better, pleasant weather, recreational opportunities, good hospitals, and site-seeing. L&D nurses are such high demand, that you will be afforded a few extra luxuries other travelers may not have, including diverse geographical selection.
Barkow
111 Posts
Oftentimes working L&D at a small hospital gives you an incredible degree of autonomy and skill not found on larger units, due to working with limited resources. If you take travel jobs where you can gradually work your way through higher-risk settings to gain exposure to situations that you don't often see currently, you'll probably do really well.
Argo
1,221 Posts
You should be making a lot more than that. You in the south or Midwest?
Absolute Worst case that you will make around $28-30/hour plus housing while traveling
dreamer30
187 Posts
Omg!!! That is a lot of mulah!!! Hope it's still hot when it's my turn!