Guide to Becoming a Travel Nurse

Two reasons: I was working in a rural hospital at a time when the case load in the operating room (OR) was slowing significantly. I had accomplished most personal and professional goals as a RN. When I started traveling, I had 31 years in the OR. I thought I needed another challenge.

My only brother had been diagnosed with end stage renal disease (ESRD) and I thought it would be nice to work closer to where he lived, so I could spend more time with him.

I was working at my second hospital as a traveler and within a few weeks I was asked by the OR manager if I would be willing to precept a nurse they had recently hired who did not have any OR experience. I was with her for about 10 weeks and it was a very beneficial pairing for us both. She had a great outlook on life. She was originally from Detroit and had moved to an Atlanta suburb not long before we met. I not only passed on my OR wisdom, but I was able to educate her a little about how things are done in the south!

At a small hospital in WV (my home state), I worked in an OR that was in transition. There was only one remaining full time OR nurse when I arrived. There were three travel nurses including me. In the first month I was there, they hired three nurses with absolutely no OR experience. The manager asked if I would give in-services as time allowed on various topics that would teach the new nurses how to prep and position patients appropriately. It is good to know I can help these ORs in multiple ways.

My bunk mate was from India. He had been on the ship for three months and we only shared a living space for a week, but had some good conversations. He took me on a walking tour of the port city at night. When I asked him why he wanted to go at night he said it was too hot during the day. I thought that was hilarious considering he is from southern India. The day time temperatures were mid-90s and 80 at night. We exchanged contact info, but in my experience this doesn't always mean communication will continue. I was pleasantly surprised when I received multiple emails from him. My hope is we can stay connected.

While onboard I had an unexpected opportunity to help out during surgery. The ship requires people to speak English while they are working. I worked in the OR with people from various countries, who spoke very good English. I am not bilingual, so anyone that can speak more than one language always impresses me.

One day I was a second assistant on an abdominal procedure. The first assistant was a surgeon from the host country that was there to learn about these procedures from a Mercy Ships surgeon. The teaching surgeon spoke English and the surgeon he was training only spoke French, so a translator was required.

At the end of the procedure, the surgeons were closing (suturing) and the translator was having a bit of trouble translating the instructions on suturing. So I drew a picture of how the suturing should look, gave it to the translator, who showed it to the local surgeon, who then nodded his head as if to say he understood. Based on how he sutured after that, it was obvious he did understand. I smiled because the drawing I made worked. Pictures are worth a thousand words!

I really like the fact that there is an emphasis on peoples' (crew and patients) spiritual well-being. Prayer is part of the day to day routine. And the OR manager led a short weekly devotion. Being very holistic in caring for the patients and crew made me wish I could spend more time there.

One aspect of the travel world I don't care for is how much of my time I spend doing things for the company and the hospital that I don't get compensated for. If you are hired into a non-travel position by a hospital, you typically get paid for all the time you spend doing HR stuff and orientation. That is not the case with contract work. I can spend anywhere from two to eight hours completing items for the travel company and the hospital with no compensation. My hope is that this might change in the future. I have worked for multiple companies and this is common among them all.

It can be very rewarding for the most part. I have had three facilities ask me back, which is a great ego booster. It allows me to manage my own schedule.

The first two or three weeks at a facility is a time of testing. It is understandable, because coworkers need to know how you work and what your priorities are. Once you have proven you are there for the patients and you know how to do your job, people seem to relax a little.

There are numerous companies out there to choose from. They all do things very much alike. I have found out some companies have contracts in certain geographical locations, so you may choose a company that gets you where you want to be. Some hospital systems have contracts with more than one company.