Hunting for a dependable travel nurse solution ? This guide breaks downs the job opportunities, the benefits, the supportive communities, and the practical tips that’ll help you thrive in your travel nursing career.
Key Takeaways to Keep in Mind
- Travel nursing puts you in a position to have a diverse array of job opportunities across various specialties and locations, giving you the freedom to tailor your career to what you personally want to achieve.
- Comprehensive benefits, including health insurance, retirement plans, and help with housing, ensure you’re well taken care of during your assignments.
- Having a strong community support and personalized staffing solutions makes a huge difference in the travel nursing experience, giving you opportunities for growth, connection and career advancement.
Travel Nursing Offers Diverse Job Opportunities
Travel nursing opens up a world of diverse opportunities for registered nurses. With the flexibility to pick assignments all over the country and in a wide range of healthcare settings, travel nurses can tailor their careers to fit both their personal and professional goals. Whether you prefer the fast-paced environment of a big city hospital or the quiet of a rural clinic, travel nursing offers diverse options for everyone.
One of the major advantages of travel nursing is the ability to work in different specialties – such as:
- Critical care
- Pediatrics
- Emergency nursing
- Surgical departments – and pick up experience in a wide range of fields, enhancing your skills and broadening your expertise.
This diversity keeps the job interesting and provides valuable professional growth opportunities.
The destinations for travel nursing are just as varied as the assignments themselves. Whether you prefer the hustle and bustle of a major city or the peacefulness of a small town, travel nursing lets you explore new places and cultures while making a difference in the lives of patients. The possibilities are endless and the experiences you gain are invaluable.
Travel Nurse Jobs – Plenty of Opportunities
The world of travel nursing is full of job opportunities – currently there are almost 29,000 job openings in the travel nursing sector, catering to a nationwide need for skilled healthcare professionals. Travel nurses can find positions all over the US, picking assignments that match up with their career goals and what they personally like.
Travel nursing jobs are available in a variety of specialties, including critical care, pediatrics and emergency nursing. Cities like Chicago have lots of job opportunities for travel nurses due to their diverse patient populations and many healthcare facilities.
Want a short 8-week assignment or a longer 26-week contract ? There’s a travel nursing job to suit your time needs.
Allied Health Jobs – Not Just for Registered Nurses
Travel nursing isn’t just for registered nurses – allied health professionals can also find rewarding job opportunities. Allied health jobs include roles such as physical therapists, radiologic technologists and occupational therapists, offering a wide range of positions with travel opportunities.
These positions come with :
- Competitive pay
- The chance to gain experience in diverse healthcare settings, including hospitals, clinics and rehabilitation centers
- Flexibility and variety through travel assignments, which can be a great way to enhance your career and see new places, especially for allied health professionals like nurse travellers.
Connecting You with Top HealthCare Facilities
Travel nurses play a huge role in helping communities with urgent healthcare needs by providing their expertise to areas with staffing shortages. During the COVID-19 pandemic, travel nurses were instrumental in redistributing nursing resources to areas with the highest demand for healthcare services. This ability to quickly adapt to changing healthcare needs makes travel nurses an invaluable asset to top healthcare facilities.
Assignments through agencies like HealthTrust usually last around 13 weeks, giving nurses a lot of flexibility. These agencies also help cover the travel costs and living expenses for nurses, so they’re well-supported during their assignments.
Flexible staffing options let healthcare staffing facilities manage patient demand fluctuations, keeping essential support in place.
Featured Locations for Travel Nurses
Travel nursing offers a great way to explore different locations – each with its own unique culture and work environment. Some destinations include:
- Richmond, Virginia – known for its historical charm
- Dallas, Texas – has a vibrant city life
- Nashville, Tennessee – features a mild climate and a rich cultural scene
For those who prefer a slower pace of life, Minnesota’s thousands of lakes, forests and trails provide a unique rural setting. These diverse locations not only offer job opportunities but also enrich the travel nursing experience through cultural and environmental diversity. Exploring new places while making a difference in patients’ lives adds a rich dimension to the travel nursing career.
Popular Urban Destinations – Big Cities with a Lot to Offer
Cities like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago are top choices for travel nurses looking for vibrant urban environments. New York City, with its bustling healthcare scene and endless cultural experiences, offers travel nurses unique professional and personal growth opportunities.
Los Angeles combines beach life with metropolitan challenges, making it a great choice for those who love variety and new things. Chicago, famous for its diverse attractions and competitive pay rates, has plenty of travel healthcare assignments for those looking to enhance their professional development and quality of life. It’s no wonder that many people find their ideal balance here.
These cities offer travel nurses unique experiences that enrich their careers and lives.
Unique Rural Experiences
A Whole Different WorldFor those who crave a more laid-back vibe, rural assignments offer the chance to really sink in to the local community and experience the slow and easy pace of life. Idaho’s stunning natural beauty & rapid growth make for an attractive destination for travel nurses who love the outdoors. Maine’s unique combination of coastal charm & rural healthcare needs makes it a real draw for travel nurses.
West Virginia, with its picturesque countryside, and Alaska, with its wild, untamed geography, provide the ultimate adventure destination for travel nurses looking for a real challenge. These rural assignments let travel nurses strike up a balance between work & play, with access to all sorts of outdoor adventures & super low living costs.
The Full Benefits Package for Travel Nurses
Travel nurses get to enjoy a whole range of comprehensive benefits that are designed to make them feel happy and secure on the job. Good health insurance that covers a wide range of medical expenses is a big one – including routine check-ups and emergencies. Plus, flexible schedules mean that travel nurses can work to live, not just live to work.
TLC Nursing, for example, is all about giving travel nurses the support they need to succeed. They offer competitive pay rates and top-notch benefits from day one, along with a whole team of experts to help with things like housing and compliance.
Having a dedicated team looking out for you means that travel nurses are well-supported throughout their assignments.
Health & Dental Benefits
Good health & dental insurance is one of the most important benefits for travel nurses – after all, you want to know that you’ve got your back when it comes to medical & dental emergencies. Many agencies offer super comprehensive health insurance that covers all sorts of things, from routine check-ups to vision care.
Some agencies even let nurses pick & choose their benefits to suit their needs – so you can get the coverage that matters most to you.
Pensions & Retirement Plans
And then there’s retirement – a big deal for travel nurses who want to secure their financial future. Many agencies offer retirement savings plans that let nurses save for the future, with some even matching employer contributions to give you a bit of a kickstart.
Travel nurses often have access to a range of retirement savings options, including 401(k) plans & IRAs – so you can choose the one that’s right for you.
Housing Support
Good housing support is vital for travel nurses who want to find a place to call home while on assignment. Many agencies help out by either providing housing directly or giving nurses a stipend to help with costs. Plus, they can even help you find the perfect place to live – so you can feel right at home.
Some agencies even offer short-term housing solutions that come with everything you need, including fully-furnished apartments. It’s the perfect way to make yourself at home on the road.
Support Teams for Travel Nurses
Having a great support team is what makes the travel nursing experience really special. Solutions By Sanford promises a rewarding experience that lets travel nurses work alongside some of the best in the business. TRS Healthcare offers all the support you need to succeed in your career – from recruitment to staffing.
Travel nursing support groups are also a great resource for nurses on the move – and they offer some amazing benefits, including:
- Specialized nursing associations that provide a network of like-minded nurses.
- Online forums & resources that are all about sharing knowledge & expertise.
- Communities that let you connect with other travel nurses & share your experiences.
Dedicated Recruiters
Dedicated recruiters play a huge role in making the travel nursing experience a success. They take the time to get to know each nurse, and help them find assignments that really align with their goals. It’s all about building strong relationships that let nurses feel supported & secure.
Having a recruiter who really knows you means that you’re more likely to find an assignment that you love – and that’s a big part of what makes travel nursing so rewarding.
Quality Assurance
Quality assurance is all about making sure that travel nurses are equipped with the skills & support they need to succeed on the job. It’s all about setting them up for success – and giving them the confidence to take on new challenges.
Career Growth & Development
Travel nursing offers endless opportunities for career growth & development – and that’s because every assignment is a chance to learn & grow. Nurses who partner with agencies like HealthTrust can develop new skills & gain valuable experience before committing to a permanent role.
Travel nurses have heaps of career advancement options, including:
- Specializing in a particular medical field
- Taking on leadership roles in healthcare facilities
- Building a personal brand through social media or blogging
- Staying up-to-date with the latest nursing trends & getting certified.
Continuing Professional Development
Continuing education is super important for travel nurses who want to stay current in their practice & maintain their licenses. Many online platforms offer all sorts of continuing education courses that are tailored to nurses – including courses that meet state licensing requirements. Quality assurance teams can even help nurses with maintaining their certifications & licenses.
Continuing education for travel nurses often includes online courses & certifications that can be completed in your own time – so you can keep learning & growing on your own schedule.
Making the Most of Your Resume
Listing travel nursing experience on your resume shows employers that you’re adaptable & ready to take on new challenges – and that’s a big plus. Travel nurses can make their resumes even more attractive by highlighting specialized skills they’ve acquired on assignment – such as experience working with specific patient populations or advanced clinical techniques.
Getting the most out of your travel nursing experience & making sure your resume reflects all the amazing skills you’ve gained is key to landing your next assignment.Making use of specific buzzwords and customising resumes to fit the job descriptions can give a huge boost to getting noticed by potential employers. Using the right keywords can make all the difference when optimising a resume for Applicant Tracking System’s, increasing the chances of being matched with job openings.
Building Your Travel Nurse Profile
Get started on your journey as a travel nurse by completing your profile. Highlight your qualifications – think specific certifications and years of experience in your profile summary, and take the next step. Tailor your profile to each job by weaving in the right keywords from the job listing – this will help you align with the facility’s goals and meet their needs.
Making a Real Impact in New Places
As a travel nurse, you play a vital role in helping to improve healthcare for local communities by stepping up to address specific health needs. You get to build relationships with patients in rural areas and help build trust, leading to better patient care outcomes. Plus, travel nurses can help alleviate burnout among permanent staff by providing some much-needed relief during those peak demand periods.
The presence of travel nurses can be a lifesaver for local facilities during times of high demand.
Join Our Travel Nurse Community
Getting involved with travel nurse communities has its perks:
- Creates great networking opportunities\
- Fosters a sense of belonging\
- Helps you make connections with other healthcare professionals on your travel assignments – and those connections can be super valuable in your future career\
- Lets you use professional networking platforms to connect with recruiters and fellow travel nurses, boosting your visibility
Facebook has loads of free travel nursing support groups where you can get advice and share experiences with others. And communities like The Gypsy Nurse make it easy to connect with other travel nurses and access support resources.
Travel nurses can take their careers to the next level by getting involved with professional development programs – like workshops and mentorship opportunities.
Personalised Staffing Solutions
To find the right match for their skills and preferences, travel nurses need personalized staffing solutions that meet their needs. At TLC Nursing, we offer a range of comprehensive and customised staffing solutions that are designed to meet the short and long-term needs of healthcare facilities. By using these solutions, travel nurses are matched with assignments that fit their career goals and personal aspirations, making job satisfaction and growth more achievable.
Solutions By Sanford – our internal locum tenens program – provides specialist staffing for both Sanford Health providers and independent providers, ensuring that healthcare facilities have the support they need to deliver top-notch care. Our tailored staffing solutions help travel nurses find the perfect assignment – one that matches their unique skills and preferences.
Summary
Travel nursing is an incredibly rewarding career path for registered nurses – offering a wealth of diverse opportunities, fantastic benefits and a strong support system. Whether you’re looking to explore new places, gain experience in different specialties or just enjoy some great perks like health and dental insurance, retirement plans and housing assistance, travel nursing has it all.
By joining the travel nurse community, you can take your career to new heights, make valuable connections and really make a difference in the communities you serve. With our support and the help of recruiters and healthcare facilities, travel nurses can confidently take the next step, knowing they have the resources they need to succeed.
If you’re ready to take your nursing career to new and exciting places, then travel nursing is definitely worth looking into.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to earn 200k as a travel nurse?
Want to earn $200K as a travel nurse? Focus on high-demand specialties like critical care or emergency medicine, and don’t be shy about negotiating those sign-on and completion bonuses from travel nursing companies. With the right strategy, you can significantly boost your earnings and hit your financial targets.
What types of job opportunities are available for travel nurses?
Travel nurses have a huge range of job opportunities available – including positions in critical care, pediatrics and emergency nursing, spread right across the US. With nearly 29,000 openings, you can choose from permanent, float pool or in-house agency roles, and take your pick from all sorts of exciting experiences.
What benefits do travel nurses get?
Travel nurses get some top-notch benefits like health and dental insurance, retirement plans with employer contributions, and housing assistance, making sure they’re happy and satisfied.
How do travel nurses get connected to healthcare facilities?
Travel nurses play a vital role in healthcare by helping facilities cover their staffing needs. They work with agencies that support them with travel and living expenses, ensuring that healthcare is top-notch, even in tough times.
What are the top locations for travel nurses?
Travel nurses can find some amazing opportunities in vibrant cities like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, or in beautiful rural areas like Idaho, Maine and Alaska. Whether it’s a new place or a new challenge, travel nursing has the chance to take your career – and your life – to new heights.
