One of Aureus Medical’s recruiters is sisters with one of our traveling nurses! They have the unique perspective of seeing the nurse traveler/recruiter relationship from both sides.
“Having my sister and best friend work for Aureus has been such an incredible experience. Not only do I get to help her pursue her career goals and seek adventure, but I’ve gotten to experience the life of a traveler from a whole new perspective. Watching her thrive in a new city and especially an unfamiliar work environment has been so rewarding for me. I have an overall greater appreciation for the work that we do at Aureus because of this and I am even more passionate about helping the nurses that I work with everyday. I have to admit that going to visit her on both her assignments was pretty awesome too!” –Billie Kunzman, Nursing Recruiter
Read Rahne’s thoughts about combining nursing with traveling.
I have been a registered nurse for about five years. I started working on a tele floor, and then joined a float pool. From there, I transitioned to critical care, and now I am a travel nurse in critical care. I became a nurse kind of on a whim. In high school, I knew that I wanted to join the healthcare system due to my love of science and anatomy, but I didn’t know what healthcare field I wanted to go into. I decided to study nursing because I knew that medicine was not for me, and made the best decision. I love being a nurse. I love getting to know my patients and families, being able to spend time with them and helping them in a way no other profession can. It is an extremely exhausting, yet rewarding, field.
My cousin is a nurse and she traveled for a couple of years. Her adventures sounded amazing and I always knew that I wanted to try it, but it’s a very intimidating thing. Not only are you leaving your friends and family, but you are entering a completely new healthcare system in a new community. Then my younger sister, Billie, started working at a staffing firm called Aureus Medical that specializes in healthcare positions. She joined the nursing division and became an expert in travel nursing assignments. She educated me on the process of it and shared some stories, good and bad, of travel nursing. After talking with her, I realized that this was something I had to experience on my own. I knew I would always regret it if I didn’t. So when I graduated from grad school, I started to talk to her more seriously about taking a travel assignment. She connected me with other travel nurses and some travel websites so I could talk to fellow travelers and get a better understanding. I decided to take an assignment.
My first assignment was in Greenville, NC on the neuroscience ICU. I was extremely nervous. I was very comfortable at my permanent position in Lincoln, NE. I knew the staff, the charting system, the doctors, etc. and I was not going to know any of this at a new hospital. However, Billie made sure to make this process as easy as possible. She only sent my application out to travel friendly hospitals that had amazing reviews from previous travel RNs, and she answered all my questions honestly. My account manager, Chelsea Kershaw, was amazing as well. She gave me tons of information on the hospital itself and the community. I felt as prepared as I could going into my first day due to these two ladies.
I am currently on my second assignment in Phoenix, AZ, and I would say this assignment has been much easier. I knew from my own personal experience what to expect and felt more comfortable becoming an extrovert. The travel nurse community is amazing. We are all experiencing these unique situations together and we stick together. I have made amazing memories and experienced fantastic adventures on these two assignments. I have seen parts of the country I probably never would have, and met some wonderful people along the way.
The reason I chose to work with Aureus was mainly due to my sister working there. She is always talking highly of the company’s motives and morals. They make a conscious effort to do what is right for their employees and customers. And after talking with other travel RNs about their companies, I truly do believe Aureus is one of the best companies to travel with. The employees there are amazing. They are honest, hard working, and try their hardest to make your experience the best. They stay in contact with you to make sure everything is still going smoothly and try to get what you are looking for. I would not recommend any other company. Also, it has been pretty awesome working with my sister and sharing this experience with her!