Contents
Boost your career trajectory
The right plan and tools will help you carve out a successful career.
Tips on how to change jobs
When you're ready for a new career direction make a flight plan first.
Salaries on the upswing
Find out how your salary compares to RNs across the country.
Legally protect your practice
Know the tools you need to protect your license from potential liability.
Learn how to keep the peace
Conflict management isn't easy, but it's worth the time and effort.
Make 3 mammoth decisions
Choose your goal and platform before heading back to school.
Job satisfaction study
RNs reveal how they really feel about their jobs.
Job search like a pro
Become a savvy job seeker by following these guidelines.
5 tips for job interviews
Make a memorable first impression at your next interview.
Create a winning resume
Jump ahead of the competition with a top-notch resume.
FREE CE: Become empowered
Learn how to gain a greater voice at your organization.
Avoid turbulent travel nursing
Seek advice on travel contracts before signing on the dotted line.
Is travel nursing for you?
If you have an adventurous spirit, you might like this specialty.
Get to the heart of bioethics
Big ethical decisions have a way of influencing all aspects of RNs' lives.
CE COURSE: Terminal degrees
PhD, EdD, DNP — which one should you pursue?
Get on boards when job hunting
Nursing job boards can help you find the perfect job.
Speak their language
Bilingual nurses are in demand by recruiters.
Engaging millennials
Nurse leaders are finding ways to retain younger nurses.
Healthcare in the outlands
Rural areas seek nurses willing to make the move.
Continuing education catalog
Read this list of CE modules geared toward your professional growth.
CE COURSE: Precepting
Find out why preceptors are critical to the nursing profession.
Protect against retaliation
Nurse attorney discusses your discrimination rights on the job.
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Find out if travel nursing is for you
The specialty requires flexibility and independence
By
Cathryn Domrose
© 2021 Nurse.com from Relias. All rights reserved.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
Cathryn Domrose is a freelance writer.
Caridad Atienza, BSN, RN, has been a travel nurse with Cross Country Healthcare Inc. since 1990 — working in hospitals in Texas, California and Florida — because she loves seeing new places, making new friends and learning new things. Atienza left a good job in Canada to become a travel nurse because she wanted to play golf year-round.
“There are some people who are good travelers and some who aren’t,” said the pediatric nurse, who lives and works in Southern California. “If you’re very settled in your ways, travel nursing would not be a good fit for you.”
For Atienza, who doesn’t like staying in any one place for long, it’s a dream job. Average assignments are 13 weeks, but she is almost always asked to extend her stay, she said. Whether to stay and for how long is always her choice. Her longest job lasted 3-1/2 years.
The pay is good, the golfing has been great, but the greatest reward of traveling is the constant process of learning.
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Do you have what it takes?

  1. Do you have the right experience?
    RNs need at least one year of recent acute care experience in their specialty; some specialties may require more.
  2. Are you flexible?
    Travel nursing requires the ability to adapt to constantly changing schedules and environments. Depending on your specialty, you may not get work in your first-choice city or hospital. Since assignments average 13 weeks, travel nurses must feel comfortable with different protocols, co-workers and supervisors, and keep an open mind.
  3. Are you a quick learner?
    Travel nurses usually have between three days and a week of orientation to learn protocols and layout, as well as how to get equipment and supplies at a new hospital.
  4. Is your family, including pets, willing to travel?
    Many travel nurses bring their families and pets with then on assignments, although you may have to pay more for larger housing and possibly a pet de
    posit.
  5. Can you work independently?
    Although good travel nursing agencies offer housing and strong support, some aspects of travel nursing — including getting licensed in different states, packing and moving, and arranging transportation — are the nurse’s responsibility, not the employer’s.
  6. Do you view challenges you encounter as part of the adventure?
    The most successful travel nurses have a positive and outgoing attitude. For them, the rewards of seeing new places, meeting new people and learning new things are worth any challenges.
Source: CrossCountryTravCorp.com and Caridad Atienza, BSN, RN

Flexibility is key, Atienza said. She adapts to different rules, management styles and equipment in various hospitals, and is willing to work almost any hours required. She earns the respect of the staff by making sure they know she is there to help them by taking care of patients to the best of her ability. When she shares information she’s learned at other facilities, she’s careful not to undermine the current hospital’s way of doing things.
Travel nursing
requires independence. Orientations are brief. Though the company provides furnished housing, nurses must pack and move to every job. Atienza recommends
choosing a reliable agency
willing to support its nurses. The pay is good, the golfing has been great, but the greatest reward of traveling is the constant process of learning, she said. “I don’t like to stagnate. The more challenging something is, the better I am.”