Most of us want to have a slow and steady life. A steady pay with a stable job will allow us to make more organized and safe decisions to ensure our future and our children’s. However, what if you don’t actually care about stability? What if you love living on the edge? If you’re a nurse that’s constantly looking for new challenges, good pay, and sightseeing, then working as a travel nurse might be right up your alley.

Travel nurses are nurses who travel around a lot for work. They are people who like to move around and don’t feel particularly attached to a single place of employment. They are usually scouted by recruiters, and then assigned to severely understaffed health centers across the country, or to hospitals or clinics that are in dire need of a helping hand. These nurses usually work in as many departments as required, and will sometimes even have to float over to other pavilions in the same assignment, which makes them very versatile.

In this sense, travel nurses can work thousands of miles away from their hometown, visiting places that are both rural and urban alike. One day they might find themselves in a small Midwestern town, or maybe even the fabulous Las Vegas. They can even be hired to work in popular tourist gigs, like cruises. Nevertheless, wherever they are, they are also expected to fill the same hours as a regular nurse, which means 12-hours shifts, and 36-hour work weeks. They also have a similar education and academic background as regular nurses, which makes them qualified to work anywhere.

Just like regular nurses, travel nurses are very important in any workplace. However, the latter has been steadily becoming more important due to the nursing shortage that the country is currently facing. The services they provide to understaffed hospitals in remote areas is pivotal to ensuring the health and well-being of the communities they work in.

However, aside from constantly having to get around, not everything is better for travel nurses. These professionals usually work in 3-month positions, after which they must find a new place to work in. However, this job is mostly up to their recruiter, if they have one. If they don’t, the burden of finding hospitals in need falls down to them. Luckily, it is uncommon for hospitals to cancel once they’ve agreed to hire a travel nurse.

Another hurdle that travel nurses must face stems from unusual tax issues because they do not have a permanent home. And, temporary housing is sometimes challenging to find, especially in urban areas at a short notice.

Is Travel Nursing for Me?

Andrew Craig and his wife, Sarah, are both travel nurses working with RNnetwork. They have been working as travel nurses ever since they got married and returned from their honeymoon. For them, it was a way of life that was difficult to adopt, but it was definitely what they were looking for in their life.

While this lifestyle poses some unique hurdles, Craig admits that it is absolutely worth it. This way of life offers financial opportunities that regular nursing seldom does. Furthermore, it provides an opportunity to sight see and avoid the hardships that stem from the regular daily grind. Furthermore, if you’re ever tasked with working in a difficult environment, you’ll only have to tough it out for a few months, at best, before moving on to the next place.

Craig says that the best parts about his job are the pay and the opportunity for adventure; to meet new people in new places. Furthermore, they get to skip all the work drama and politics, as they’re usually expected to pick up and start working as soon as they come through the door.

“I love being separate from the unit politics. As a traveler, I don’t need to go to meetings, and the people often don’t drag me into the drama of the unit,” he says. “I go to work, do patient care, make new friends, and leave. It’s as simple as that.”

Nevertheless, while Craig has his loving spouse to accompany him at all times, the life of other travel nurses could potentially get a bit lonely. Sure, you’ll always meet new people, but you won’t know them long enough for them to become friends. Furthermore, you’ll be away from your friends and family and frequently miss out on important events, such as birthdays and holidays.

In this sense, in order to gauge whether travel nursing is for you, Craig recommends you ask if this lifestyle:

• makes financial sense
• will give you the adventure you want
• can offer a change from a mediocre job
• can improve your life circumstance

“You only live once. It’s exciting to have the opportunity for travel nursing while you are happy, healthy, and capable,” Andrew says. “That could change at any moment because life is so unpredictable.”