5 Reasons Why You Should Travel Nurse

You have likely seen posts about travel nursing on social media and heard about it amongst fellow nurses. You may be asking yourself if you should embark on the journey of travel nursing. Though it can seem daunting, there are many advantages to becoming a travel nurse. Marta and I have been travel nursing for almost 2 years and we both have never looked back.

Below I list 5 reasons why you should become a travel nurse, and why it may be the right choice for you! Furthermore, you can click here to learn about what agency and recruiter we recommend as a Canadian travel nurse in the USA.

1. Financial Stability

One of the biggest advantages of travel nursing is the financial stability.

Tax Free Stipends

Travel nurses receive tax-free stipends for meals and housing since they are being displaced from their home state (country). This allows you to take home more money every week, meaning more savings!

Crisis Contracts

Winter months generally offer higher paying contracts, known as ‘crisis contracts’ that have immediate start dates and are shorter in duration. These allow you to make even more money in a short amount of time.

As a travel nurse, you pick and choose what contracts and hospitals you’d like to apply to. This gives you the flexibility to work for the income that you are comfortable with, and you can also request higher pay and change in rates.

2. Job Flexibility

Time Off Between Contracts

As a travel nurse, you will usually work contracts that are 13 weeks long. The contract length allows you to be more flexible with your start and end date, take time off between contracts and enjoy some much needed vacation time. Marta has plans to travel Europe in the fall, so she extended her current contract for 8 more weeks leading up to her trip. This allowed her to be flexible with the weeks she worked, gave her sufficient time off before her vacation and allowed her to pay for her trip to Europe.

Work at Various Hospitals

Another great advantage of travel nursing is the ability to switch hospitals after your contract is finished, or you can request to extend if you are enjoying your hospital. If you have experience in multiple specialties, (i.e ER and Med Surge) you have a wider range of jobs you can apply for, thus giving you even more flexibility with contracts.

3. Avoid Burnout

Moving Elsewhere

Travel nurses report they have a better work life balance compared to when they were staff nurses. Many nurses remain travel nurses for this reason alone. If you are feeling yourself becoming burnt out, you have the opportunity to take time off between contracts to recharge. You can then decide if you’d like to return to your previous hospital, or explore a new hospital, city or state. The possibilities are endless.

Pick Your Schedule

Being able to choose your schedule more freely and have time off will allow you to have a better work life balance. Your manager will ask you how you like your shifts to be spread out. This is different in comparison to a staff nursing job, where you typically do not get as much say with how your schedule is laid out. Marta likes to bunch her shifts together, and I like to work 2 shifts on with 1 day off in between.

4. Explore New Cities

Explore on Your Days Off

Working various contracts allows you to explore different cities and states, and you may even stay a little longer if you fall in love with a city. As mentioned above, the flexibility with being able to choose your own schedule gives you the opportunity to explore the surrounding cities, or sightsee on your days off. My friends who are currently in Colorado spend their days off skiing and hiking.

Find a Place to Settle Down

Travel nursing allows you to explore as many states and cities as you’d like. By doing so, you may find the city of your dreams where you’d like to settle down and live permanently. One of my friends enjoyed Colorado so much that she will be moving there long term.

5. Make New Lifelong Friends

Make Friends From Every State

Marta and I have made lifelong friends as travel nurses in the US. You will meet friends at the hospitals you work at, as well as other ways such as workout classes or on hikes! There is no better way to make new friends than through travel nursing.

Moving to a new state and starting at a new hospital can be intimidating, but the friends you will make will give you a sense of community and allow you to grow as a person! These new friends will also give you a reason to return for a visit in the future!

Conclusion

There are so many great advantages to travel nursing, and this list only names 5 of those reasons. Travel nursing is something you should consider if you are looking for financial stability, work life balance and to make some new friends! If you would like to begin the process of travel nursing, click here to read our travel nursing essentials and start your own journey! You can also Visit Host Healthcare’s job page to view current contracts to get an idea of the money you could be making.