Friday, July 18, 2008

My take on the travel thing

Ok, I know you are all dying to know what I really think about travel nursing. It definitely has pros and cons, so think about these things before you head off to a total adventure....
Pros-
1. money- of course, everyone knows there's loads of money to be had out there, in overtime (if you want to work it), in housing stipens, in night shift differentials, in travel expenses, this is a well known fact of travel nursing
2. new places for short time- you get to see a city for a short stint and if you like it you can hope they renew your contract, if you don't like it, you can move on to a new sight
3. new experiences- you get to see other hospitals, policies and procedures, you get to see how other places do it (see con list here as well), I love being able to go places, see things that even the locals haven't really been to, the sightseeing is fun but can get pricey
4. free housing- getting set-up in an apartment (generally with pool and work out room) without having to sign a contract (for a lease that is) and worry about breaking it if you want to change assignments
5. new people- this sort of goes with the people and experience pros but you do get to meet other people in the world, outside of where you are from
Ok, that's all I can come up with so far, I'll probably end up adding to the lists as I think of things...now for the cons
Cons-
1. new hospital experiences- it's hard to go to a new place and watch how they do things, if it's better than what you came from, then sweet, if not, it's a little annoying to think to yourself every time you chart of do something, "why do they do it this way?" I'm not sure if it's becasue it's my first assignment and I'm still so fresh from St.s but there are things about the hospital that drive me nuts...a lot of paper charting and double charting (and I HATE double charting!!)
2. Being away from friends and family- this can be a pro for some I suppose, and you get used to it, and it's not like you can't ever go home (although with airfare these days, that might be true!) If you a very friend and family oriented person, you might think of finding a job closer to home first to get your feet wet, or take someone with you.
3. getting licensed in another state- MI is not a compact state, meaning you don't get an easy license from another state, an FYI, you need to give yourself about one month for MI to verify your license to another state and you have to write MI state a letter asking them to send verification to your new state...it's annoying and seems arcacic in this day and age....
4. You won't get the sickest patients anymore...remember, in ICU nursing, you have to take classes at the hospital for CVVH, balloon pumps, etc so your assignments will typically be the easier ones, I'm coming to realize that now...and for 13 weeks, it's not really worth it to take the class, if they offer one...
Well, I have to cut this short, I have a hair appointment at 2:15 today, so I have to go. I'll think about this list some more and continue it if necessary.
Key points to remember, traveling is a fun, awesome and challenging experience, but it has it's cons too. I know many of the kids at St's are itching to try it, and I say do it, try it! Just remember it's not always fun and easy.
Ok, Gotta go, talk soon!

2 comments:

Oli and Kelly said...

thanks for the woeds of wisdom jenn!! its definately nice to hear from someone who's doing it.

Amy Starkey said...

i like the hair cut! very jenn and super cute. :)