A field that is growing in popularity is the traveling nurse. In this career field, one takes on short-term positions throughout the country or even throughout the world. They are highly skilled in the healthcare field and work to assist medical facilities that are dealing with a short term staffing need.
Traveling nurses are necessary to fill positions that become vacant before a new permanent nurse is hired. A healthcare facility will temporarily hire the traveling nurse to fill the position until they’re able to interview and hire a new full-time nurse. Traveling nurses may also be requested to fill in for permanent nurses who have requested time off for things like educational training or even pregnancy. Lastly, traveling nurses can be called into locations that are experiencing a much higher than normal number of medical emergencies to assist the current healthcare staff.
The Many Pros Of Being A Traveling Nurse
You Get To Test Out Different Areas
Travel nursing jobs available in Kentucky and throughout the rest of the country allow nurses to explore the country. This is a great opportunity to try out different lifestyles, like city living. For many who don’t have roots planted yet, this provides the perfect opportunity to get paid to travel and test out living in new places. Traveling nurses also are in high-demand throughout international borders. However, the licensing requirements may vary.
The Pay Tends To Be Better
The pay of an average traveling nurse will highly depend on the healthcare facility, the term they commit to working, their experience, and so forth. However, traveling nurses tend to make more money than those who don’t. This is because they tend to be highly skilled in a variety of areas, have a lot of experience in different healthcare fields, and are willing to fill in temporary positions. It’s not the usual lifestyle that typical nurses have.
More Professional Growth
One awesome attribute that traveling nurses get to obtain is constant professional growth. Working in different environments exposes a nurse to different processes, equipment, goals, procedures, and challenges. This broad set of experiences is very valuable for those who are looking to have a highly advanced career in the future. Nurses who stick to working at the same facility for years on end aren’t going to receive the same amount of exposure to these new things that a traveling nurse gets to.
Quicker Hiring Time
Traveling nurses tend to have a flexible schedule. They can fly to any city and start work right away. Nurses who want to work in a particular town or city are restricted in their hiring opportunities. They tend to wait longer to get employed by a local facility than a traveling nurse waits to get hired for their next job.
You’re Not Locked In An Unfavorable Work Environment For Long
When you’re a traveling nurse, you’ll have both good and bad experiences at different healthcare facilities. Sometimes you’ll end up loving the people that you work with. Other times, you may plop down into a dysfunctional environment that kills your productivity. Luckily, when you find yourself in the latter situation, you won’t be stuck there for long. You can enjoy moving onto your next job and learn that you won’t want to take any jobs at that facility in the future.
The Cons That You Should Be Aware Of
You’re Away From Your Family And Friends
The biggest con for many traveling nurses is not residing close to family and friends. To take up a job in this career field, you must be an outgoing person. Your ability to be open to meeting new people and encouraging it will determine whether or not you enjoy the traveling type of lifestyle. While you may be able to find travel nursing jobs available in Kentucky for a few weeks, others may require you to stay for a few months or longer. That’s a long time to spend away from those closest to you.
Constant Job Searches
If you’re not working, you’re not making any money. Traveling nurses are constantly on the lookout for new work. You must prepare yourself toward the end of each temporary position to ensure that you have another one to follow. Sometimes you may find yourself with a gap of not working between two jobs. This can take a big hit on your income.
Lots Of Paperwork
If you’re not a big fan of paperwork, then this may not be the right career field for you. Traveling nurses find themselves stuck in a nightmare of paperwork with each position. Most temporary positions require you to fill out a long application and skills sheet. This can take up a good bit of your time to do. And, it can be irritating to constantly fill out job applications time and time again.
Pay Packages Can Fluctuate Greatly
One of the biggest challenges of being a traveling nurse is being able to properly budget. Each job comes with a different pay package. Each healthcare facility pays its own unique going rate for the job that you’re doing. As part of your pay package, you’ll receive compensation for lodging and accommodations. However, it takes time to plan out where you’re going to stay and if that is actually feasible with the pay package that the facility is offering.
Licensing Requirements
Each state has its own set of requirements for a nursing license. You must hold a nursing license in the state that you plan on working in. This can be a bit confusing to deal with, especially when you’re first starting out as a traveling nurse. As of right now, there is a multi-state license that you can obtain. However, this only authorizes you to practice in 25 out of the 50 states. For the rest, you’ll have to physically look through the requirements, pass any exams, and wait for the processing to take place.