Working as a Traveling Nurse

A Traveling Nurse is exactly what it sounds like, a mobile nurse. They are a crucial segment of the Healthcare field as they supplement gaps in supply and demand for nurses all over the country. Registered Nurses can do contract-based jobs and work for independent staffing companies. Typically, once a Nurse has about 1 year of experience under their belt, they become eligible to be a Traveling Nurse. It certainly isn’t for everyone, but for many, the benefits of being a Traveling Nurse make it a really attractive and rewarding career that is always in high demand.

Benefits of Being a Traveling Nurse

Nurses and healthcare workers in general are in very high demand across the nation. Clinics and hospitals constantly need to fill vacancies. This is especially true for Nurses. This demand combined with contract work creates higher average pay for Traveling Nurses. The higher pay is largely a result of an expectation of and need for experience, training, and professionalism.

One of the most obvious benefits of being a Traveling Nurse is that you are paid to travel. Younger people and adventure seekers will naturally be drawn to this opportunity to travel the country while working in the healthcare field. Their potential to travel is often not limited to just the United States. Some Traveling Nurses will get the opportunity to take their practices all around the world. Again, this unique job being paid to travel is an awesome perk for many. Whereas perhaps a Nurse that has a family may be less inclined to leave home for long stretches. As mentioned before, Traveling Nurses will work under contracts and because of that will often experience higher pay than a stationary Nurse. This higher pay combined with travel also lends itself to a younger demographic. This is because paying off student loans is often a primary focus for them.

How Does Housing Work?

Housing arrangements vary greatly for Traveling Nurses. Some companies will often offer housing for them, and the larger ones will even set up housing or have blocks of hotels dedicated to them. However, it still comes out of their wages in one way or another. Other housing methods include Facebook groups for Traveling Nurses that offer housing for rent and subletting. The Traveling Nurse profession is even partially credited with saving Airbnbs during the pandemic thanks to their continuous business. Some Nurses that are committed to a life on the go will even use RVs so they can move from place to place bringing their home with them. Essentially, there are tons of options for Nurses on the go in terms of living arrangements.

Staffing the Traveling Nurses

Staffing companies will work with these Nurses to help find contracts and weigh the benefits of various opportunities. Some of these companies focus highly on healthcare in particular. This enables them to not only provide staffing and recruiting services but training as well. This further helps Registered Nurses make the transition to contract and travel-based work. Staffing Firms that work with these Nurses will take factors like location, contract length, wages, and housing set-ups into account to ensure that their Traveling Nurses are getting the best experiences they can find.

With this in mind, inquiring with a staffing firm about a Traveling Nurse position would be a great idea. The process can be daunting, but many firms provide resources to help the job search. Navigating to their sites, you will find sections to browse open jobs. This can help you see the options available to you at each firm and many allow you to apply on-screen. If you’d like a more personal route to the process, you can also contact a recruiter via phone or email. They will be able to assist further on their site’s job postings and provide you more personal support in choosing a position to pursue.

Thanks for checking out our second blog in a series concerned with Telehealth and healthcare nuances. Check back in next week as we provide an industry evaluation of Telehealth to wrap up this string of blogs.

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