If you want flexibility, adventure, and the opportunity to explore new cities while making a difference in healthcare, then travel nursing is just the right opportunity for you. There are a lot of travel nursing opportunities out there. Depending on your specialty, you can become an ER or ICU travel nurse. But in this blog, we will discuss how to become an urgent care travel nurse, its salary, job outlook, and benefits. So, let’s dive in!
What is an urgent care travel nurse?
Travel urgent care nurses travel to different locations on temporary assignments (typically for 13 weeks) to work in urgent care centers when there is high demand for healthcare professionals. Urgent care centers provide medical care to patients who are not very serious but need immediate medical attention for conditions like minor injuries, fever, flu, infections, etc.
Educational requirements to become an urgent care travel nurse
To become an urgent care travel nurse, one needs the following requirements:
- Nursing degree such as ADN or BSN degree.
- Passing the NCLEX-RN exam to get your nursing license.
- At least one year of experience in ER, critical care, or urgent care.
- Optional certifications such as BLS, ACLS, PALS, etc.
You can also apply for an NLC (Compact State Nursing License) that can help you work in many states without applying for additional licenses.
Role of Urgent Care Travel Nurses
The demand for urgent care travel nurses increases during emergencies or flu seasons. The role and responsibilities of urgent care travel nurses are as follows:
- Assessing, diagnosing, and treating various medical conditions such as minor injuries, infections, etc.
- Assessing the condition of the patients and making sure that the patients who need immediate attention are treated first to avoid complications.
- Administering medications and IV insertions.
- Urgent care travel nurses can also assist with diagnostic tests such as X-rays, EKGs, etc.
- Updating and maintaining accurate document recording of the patients.
- Educating patients and their families on treatment plans etc.
Skills required to become a successful urgent care travel nurse
Urgent care travel nurse’s job looks exciting and adventurous, but they need to develop some skills to become successful in their career as an urgent care travel nurse.
- Clinical expertise
- Critical thinking and problem-solving
- Flexibility and ability to adjust to new environments quickly.
- Strong and effective communication skills to talk with patients and other healthcare providers to provide effective patient care.
- Organizational and time management skills.
- Knowledge of urgent care protocols.
- Cultural competency as they meet different people from different backgrounds.
- Physical and mental stamina.
- Knowledge of medical equipment and technology.
Urgent care travel nurse job outlook
The demand for travel nurses is increasing day by day and there the job outlook for urgent care travel nurses is strong. Some of the factors resulting in the growing demand for travel nurses are as follows:
- Nurse shortages: Some areas such as rural areas and underserved areas rely on temporary nurse staff to fill the gaps and provide patient care when needed.
- Demand for flexible work force: In healthcare facilities and hospitals where the patient population fluctuates, they need travel urgent care nurses because they don’t want to hire permanent staff. This is a cost-effective solution.
- Seasonal or emergency response: The need for urgent care travel nurses also increases during seasonal or emergency crises such as in flu season etc.
- Benefits and competitive pay: Many RNs choose to become urgent care travel nurses because of the high pay and benefits they get when they are travel nursing. They not only explore new cities and make money but flexibility in jobs also makes it interesting for travel nurses.
- Staffing shortages in remote and rural areas: In rural and remote areas the demand for travel nurses is greater because keeping permanent staff is challenging.
Benefits of becoming an urgent care travel nurse
The benefits of urgent care travel nursing are:
- Higher pay and benefits.
- Professional and personal growth.
- Flexibility and high job demand.
- Sign-on bonuses or end-of-contract bonuses.
- Experience and exposure to career opportunities.
Challenges that urgent care travel nurses may face in job outlook
No doubt urgent care travel nursing has its benefits and an exciting career to choose, but travel nurses might face some challenges such as:
- Job instability
- Difficulty in adapting to a new healthcare environment.
- Isolation.
- Physically and mentally demanding.
Urgent care travel nurse job salary:
The urgent care travel nurse job salary depends on different factors such as location, education, experience, and certifications. However, the average salary of urgent care travel nurses is $ 2,106 weekly. Factors that affect urgent care nurse travel salary are:
- Education
- Certifications
- Experience
- Agency
- Contract length
- Location of job
- Demand
Other benefits that urgent care travel nurses may get besides their salary are:
- Housing stipends
- Travel stipends
- Benefits like health insurance, dental insurance, paid time off in some cases, etc.
- Shift and location premiums.
Conclusion
Urgent care travel nursing is an exciting career with high pay and benefits, but it has its challenges too such as job instability, etc. Urgent care travel nurses treat patients who are not serious but need immediate medical attention. The job outlook for urgent care travel nurses is high because of high demand in rural areas or during seasonal or emergency crises. If you are thinking of becoming an urgent care travel nurse it is important to have at least one year of experience. Download SkillGigs app and become a travel nurse with us where we match your skills with the jobs that are of your interest. Start travel nursing with SkillGigs!
