First Time Travel Nurse

Travel nursing is working closely with a recruiter or staffing company to find an assignment that best utilizes your current skills and fits your lifestyle while traveling across the country.

Regular travel nursing assignments last 13 weeks and based on your experience and comfort you can choose a new travel destination for your next assignment or you can choose to continue your current assignment.

Most of the time travel and housing costs are covered by your recruiter, so all you have to think about is your new assignment and your to-do list.

Travel nursing is doing what you love, going to places you never thought you’d visit, and at the time taking your career on the road – like a dream of your life.

This gives you new opportunities to grow, and allows you to explore new directions, living your best life in the mountains, beaches, and in the places you like to see.

You can even bring your loved one with you! Sounds good right?

15 Easy-to-Do Life Hacks For a First-Time Travel Nurse

1. Set a Timer

We all have been there, being lazy in our life! When you have something to do and have trouble getting back into your energy mode, the best trick here will be to set a timer.

Want to unpack your bag but too lazy to do so? Set a timer for 15 minutes and challenge yourself to see if you can unpack all your items within this time frame.

2. Keep Your Professionalism

Nursing can be stressful sometimes. But it is always good to remember that you are dealing with others’ lives and they depend on you. Listen to what your patient or their relatives have to say, and do not take anything they say personally.

If something you are not feeling okay, then be a professional and share it with your supervisor first and get feedback from them.

3. Ask for Help

Traveling alone and doing things on your own doesn’t mean you’re a superhero. There may be situations where you should ask for help, and this can save a lot of time and help you avoid unnecessary troubles.

 4. Have A Safety Net!

Traveling is risky when you start traveling without any kind of savings. You have to always be prepared for the unexpected as if you got a flat tire or if your assignment contract gets canceled.

Always prepare for a “what if” situation.  So, you will be able to live your life even without working for a few weeks or months. So, have a good amount of savings!

 5. Set Aside Time for Sleep

The location is long? Feeling sleepy when you are driving? Always pre-plan your trip, in which stops you should stay, where you sleep during the travel, how many hours you are planning to stay there or how many hours are you planning to drive to reach there. You could look at Airbnb or pitch a tent at campgrounds.

 6. Consider Compression Bags For Saving Space

If you are looking forward to saving space when you are packing your items, you might want to consider compression bags. They allow you to fit more things in your luggage. They let you easily fit your clothing items and sleeping bags and save more space.

 7. Tips For Packing Shoes

Shoes take up most of the space when packing. As a travel nurse, you need at least your work shoes, a pair of walking shoes, a pair of dress shoes, a pair of casual shoes, and a pair of sandals. To save more space, try the socks-on-socks method, and stuff those socks inside your shoes.

Must read: How to Stay Healthy During a Trip

 8. Consider The Location Before Packing

Depending on your assignments you might want to go to different locations and the climates may change in each location. Depending on your location, pack what you need! Learn more about the climate there and pack what you will need!

 9. Chat With Other Travel Nurses

No one can give you better advice than people who have been there, and done it! Connect with other travel nurses and get their advice and listen to their travel experiences and how they have managed in a particular situation. Ask your questions and clear all your doubts.

 10. Stop and Smell The Roses

Do not take a long drive in a full stretch, stop now and then and enjoy the nature and weather out there! Go ahead, and make a bucket list of things that you want to do there, do make it happen, explore new lands and their cultures, active in new activities, take pics, and create memories!

 11. Keep Your Phone Charged

Make sure your phone is fully charged! Always bring an extra charger, if possible bring a fully charged small phone with you, in case of an emergency! And don’t forget your power bank, bring that too! Because there is nothing worse than a dead phone when you are going to a place you don’t know anything about there!

 12. Stay Hydrated and Fed

Make sure you have enough water and food to keep you going.  Snacking helps you to budget your meals, and don’t drink water from the tapes, because who knows if the water is clean or not! Pack snacks that don’t need a refrigerator on:

  • Bottles Water
  • Gatorade
  • Nuts and Trail Mix
  • Chips and Cookies
  • Peanut Butter & Jelly
  • Bananas and dried fruits
  • Bread

13. Make Your Place Cozier

Add a personal touch to your new place by setting up pics of loved ones and filling your place with pillows, blankets, lights, books, magnets, and paintings. Find some hobbies or create DIY crafts and decorations to decorate your room. Make your room more cozy to avoid feeling lonely.

14. Read your contract!

Read and make sure you understand everything in that contract. Read all the clauses and make sure they have included everything you have asked for! Check all the details, the payment, shift times, cancellation policy, the unit you are working, and your stay, and ask questions and clear all your doubts! Are they looking for an RN nurse or a BSN nurse? Did they include the stay or not? Read all their requirements, and confirm it meet yours!

15. Keep it simple

Keep things simple! Pack only what you need! Make a to-do list, double-check if everything is packed, and pack only what you will need. Want to take a break? Take one! Go ahead and enjoy your career life!

Traveling Benefits

Top 5 benefits of being a traveling nurse

  1. Flexible schedule: One of the great benefits of travel nursing is you can choose flexible schedules. This allows you to take a break when you think you need one between your assignments, or you could choose to be near your loved ones.
  2. Well compensated: Nurses work hard through their 12-hour shift time and are well compensated for their work and overtime work. As a traveling nurse, depending on the work and location you could get compensated well.
  3. Skills beyond nursing:  As a traveling nurse you could hone your nursing skills and other valuable skills as well. You will go through different kinds of situations and the lives of people around you, and all these experiences will help you to sharpen your skills, by making you brave enough to go through any given situation.
  4. Say bye to workplace politics: Office politics are everywhere, even in the nursing field. By choosing a career in travel nursing it’s easier to avoid the drama, as your assignments range from 6 to 13 months.
  5. Bring your loved one with you: Demand for registered nurses can help your career in the long run. And you could bring your loved ones with you. Who that could be? Was that your spouse, best friend, or pet?

Infographic provided by SkyBridge Healthcare, a med surg travel nurse company

About The Author:

Keerthana KrishnaI am Keerthana Krishna passionate about all the internet stuff such as affiliate marketing, blogging, and, most importantly, I like to do all the SEO strategies. If you are inside digital marketing, let’s connect us for future opportunities.

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