To correctly understand how to be a travel nurse, lets dissect the term “travel nurse.” Ever since I can remember I’ve loved to travel. I’ve loved popping into small mom and pop restaurants and wondering what these peoples’ lives are like. I’ve always wanted to harness this sense of adventure and discovery in order to accomplish something sensational.
When I first decided I wanted to be a nurse, I loved that Nurses could go anywhere and find work. I knew it would take me a while, but eventually I knew I would become a travel nurse. I needed to guide myself around the world and feed my passion. But first, I had to figure out how to be a travel nurse.
Being a travel nurse isn’t something you can do straight out of the gates. One of the most important parts of being a travel nurse is you have to be a strong, confident nurse. Those who are hiring you expect that you know what you’re doing and are comfortable adapting to a new situation. Remember that little saying you heard all throughout nursing school: “Be Flexible.” There’s no better answer to “How to be a travel Nurse,” than “Be flexible.”
After graduating nursing school at the top of my class, I accepted a nightshift position. It was shocking to say the least. I took the time to learn the ropes and get all the training and help I could. I spent hours soaking up knowledge from the seasoned nurses and praying I survived each night. After 2 years of living in a fog, I finally landed myself a day shift! I could sleep, eat, exercise and think like a normal person again! It was so amazing I didn’t want to leave! But day shifts have their own challenges: family, doctors, and awake patients. I didn’t have to deal with these things on a night shift, but I adjusted. I spent another year here learning all I could. But in the back of my mind I knew that my time was coming to fly the coop.
People knew me as the travel guru of my hospital. Everyone was always asking me where I was off to next and what places they should go to. People would always be like “why don’t you go be a travel nurse, it’s perfect for you!” As much as I knew they were right, I was too scared to take the leap. See, being a traveler is entirely different than being staff. You walk through those doors on day one and people know you’ll be walking out in 13 weeks. That makes it harder to connect with people and feel like you’re part of the family. You’re not part of the inside jokes, you don’t know which Dr’s are which, and it’s almost impossible to get someone to help you at first. You have to be prepared to work hard. But what travelers gain is far beyond any difficulties.
I finally talked to a traveler at work to figure out how to be a travel nurse. The traveler gave me the name of her recruiter and within hours they sent me 10 pay packages. I had no idea how to read and decipher pay packages nor an idea of what to ask for. I should’ve spoken to at least 2-3 other recruiters before accepting anything, but of course I didn’t know that! All I knew was I had an offer from UCSF and I took it. One month later I sublet my apartment and left the comforts of my home hospital with all my friends. But, I landed at a HUGE hospital on top of a hill in foggy San Francisco! This was the start to one of the hardest and rewarding journeys of my life. Stay tuned for lessons learned in how to be a travel nurse…
To learn more, check out our article 8 Steps to becoming a Travel Nurse