I have been a nurse for eight years and a travel nurse for three and a half. I’ve learned some traits and qualities and ways you can act to be stellar at what you do throughout my journey. They are as follows:

Traits of Travel Nurses:

Adaptability

BE ADAPTABLE! – you will be thrown into a new atmosphere with new coworkers and ways of doing things. Learn to fit in and adapt quickly. Get familiar with the culture of the unit. It will make for a smoother transition.

Don’t be negative

Don’t talk smack about your unit to your coworkers. Consider yourself a guest in someone’s home. No one wants to hear your negativity about their home while you’re coming to visit.

Keep pay to yourself

We all know travel nurses can make bank. Don’t brag to your whole unit about how much money you’re making. Your co-workers don’t want to hear it. 

Pack light

Travel light and be a minimalist. Sometimes contracts fall through, or life gets in the way. It is a lot easier moving when you don’t have a lot of stuff to lug around.

Events

Attend travel nurse events. Look up events going on in your local area or city. Other travel nurses may have arranged meetups and social events. It makes life less lonely on the road.

Offer help

Always offer help to your co-workers. Maintaining a good relationship with people on your unit is always nice because you never know if you’ll want to come back or sign on permanently. Never burn your bridges!

Cancelling a contract

Don’t cancel contracts. It is not good for your reputation, and you may make yourself unhireable to sister facilities.

Have fun!

Have as much fun as possible! A new city means hundreds of new things to do with new friends! Go out there and explore!

Experience

Make sure you have at least 1-2 years of experience before you go out traveling. Sometimes you don’t know what kind of unit you’re getting yourself into, so the more experience you have, the better.

Have a positive attitude

Adopt the mentality: I can do anything for 13 weeks. I have worked some amazing contracts and some not-so-good ones. However, none of it matters because there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.

Hope these tips helped!

Travel nursing has been one of the greatest experiences I have ever had, and I have become passionate about helping others do what I did! It is a great way to enjoy life, work, and see our beautiful country.

Article by: Jenny Traub at thegypsynurse.com