Qualities that hospitals and recruiters look for in good travel nurses
On some levels working as a professional travel nurse looks like the ideal job. It provides nurses with the opportunity to live and work in different parts of the country. They can interact with new people. Travel nurses pull in an excellent salary. They make friends all over the country. They can move south in the winter, and north in the summer. If they feel like taking a few months off, they don't have to worry about explaining things to their bosses; they just give themselves a few months to improve their mental health before they accept a new nursing assignment. Travel nurses claim that their jobs allow them to re-establish patient-focused medicine. Nurses have excellent medical and dental benefits. Who wouldn't want to be a travel nurse?
The reality is that not every person who comes out of a nursing program is suitable for a career as a travel nurse.
Bear in mind that travel nurses are working, this is not an extended family vacation, and they aren't backpacking across Europe. While they are on a nursing assignment travel nurses are on a schedule. They are expected to report to work, on time, at the beginning of each one of their shifts. While they are working they are dealing with sick and injured people. They are expected to give one hundred and ten percent of themselves while they are working. Travel nurses go away to work, not to party.
Do you have an easy time making new friends? Travel nurses are constantly going to cities and towns where they are strangers. They don't know anyone in these places. For their experience to be positive they have to have a talent for turning complete strangers into close friends.
Nurses that have a significant other may have a hard time adjusting to life as a travel nurse. Unless the significant other is able to travel from one location to another it is difficult to stay together as a couple. One circumstance when travel nursing does work is when a couple decides to work in tandem and is able to find nursing assignments in the same hospitals and medical facilities.
Before you sign with a nursing agency decide if you can tolerate moving away from your family, friends, and pets. Working as a travel nurse is going to require you to spend several months away from your home town.
Carefully consider all the requirements and responsibilities expected from a travel nurse before you sign with a nursing agency. Qualities that a good travel nurse should embrace are a zest for adventure, a strong work ethic, confidence in their medical knowledge, and a gregarious personality. If you are a nurse with at least one year of experience working in a hospital and feel that you would make an excellent travel nurse start placing your application at agencies.
To improve your skills as a travel nurse, consider the following tips:
1. Find a recruiter that will cater to your preferences and build a strong relationship with them
Travel nurses are typically hired by nurse agencies. Finding a recruiter that will cater to preferences for certain positions is a task worth the effort. It might seem like a no-brainer, but building a good relationship with your employer is obviously beneficial to you.
2. Be transparent with your preferences, goals, and other jobs
Let your recruiter know of your preference. Whether you prefer a busy hospital in the heart of a bustling city or small community healthcare in the suburbs etc. Letting them know of your requirements is essential as it puts you in the forefront when recruiters are selecting nurses for your desired positions. Many travel nurses sign up with multiple nursing recruiters or even work both a permanent job and a travel nurse job. Most recruiters will appreciate you being honest about what other jobs you are working in, and effectively find you nursing assignments that are not overlapping with each other.
3. Be professional and prepared
Before every assignment, make sure you have all the necessary papers to submit to the healthcare facility's administration. They might ask you to prove your qualifications, so you need a copy of all the certifications, licenses, and any letter of approval for job experience. It also helps to bring your entire portfolio to work. As nursing is a job where every day you meet different people, the experiences with those people vary too. At an instance where you encounter a less than pleasant patient, it is your responsibility to be calm and professional and fulfill your role.
4. Follow the time
It is important to follow routines timely in this line of work. You are expected to inform of any delay from early on using your judgement but try your best to reduce the delay. For assignments, as most last about 13-16 weeks, it is important to let your recruiter know if you would like to renew your contract with a certain hospital.
When you are considering a life as a travel nurse, you have to ask yourself if you like to travel. The life of a travel nurse is serious, hard-core traveling. Travel nurses are constantly on the move, going from one state to another, taking assignment after assignment. All the moving around eventually takes a toll on the body and soul. Though challenging, the job can also be very rewarding and it serves well to do one's due diligence.
