Do you enjoy traveling and visiting new places? Do you like changing up your surroundings frequently? Do you enjoy constantly learning new things? Then travel nursing may be the perfect next step in your career as a healthcare worker! It’s certainly not for everyone, and this challenging career does require a few essential traits for success. Continue reading to see if you have what it takes to become a great traveling nurse!
Traveling Nurses Are Independent
Of course, one of the main requirements of a travel nursing career is moving from place to place frequently on different contracts. You won’t stay in one place for long, and you won’t spend a lot of time at home. This means that if you have strong roots in a particular location or need to spend a lot of time with family in a specific location, being a travel nurse may be difficult for you. The best travel nurses can move around easily with few ties holding them back.
Traveling Nurses Are Minimalistic
Because traveling nurses move around frequently, packing a large number of belongings can become quite cumbersome. For this reason, great traveling nurses have learned to pack lightly and only bring along necessities, which makes their travel much quicker and easier.
Traveling Nurses Are Confident in Their Skills
Often, traveling nurses are hired because a particular location is short-staffed and needs extra hands on deck. So, most sites also don’t have time for an extended orientation or training period. This means that the best traveling nurses are the ones who are confident in their skills and can adapt quickly to their surroundings to take on whatever tasks are given to them as soon as they arrive.
Traveling Nurses Are Good Planners
There are many minor details to think about when a traveling nurse is planning their next contract: what to pack, where they will stay, what transportation they will use to get there, etc. A great traveling nurse is organized and plans a system for all travel logistics that they can repeat with each new contract.
Additionally, traveling nurses must read all of their contract details to be familiar with the terms. A great traveling nurse will also take time to learn about their new location to know what to expect before they arrive. This is especially important during the Covid-19 pandemic, as each site may have slightly different rules and guidelines in place to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. It is essential for traveling nurses to familiarize themselves with these guidelines quickly to be sure they are adhering to them at all times.
Great traveling nurses can research and plan out all of these details to fully prepare to hit the ground running when they arrive at a new location.
Traveling Nurses Are Team Players
Just as it is with any other career, traveling nurses may encounter locations and assignments that are difficult or do not enjoy. Great traveling nurses can persevere through the end of each contract, even when they find they don’t like a specific location. They can continue to be a team player and put their patients first, regardless of their personal feelings. They also leave each contract on good terms so as not to burn any bridges. Tolerance and adaptability are fundamental traits of the best traveling nurses.
Traveling Nurses Are Mindful and Take Care of Themselves
Being a traveling nurse is not an easy occupation by any means. Moving around, caring for patients in various settings, constantly adapting to new surroundings – these are no small feats. Because of this, traveling nurses must take care of themselves as well. The best traveling nurses are those who remain mindful of their own physical and mental health and take time out of their hectic lifestyle to practice self-care. This allows them to show up to work each day fully recharged and ready to provide their patients with the best care possible.
If you think you have these traits or can easily attain them, then travel nursing may be a great career choice for you! Although being a travel nurse is challenging, there are also many great benefits. You will never get bored with your job, you will gain varied and valuable experience, and you will get to travel and see new places often! If you are interested in pursuing a career in travel nursing or want to learn more, check out TLC Nursing. We’d love for you to join our valuable and respected team of healthcare professionals!
