Becoming a successful travel nurse takes more than a nursing license and a travel adventure. Travel nurses visit new healthcare facilities every 13 weeks, and therefore, some key qualities are required to adjust to fast-paced new environments. Being a travel nurse means a new place, a new work environment, and a new team every single time, which can be challenging. Therefore, to succeed, you need to have soft skills and clinical expertise to thrive in the travel nursing world. In this blog, we will discuss the skills and qualities required to navigate a life of a travel nurse!
Quickly adapting clinical environment
As we all know, travel nurses work on contracts, which is typically for 13 weeks. They have very limited time for orientation and adjusting to the new environment. Therefore, to be a successful nurse, they should possess the skill of adapting to the new healthcare environment quickly. The tip is to be proficient in your specialty, for example, if you are an ICU nurse, you should know how to manage ventilators, respond to codes, and perform other important tasks so that there is no delay in providing a high level of care to the patients.
Ability to adapt to different hospital systems and procedures
Another important skill for travel nurses to have is the ability to adapt to new hospital procedures and systems. Each hospital has its own equipment and protocols, and therefore, it is important for travel nurses to quickly adapt to those because of their limited time. Sometimes, as a travel nurse, you will work in major hospitals with an advanced EHR system, and sometimes you will work in small rural areas with a simple paper chart system. You, as a successful travel nurse, should have the skill to adjust to both.
Time management skills
Another important skill for travel nurses to possess is time management skills. During emergency situations such as natural disasters or the spread of diseases like COVID, the demand for travel nurses increases because of a shortage of staff. This means that nurses might work with multiple patients in a fast-paced environment to provide essential care. Travel nurses during these challenging situations should know how to manage time and patients. Therefore, to be a successful travel nurse, you should have the time management skills to provide effective care to multiple patients at one time.
Critical thinking and problem-solving skills
Another important skill for a successful travel nurse is critical thinking and problem-solving. For example, if the patient’s health suddenly deteriorates, then you have to make a sound decision to save the patient’s life. During an emergency, you cannot just rely on doctors if it is a life-and-death situation. For example, if you see that the patient is having an allergic reaction, then you must act quickly instead of waiting for the doctor’s permission. But make sure that the decision made is based on your clinical expertise, experience, and to save the life of the patient.
Communication skills
Communication skill is another important skill for travel nurses because they communicate with patients, their families, and healthcare team members all the time. The communication includes explaining procedures to the patients, care plans to the family of patients, advocating for patients, etc. It is important that as a nurse, you should respect the culture and language differences because, as a travel nurse, you will visit different areas and meet diverse communities. If you see that there is a patient who is struggling to speak English, then you should provide an interpreter to make sure that the patient understands clearly without any confusion.
Flexibility
If you are a travel nurse, then to be successful, flexibility is the key skill. As a travel nurse, you will get different assignments, such as you might get day shifts in New York and then night shifts in California. If you want to make more money as a travel nurse, then you have to be flexible and choose different assignments with different locations and time schedules. It is also possible that you might face a situation during your assignment where you have to work overtime. If you are flexible, you can not only be successful, but you can also make more with travel nursing.
What are the qualities that every travel nurse should possess to be successful?
Some other qualities for travel nurses to required to navigate life of a travel nurse:
- Travel nurses should be emotionally strong to handle stressful situations.
- To be a successful travel nurse, they should be open to new experiences, cultures, people, and techniques.
- A successful travel nurse should have the confidence to ask questions when needed. These qualities help them to grow professionally and personally.
- Travel nurses should have the ability to be organized and keep track of assignments, paperwork, etc.
- Professionalism is another quality for travel nurses that is needed to be successful in their career.
- Travel nurses should be confident and should have the ability to work independently without the need for constant supervision to be successful.
Conclusion
Travel nursing not only means adventure or making money, but it is more than that. To be a successful travel nurse, you must have skills and qualities required to navigate life of a travel nurse. The top skills for travel nurses to be successful in their careers include communication skills, clinical expertise, adaptability to new environments, flexibility, and time management. To be successful, resilience, confidence, openness to new experiences, and so much more are some qualities that every travel nurse should possess.
If you think you possess all these qualities as a nurse, then become a travel nurse with SkillGigs, where you get the opportunity to work in top healthcare facilities and make more money!
