Many people have asked me questions about travel nursing. What's it like? How do you do it? Which company do you use? Do they supply your housing? Do you really spend most of your time standing around on Dude Ranches in an immaculate white cap and dress, giving handsome cowboys the eye? (Well, actually, yes, now that you ask.)
I think the best thing you can do is to ask those questions, even if this is something you're only maybe-kinda-sorta thinking about doing someday. You know what they say, network, network, network!
I spent years as a staff nurse shamelessly pumping the travel nurses I met for information, even though I was iffy about actually making the jump. I found out alot of interesting and useful stuff that way - even stuff that had nothing to do with travel nursing.
Like, for instance, I learned that some travel nurses without cars (they had flown down from British Columbia) were occasionally renting cars from Enterprise for the special weekend rate of $10/day in pricey Connecticut. A very good deal even in 2002. That info came in handy once when my car broke down and I was working the weekend.
It was also interesting just to meet people from all over, and learn their stories. I once worked with a nurse from Ireland, who came to the states, to do a 2-year contract, after doing a 2-year contract in Australia. How's that for interesting?
Anyway, I just wanted to post some links to some of the online resources I use that are specific to travel nursing. I plan to do another post in the future focusing on general travel sites.
Healthcare Traveler Magazine has alot of useful information. I used to get their paper version, for free, until I moved out of my house. Believe it or not, I kind of miss the ads in the paper version, because they were actually full of information. Like, you'll find the occasional company
that offers the opportunity to work in England(on a 1-year contract), or the Virgin Islands, on an Indian reservation, or as a civilian on a military base. I particularly like their Career Center, Starter's Kit, Tax Facts, Travel Deals, Tales From the Road, and Lifestyles articles, all of which are available online. Check out their Recruiters of the Year article under Lifestyles. Mad props to my recruiter, Kristen Ricci-Hunt (Novapro), a 2005 – 2007 award recipient!
The downside of Healthcare Traveler is that it is a vehicle for the advertisors, so, while it does offer some useful advice about dealing with problems, it really won't come out and say anything negative about anyone, anywhere, or anything. So, for the real lowdown, I turn to The Delphi Travel Nurses and Therapists Forum. This is a free website, although it requires registration. You can also pay for the premium version, which allows you to search posts older than 3 months old.
I think of Delphi as the opposite of HT - it's so heavily weighted towards complaints that it might scare you away from travel nursing totally. Just take what you read with a grain of salt. Think of it as "Dear Abby" for travel nurses - people are often writing in for specific advice on how to solve ( or avoid ) problems, not to talk about how wonderful everthing is in HappyLand today. Just because 10 other people have problems with their Mother-in-Law doesn't mean you will, too. But, it's worth reading because it's a treasure trove of extremely specific advice, right down to which apartment complexes to request or avoid in a specific town.
Allnurses.com is a great site for reading about nursing in general, and they've also got a travel nursing forum listed under "Nursing Specialties", and you can also ask questions about specific hospitals in the various state forums. Note - they also are read by and friendly towards LNA's/PCT's and student nurses. They have a Male Nurse's Forum and a very active forum called "First Year in Nursing". It's a great place to go when you have a bad day that really makes you doubt yourself, or when you're feeling burnt-out - especially for new nurses. In terms of travel-specific info, I don't find it quite as helpful as Delphi, but, it's worth checking out, and you don't have to register.
If you know of any resources that I've missed, please feel free to post them in the comments section below!
1 comment:
Well said.
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