Travel Nursing: How To Be A Travel Nurse

Travel nursing is a trendy new employment opportunity that has grown in popularity among nurses, especially during the pandemic and the nursing shortage in the United States. Many health facilities across the country are demanding additional skilled nurses. Likewise, many nurses have also taken advantage of opportunities for travel and higher pay by traveling to different states with higher nursing demand.

But what is travel nursing, and how can a nurse get in on the gig? Find out more in this article and learn what travel nurses are, how this trendy new practice works, how to become a travel nurse, and its benefits and top concerns.  

What’s in this article?

• What is a travel nurse?

• How does travel nursing work?

• What does a travel nurse do?

• What are the benefits of being a travel nurse?

• What are the top concerns of travel nurses?

• How do you become a travel nurse?

• Final Thoughts

What is a travel nurse?

Travel nurses are registered nurses who work for independent nursing staffing agencies specializing in placing temporary contractors across the country. These nurses, skilled in various clinical settings, are assigned by nursing agencies to hospitals with a staffing shortage. Travel nurses help address the gap between the supply and demand in the nursing field and help ensure that clinical areas in various hospitals have safe nurse-to-patient ratios.

Because the nursing shortage is a global healthcare crisis, travel nurses can work, not only in the United States. They also have the option to work internationally.  

How does travel nursing work?

Travel nurses need to work with nurse staffing agencies to secure contracts to work in hospitals and healthcare facilities that need them. Currently, there are 340 travel nurse staffing agencies in the country. One hundred ten (110) of which are certified through the Joint Commission. While staffing agencies aren’t required to be certified, many large teaching hospitals generally only work with certified nursing agencies. Therefore, contracting with an accredited nurse staffing agency can benefit travel nurses who are looking to work for large healthcare institutions.

Nursing agencies provide short-term and long-term contracts. Depending on their contracts, travel nurses are assigned to specific clinical areas for as short as several days to as long as two years. However, the length of a travel nurse’s contract is typically between eight and 26 weeks. The most common contract lasts for 13 weeks.

If there is a continued shortage, a hospital may offer to extend the initial contract. Travel nurses can then choose to extend the contract, or move on to another destination and opportunity. Because of the ongoing nursing shortage, more and more facilities are becoming flexible with their contracts.

 What does a travel nurse do?

The roles of a travel nurse include medical treatment and patient care, much like the standard staff nurse. They may also be assigned to visit patients in their homes. They may also be assigned to be part of a team of permanent staff, despite their temporary role.

Travel nurses mainly jump into roles in understaffed healthcare settings. Facilities expect them to perform all traditional nursing duties with little to no training or context for care. Since travel nurses are joining understaffed nursing teams, they may not be able to get proper orientation on nurses on the hospital’s charting system or details about specific patients. Because of this, travel nurses must be comfortable with working in extremely fast-paced environments, and should be able to learn as they go.

What are the benefits of being a travel nurse?

Working as a travel nurse has many perks. Here are some of the benefits of being a travel nurse:

Higher Salary and More Benefits

Between non-taxable stipends, travel reimbursements, and other monetary benefits, travel nurses usually make more money than nurses on staff. If they’re in a specialty that is in higher demand or if they’re willing to travel to less populated areas especially at specific times in the year, the earning potential of travel nurses can be even more. Many nursing agencies also provide free housing to travel nurses, which can help them save money on paying bills.

Expands Skills

Travel nursing gives nurses access to hospitals around the country that they may not have otherwise considered. Taking contracts with top-rated hospitals helps expand a nurse’s skills, and also helps them boost their resume.

Opportunity to Travel

New assignments are available across the country every day for different specialties. Since contracts are typically short (only 13 weeks), there are many opportunities to explore multiple locations in a year. If you have a destination in mind, nursing agencies can also help you find assignments in your preferred area. Want to work internationally? Some agencies also offer assistance in obtaining passports and visas to your desired country.

Flexibility

Since it’s not a requirement to work back-to-back contracts, travel nurses can take time off between their contracts to see family or take vacations. Also, since some hospitals want to be competitive with their offers to travel nurses, they often let travel nurses pick out their own schedules.

What are the top concerns of travel nurses?

Though travel nursing offers many perks, it also comes with a number of drawbacks. Below is a list of common setbacks encountered by travel nurses:

Difficult Travel Logistics

Always being on the move is not easy and can make a job more challenging. Travel nurses commonly encounter stress when arranging travel plans, difficulty in adjusting to time changes, language and cultural barriers, and unfamiliar weather.

Multiple Licenses

Travel nurses are required to have active licenses in each state where they work. This requires planning ahead and obtaining licenses before accepting job offers. Fortunately, a large majority of states in the US are covered under the Nursing Licensure Compact (NLC), which allows nurses licensed in a compact state to practice in another compact state. Additionally, if you’re hired for a specialty position, especially in medical/surgical units, intensive care, or emergency rooms, you may need additional certification.

Differences in Compensation

A new contract signifies a new rate of pay, which means a travel nurse’s income is highly variable. Varying costs of living in the areas where they work may also make it difficult for travel nurses to stick to a budget. However, nursing agencies often help travel nurses by providing them with travel allowance, health insurance, and even free housing.

Homesickness

Because of the nature of their job, every travel nurse experiences bouts of homesickness. Travel nurses leave their spouses, children, relatives, and friends behind when they take on new contracts, and many times, Skype or FaceTime aren’t enough to address the loneliness on the road.

How do you become a travel nurse?

Because of its many perks and benefits, current and future nurses may want to know how to be a travel nurse. The steps involved are fairly straightforward:

Earn an ASN or BSN Degree

Any nurse with an associate's or bachelor’s degree from an accredited nursing school is eligible to be a travel nurse.

Pass the NCLEX to Become a Registered Nurse (RN)

After graduating with an associate's or bachelor’s degree in Nursing, the next step is to pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN). Once you pass the NCLEX exam and meet the state board of nursing requirements, you will be eligible to become a registered nurse.

Gain Experience on The Job

Newly registered nurses should think ahead and gain experience in the specialty they’re interested in if they want to be travel nurses. They can gain relevant experience by working full-time as a regularly scheduled nurse. This way, when they want to transition into being a travel nurse, they can be assigned to specialized care environments.

Get Licensed

To be a registered nurse, a professional must be licensed in the state where they work. Fortunately for aspiring travel nurses, the Nursing Licensure Compact allows RNs to hold a single nursing license that is valid in several states. Professionals who live in a state that participates in the NLC no longer need additional licensing to work as travel nurses. However, if you want to work outside of the NLC, you will need an additional license in the state you want to work in.

Sign With a Travel Nurse Staffing Agency

The last step to becoming a travel nurse is to sign with a nursing agency. Every nursing agency offers different benefits and employment at different hospitals and healthcare networks. Choosing the appropriate agency for you depends on the benefits that you want to have, and the destinations where you want to go.

Final Thoughts

Traveling to provide patient care services opens doors for travel nurses. They work for independent staffing companies that recruit RNs to fill positions throughout the country and abroad. A lucrative career awaits nurses who are willing to make the jump of leaving their traditional nursing jobs behind and working in high-demand areas across the country.