Travel nurses have a unique opportunity to impact the nursing profession positively. By bringing awareness and promoting understanding of cultural sensitivities, you can improve the quality of care provided to patients and families.
Diversify Your Skill Set
In nursing, a new assignment brings a fresh set of skills, experiences, and people to connect with. This helps you grow your nursing knowledge and expand your professional network. In a profession where moving on to a different employer after a long stint is frowned upon, travel nurse practitioner jobs embrace change and use their short-term contracts as a way to jump into the latest trends in healthcare, learn the latest techniques, and gain specialized training that they can take with them to future assignments.
In many cases, a travel nurse’s work at a particular assignment will directly impact patient outcomes. This allows the nurse to build a strong clinical skill set and gain leadership experience to propel them into permanent management positions later in their careers.
Travel nurses passionate about leadership can express their interest in managerial positions during assignment negotiations and seek mentorship from hospital leaders. This will help them stand out and speed up their career progression. Obtaining advanced nursing certifications is another way to elevate your career and boost your resume.
Expand Your Skill Set
A travel nursing career is great for nurses looking to broaden their horizons and gain new experiences. They can work at hospitals and healthcare facilities requiring their skills while earning higher hourly rates. Travel nurses can also choose where to live for their assignments. Whether it be a bustling city with top-rated restaurants, a gorgeous beach in a tropical destination, or even a small town with plenty of history and charm, the choices are endless!
It can be stressful and difficult to adjust to a new hospital and healthcare facility every time, but it is an excellent way to expand your skill set. Nurses are often brought into facilities with a high need, and they must be able to jump in quickly and take control of the situation. They may also need more training at the facility, so they must be accustomed to taking initiative and self-directing their work.
Develop Your Network
A strong professional network is crucial for any healthcare professional, but travel nurses have a unique opportunity to build one. Travel nurses are frequently assigned to new teams at each assignment, and building positive relationships with their peers can enhance the experience and foster a supportive work environment.
In addition, many travel nurses work with permanent staff members at each hospital and may have the opportunity to learn from them. Developing these connections can help nurses grow their understanding of different healthcare practices and systems and even lead to future job opportunities or recommendations.
Travel nurses may also seek mentors who can offer guidance and support throughout their assignments. This can be especially helpful for new travel nurses who may be unfamiliar with hospital policies and procedures or unsure about the next steps in their careers.
Enhance Your Self-Promotion Skills
In the nursing industry, it’s important to market yourself to secure employment opportunities. To promote yourself effectively, you must have a well-written resume highlighting your technical and interpersonal skills. Having two supervisory references ready to submit upon request is recommended as well. In addition, you’ll want to include specific accomplishments in previous assignments, such as improved patient outcomes or assisting in training new staff members.
Travel nurses often find themselves in unfamiliar environments, which requires adaptability. This experience, in turn, teaches nurses to become more confident in their abilities. It can also help them to make decisions independently without the guidance of a permanent team.
Travel nurses also have the opportunity to expand their network by working at different hospitals. By maintaining communication with colleagues from past assignments, they can leverage their relationships to land a job in the future.
Obtain Advanced Nursing Certifications
Working in different facilities enables nurses to learn from new colleagues, experience new patient populations, and acquire techniques they might not have had they worked at the same facility their entire nursing careers. Working at different types of facilities also helps nurses identify their preferences in workplace environments, allowing them to find their ideal long-term nursing positions.
Most nurses choose their career fields because of a desire to help people during the most vulnerable moments in their lives. Travel nursing allows nurses to amplify their impact by helping those in need in areas facing nursing shortages and other challenges.
As a traveling nurse, you’ll have the opportunity to explore your new cities and discover all they offer on your days off. This experience will build life skills transferable to any professional endeavor or social situation. It also demonstrates your adaptability, a skill that will set you apart from your permanent peers. Becoming a travel nurse is an excellent option for RNs seeking greater career control and flexible schedules.