There are countless blogs that will tell you to take up travel nursing because you get to experience the world and make more money doing it. These are two great reasons why you should try travel nursing but what are the other benefits? In this article, SkillGigs discusses the other hidden benefits of travel nursing that could elevate your career and personal life. SkillGigs has brought you ten new reasons why you should consider travel nursing.
1. Quick Gigs: Find Work Fast
Do you want a fast and easy way to find new work? Travel nursing is where you will find the answer. The turn around is so short you can be set up in a new location within a week. You can even test the waters and have the choice to extend your contract or move forward. This is all thanks to not being committed through a long-term contract. Should you find yourself in an aggressive environment or maybe you find the city life too fast you have the freedom to try again somewhere else. Most travel nurse gigs, on average, run 13-weeks.
2. Your Niche: Find Your “Work” Home
By being on the move so often, you get to experience a variety of skills as well as places. You get to choose your hospital and try different units and specialties that may interest you. Finding a new area you love working in that you wouldn’t have tried otherwise may lead to the perfect job that suits you best. We see this as an exceptional way to learn and perfect new skills. When you travel, there is far less stagnancy in the role giving you an opportunity to really explore.
3. Adapt & Overcome: Find Your Growth
Want to be a better nurse and increase your flexibility and adaptability? Two core soft skills for professional registered nurses. The ability to adapt to different situations and responsibilities has always been of high value to hospital staff as well as patients. Travel nursing allows you to face new challenges, bosses, co-workers, environments, and patients, to name a few. Every hospital has its own system, and its employees have their own office politics. If you can adapt and thrive, the better registered nurse you become!
4. Quick Experience: Build Skills Fast
Immersing yourself in such a variety of work environments teaches you new skills at a pace you’d have to go back to school to get! In travel nursing, no two units function the same and even very hospital to hospital. So, the more you’re on the move, the more types of jobs you may take on. Different states have different scopes of practice, and you may find yourself learning new skills your state may not have allowed for.
5. Fine Tune: Hone Your Skills
“Process Improvement” is a trending skillset employer are looking for. This means you are actively trying to increase your patient interface, therefore, increasing patient satisfaction. Hospitals with high patient satisfaction receive federal incentives, so they are continually trying to find better nurses to improve the quality! While travel nursing, you’ll be given a variety of processes which you’ll be able to observe which parts were successful. You can then pick and choose the best parts and combine them to create a better method!
Looking to improve your process? Check out “The Secret to Positive Patient Care”
6. Resume Build: Beef It Up!
All of these new skills and ideas you’ve picked up can now be shown off on your new resume! Every employer expects you to tailor your resume to match the desired position and the more skills you have in your arsenal, the more you can show them you’re the right person for the job! Working in travel nursing grows your pool of relevant skills and experience that makes you a more valuable candidate! [We suggest you check out SkillGigs marketplace where you can create a skill density with various listings of your abilities. Sign up!]
7. Networking: Expand and Connect
The best asset a travel nurse can have is their network. Every place you go, and every person you meet increases your network. This can be used to find work, do favors, receive favors, or even find the best late-night restaurant open after your shift ends! Nurses with strong networks are ahead of the trend when it comes to practice and always have a couch to crash on and a shoulder to lean on in hard times.
8. Staying Cool: Avoiding Burnout
Burnout is common among permanent staff nurses. Working at the same place constantly with hospital committees, additional certificates, and even drama/politics can be stressful. Travel nursing helps you avoid the feeling of being stuck these may cause.
As a travel nurse, you can focus on patient care and being the best you can be. You won’t have to worry about those responsibilities of staff nurses or the complication hospital politics brings.
9. Constantly Changing: Flexibility
Have a preference for work time? Need to take some time off for family or friends? Or maybe you want to make some extra money during the holidays? Travel nursing is perfect for this! With high flexibility regarding scheduling, as long as you communicate to the hospital and travel nursing company, the options are endless. You have complete control of your schedule.
10. The World of Culture
From Honolulu, Hawaii to New York City, New York, the cultures vary as do its people. When you aren’t working, you have the ability to experience the world and its people. If you don’t have a bucket list of things to do or eat, we suggest you start one! By experiencing each culture, you will not only broaden your horizons, but also gain interesting stories and tales to help network and understand others throughout your adventures.
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