Travel Nursing: Benefits and Tips

Hesitations to travel

Diving into travel nursing was not an easy decision initially. Besides the general fear of leaving my comfort zone to try something new, there were so many unknowns. 

Deciding to leave was fraught with many questions:

• “Will I be able to return to my current job that I love?”
• “Will full time jobs hire me if they see I’ve had so many work changes in such a short period of time?”
• “What if not having a ‘full time’ job affects my ability to buy a house, adopt a child, etc?”
• “Will my references be relevant if they only worked with me for a few months at a time?”
• And the hardest factor, “Am I doing the wrong thing by leaving sick people in my local town to serve in another town or state, just to make more money?” 

I took one travel assignment pre-covid in 2019, and I’ve taken one assignment per year ever since. I traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, twice: one 8 wk assignment and another 16 week assignment. And I’ve done two assignments in Atlanta Ga one of which was 13 weeks, and the other was a planned 6 month assignment, which was canceled a month into the contract.

Is travel nursing worth it?

One million times, yes. For transparency sake, every time I go on a travel nursing assignment, my checks increase from about $800/wk working full time hours, to $2500-4600/wk, depending on which company I use, where I travel, and how many hours I work. 

Granted, at my highest pay I worked four 12hr shifts per week, paid for an AirBnB, traveled over 1000 miles away from my home to live in frigid weather and snow, and had to hop around every month or so to a new AirBnB, because most of them aren’t available for an extended period.

There are other benefits to traveling besides the money. That money tho…

I’ve always been a fan of Dave Ramsey. There are some other finance gurus I enjoy reading, but I’m a checklist person, so Dave’s 7 baby steps have been easy for me to remember over the years after reading his Total Money Makeover.

I held onto something he said, which is that for most people, the most money you’ll ever make is the money you’ll earn from your career: your paychecks. I really took that to heart and ran with it. Most people want a get-rich-quick scheme, and that’s not how it works for most of us. No matter how you invest your money, most of the accumulated wealth that average people will make throughout their lives will come from their job and skills. Since I’m from the trailer park, I consider myself average. Shout out to my people from Grove Point Rd and Quacco Rd! S-A-V!

When I left my job in Savannah I was $30K in credit card debt and had $0 in savings. Since my most recent assignment, I’ve paid off all my credit card debt, I’ve saved $25K and counting, and my credit score increased from 730 to 830. This was over a period of only 3 months!! This isn’t even the result of full time travel, but only taking 1 assignment per year.

https://www.ramseysolutions.com/dave-ramsey-7-baby-steps

Other perks of travel nursing, besides the $$$

#1 Experience

The experience going on a travel nursing assignment and getting to know nurses from other states, and working in other hospitals and healthcare systems gives brand new perspectives. You’re able to compare and contrast the culture of nursing from state to state. You see new equipment, devices and supplies, and realize some hospitals treat their employees very fairly. I’ve seen full time nurses get paid an extra $60/hr for picking up extra shifts. Better ratios for nurses and CNAs, expectations of support staff, and what each department is responsible for, can take massive weight off the nursing load in comparison to your own experiences.

Here in Milwaukee, nurses are starting out at $33/hr, even before they graduate nursing school as externs. In GA, I’ve been a nurse for 12 years and $33/hr is what I get offered as a full time experienced nurse. CNAs here take 6 patients, and Nurses take 4. Compared to GA, nurses usually take 6 patients, and I’ve seen CNAs responsible for up to 24 patients, 10-12 being the average. These new experiences on various specialty floors may be eye opening and lead you towards a path you hadn’t yet considered. I’m also a part of facebook groups for travelers who share their experiences, which gives insight and social support in deciding where to go next and which hospitals are most supportive of their nursing staff.

#2 Time alone

Being away from home frees up a lot of time from social obligations. I had the time to start this blog during my time away from home. Breaking your usual routine can facilitate creative thinking. And being away from social obligations gives an opportunity to think uninterruptedly about the future, and about your true passions and wishes for your own life.

#3 Culture shock

You’d be surprised the little differences 1000 miles away from home can make: words you’ve never heard of, racial diversity, the reality of living in the snow, different accents than your own. One simple change within the workplace I immediately noticed is that all our patients in GA are referred to by “Mr/Mrs Last Name.” Here in Milwaukee patients are referred to only by their first names, no matter how old they are. If they’re 91 years old, they’re still just “Bob” or “Carol.” No Mr/Mrs needed. This was shocking for a southerner and definitely took some getting used to. Patients do not say please and thank you very often…It’s “hand me this…do that”, no “please” included….Which is still a little off putting to me.

#4 Meet new people and make new friends

Because of the difference in cultures, you may find that you actually relate more to people in another location. Maybe you were simply born in the wrong state. Could be all the bars, and facing the deathly cold so frequently, but the people here are quite lovely, friendly and open to deep dialogue with strangers, more than I’ve experienced elsewhere.

#5 Traveling, duh!

Travel nursing is like a vacation when you’re not at work: Museums, sightseeing, new restaurants and stores. And since you’re working, there are plenty of locals to give you tips and suggestions. I’ve found that my patients usually have much better advice on where to go, what to do, and where to eat than the nurses I work with.

Tips and lessons learned for travel nursing

Facing the guilt trips of travel nursing

If you decide to leave your current job for a travel nursing assignment, know that people will insult you for doing this for the money.. As Nurses, we’re expected to be compassionate people….we wipe people’s asses while they curse at us, and even smile while we do it.

And because nursing is mostly composed of women, we have long been expected to not only do our jobs, but to also fill in for other roles when their position is vacant: we’re the RN, the CNA, the secretary, the lab technician, the transporter, the central supply staff, the tele monitor tech, the social worker the case manager, and the list goes on… If there’s a job to be done, it gets passed to the nurse. But while our workload increases, our pay never does…and we never ask for a raise. Nurses are finally making strides and asking to be paid a fair wage for their hard work. Don’t let guilt trips sway your decision. You are in control of your own life and you’re the only one who knows what’s best for you.

Pack light: 

Every time I travel I find myself taking less and less stuff. I always regret bringing more, but I’ve never once regretted something I left behind.

Nursing is hard work everywhere: 

Put your mental health needs above all else, whatever that means to you. For me, sometimes it’s simply ignoring requests during my 30 minute break out of my 12hr shift. Compassion fatigue & burn out are real, and it can even happen on a travel assignment. We are taking care of people during what are probably the worst days of their lives. We talk openly a lot about how we love and support our patients and families. But the ugly truth of nursing is that only #2 to police, nurses are the most assaulted profession. Our patients and families verbally abuse us & physically assault us, and we respond with understanding and kindness and continue serving them with full hearts and a smile, despite this abuse. And then we’re insulted by our doctors and managers because we aren’t doing enough, and we aren’t doing it fast enough, thorough enough, or detailed enough. 

The expectations on us are usually unrealistic at best. I learned from an Atlanta nurse from Jamaica, “You can’t fight city hall, man.” We can’t fight city hall. We can’t win against the big business culture and mentality we are forced to work in, because an intimate environment in healthcare business is practically nonexistent. 

All we can do is be present with our patients and their families in the moment we’re serving them. We can give them the best care and attention shift by shift. But we can only do that if we’ve taken care of our own minds, bodies and personal lives. 

And maybe that self care includes going on a travel assignment every once in a while in order to become more financially secure…

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