Since the late 1970s, medical facilities have responded to nursing shortages by hiring temporary workers to fill crisis needs. Today, temporary nursing positions are filled by thousands of professional travel nurses that travel across the USA filling crisis needs. Every travel nurse has their own list of reasons why they decided to become a travel nurse. Here are 4 of the most common reasons staff nurses turn to travel nursing:
More Money
Travel nurses make more money than staff nurses. Nurses make more money filling travel needs because of tax-free stipends and supply/demand economics. When hospitals have more of a need, they pay more money to fill their needs.
According to the Bureau of Labor & Statistics, nurses make an average of $70,000 per year. Travel nurses on the other hand often make more than $100,000 per year. Not only do hospitals offer more money, but travel nurses take advantage of tax-free stipends that agencies offer if the travel nurse has a tax home.
Escape Drama
Since travel nurses usually are only in one place for 13 weeks at a time, by the time drama starts to pile up, they are on to their next location! The best part is that the timeframe is flexible, so if a travel nurse likes their working environment and wants to stay longer than 13 weeks, they can often extend.
Acquire New Skills
Working in various hospitals has several advantages for career building. For example, different hospitals use different charting systems and the more skills you have under your belt, the more attractive you will look on your next job application!
There are also so many skills that travel nurses learn outside of the health facilities, such as making new friends and learning new languages. There’s so much more to the world than your current situation, and sometimes all it takes is stepping out of your comfort zone.
See the World
Travel nurses get to see so many different parts of the world on the staffing agency’s dollar as travel reimbursements are a standard inclusion in travel nursing contracts. Not only would you see more places, but travel nurses experience various cuisines and cultures on a regular occasion.
While most travel nurses stick to the US, there are many opportunities abroad for the more adventurous types. International contracted travel nurses can venture out to Ireland, Australia, and even Saudi Arabia. With volunteer programs, the travel options are seemingly infinite!
Guest Author: Kelley Johnson; RN, Miss California USA & Chief Nurse Advocate of Wanderly. Discovering the need for innovation in healthcare staffing, Wanderly is creating a transparent marketplace for the healthcare staffing industry using blockchain, big data, and machine learning. Wanderly employs these technologies to bring travel healthcare professionals and agencies together faster in an ecosystem predicated on enabling meaningful connections for everybody involved.
