Travel Nursing: Why Do It? Here’s Why.

Thousands of nurses are choosing to take advantage of travel nursing opportunities to not only visit new places but also to gain diverse training experience in different practice environments while enjoying an excellent pay and great benefits.

If you’re not already sold on what travel nursing can do for your career and personal growth, here are some advantages of travel nursing to think about:

Explore New Places

Travel nurses have their pick of assignments in any United States region and can choose assignments based on what’s important to them, whether it’s professional growth, remuneration, climate, or personal interests.

Depending on their lifestyle, travel nurses have the option to live amidst the hustle and bustle of San Francisco or New York or immerse themselves in the laidback ways of a small southern town.

Climate is also a huge factor in many nurses’ decision to travel. Some people prefer sunny LA. And then there are those who want to experience living in a winter wonderland for a couple of months.

There are those who choose assignments based on interests and hobbies. Nurses from the Midwest, for instance, would be able to try activities that they normally don’t have access to like scuba diving or surfing by choosing to work in Florida.

Career Advancement

Travel nursing allows nurses to create a clear career path for themselves. Their jobs don’t rely on an employer’s personal agenda but rather on their goals.

Travel nurses have the option to pick the type of practice environment that best suit their professional growth. They can choose to work at a large full-service medical facility or at small rural hospital and all points in-between. They will also be able to interact and work with diverse patient populations and to have access to all kinds of procedures and technology.

Exposure to different locations means that a well-traveled professional will be able to gain training and develop skills normally not found in any one facility. The challenges of a small 30-bed hospital are different than that of a 300-bed hospital.

What’s more, because assignments are only for a couple of months, travel nurses don’t feel stuck in a place they dislike for whatever reason. Travel nurses are able to avoid getting caught up in office politics.

Personal Growth

Travel nurses enjoy a level of flexibility and freedom that regular staff members don’t have. Travel nurses can decide to take time off between assignments to be with their family, go on vacation, or finish a personal project.

The amount of time spent at a facility is long enough to develop long-lasting friendships. Meeting new people and discovering new interests are part of the job.

Additionally, when it’s time for travel nurses to live in one place, they would have a better idea than most where to do it. For most people, taking the time to look for the right city in the right state to put down roots is costly and had to be done while they’re on vacation. Travel nurses could not only try out a new place before permanently moving, they get paid to do it too.

Of course, as a career path, travel nursing is not for everyone. There are people who prefer to live their entire lives in one place, staying close to family and friends. They take comfort in going to old, familiar haunts after a long day at the office. To them it’s reassuring to know every street name and where to go for the best pizza in town. There is nothing wrong with this.

For the adventurous type, however, travel nursing offers a chance to explore and discover.