What is Travel Nursing?

Travel nurses work usually 13 week assignments in any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Canada. However the assignments can be as short as 4 weeks, and vary being 4, 5, 6, or 8 weeks. There are also other travel companies that take nurses outside of the country but usually want a 1 to 2 year committment.

The facilities that use travel nurses sometimes are going through transition periods and only need a temporary nurse. They may be training new nurses and need experienced nurses to fill in until they are trained. They may also use temp staff until they can fill their openings.

Travel companies vary in their benefits. All travel companies provide housing. For assignments that are 8 weeks or longer I will have a furnished apartment. If I chose to find my own apartment then I receive a stipend rated on the cost of living in the area. I chose to have a furnished apartment, so that I don't have to lug my furniture all over the country with me. For less than 8 week assignments they will put me up in an extended stay hotel. Some companies will even pay for the nurse's electricity, internet, fitness passes, etc. Mine covers the costs of food and I am paid for my mileage traveling to my assignment. I also receive health insurance and a 401K when my assignment is 8 weeks or longer. They also cover licensing, immunizations, TB tests, drug screening, training (CPR, ACLS, etc), and offer free continuing education credits.

If the nurse has a permanent address while traveling then they are eligible for the tax advantage program. Less taxes are taken out of your paycheck if you are paying bills somewhere else. Along with all of these above perks I make a full salary. These salaries can be up to $10-$20 more an hour than staff nurses. So this is what travel nursing is! Travel! Make Money! Have Fun!

Before I got out of bed I read my email on my Blackberry entitled "Let It Go" by TD Jakes. There was one line that jumped out at me in the whole email, and I will bold face it below. I'm not posting the whole email, but enough for you to get the general theme. Here it is:

If you are holding on to something that doesn't belong to you and was never intended for your life, then you need to...LET IT GO!!!

If you are holding on to past hurts and pains... LET IT GO!!!

If someone can't treat you right, love you back, and see your worth... LET IT GO!!!

If someone has angered you ... LET IT GO!!!

If you are holding on to some thoughts of evil and revenge.... LET IT GO!!!

If you are involved in a wrong relationship or addiction ... LET IT GO!!!

If you are holding on to a job that no longer meets your needs or talents .. LET IT GO!!!

If you have a bad attitude... LET IT GO!!!

If you keep judging others to make yourself feel better... LET IT GO!!!

If you're stuck in the past and God is trying to take you to a new level in Him... LET IT GO!!!

If you are struggling with the healing of a broken relationship.... LET IT GO!!!

If you keep trying to help someone who won't even try to help themselves.. LET IT GO!!!

If you're feeling depressed and stressed ... LET IT GO!!!

If there is a particular situation that you are so used to handling yourself and God is saying "take your hands off of it," then you need to... LET IT GO!!!

Let the past be the past. Forget the former things. GOD is doing a new thing for 2010!!! LET IT GO!!!

Get Right or Get Left .. think about it, and then LET IT GO!!!



I had overwhelming joy when I read this. I went to work overwhelmingly happy that I had the sense that God was giving me permission to move on from this job. I worked a 12 hour shift that day. I had filled out an application at 5pm the night before and by 10am the next morning I already had 3 calls and 1 email from travel companies wanting to talk to me.

Back in January I went to a friend's going away party where I met one of her other friends. This friend said she used to be a recruiter for a travel nursing company and was talking about the wonderful benefits they received. This planted a seed in my head. As I began to plot out new goals for 2010 I had decided that I would do travel nursing once I had 2 years of nursing experience in September.

As time went on I began to feel more and more suffocated by my job. I questioned how I would make it through the summer going to that place 40 hours a week. I made becoming a personal trainer a goal, so that I could potentially do that through the summer. Ultimately that is my goal someday! To be a personal trainer and workout all day long! The Biggest Loser is my favorite show.

So on March 4th I began to fill out applications with travel companies online, and to start doing research on which company I would go with come time. I googled "travel nursing" and the first search result was travelnursing.com. One application is distributed to several companies by filling out an application on this website. I went to another website, and chose 15 different companies for my application to be sent. So this is the first day of the journey. I am backlogging entries so that everything is in chronological order as it has happened.

This blog will be for travel nurses who want to share travel nurse advice. For nurses who want to be a travel nurse and know more about it. For those interested in travel and want to see my travel experiences in and outside of the hospitals. I will not only be talking about nursing, but I will talk about each city as well.