When I’m talking to candidates about beginning a career as a traveling healthcare professional, they want to hear about not only the good aspects and what they can look forward to, but the negative as well. And who can blame them? I would also want to be well informed about what travel entails before walking away, even if only temporarily, from a secure permanent position. While moving every 13 weeks may sound exciting and adventurous, the traveler lifestyle can come with challenges as well. That’s why I wanted to write a post to highlight some pros and cons that are associated with working as a traveler no matter if you’re a nurse, therapist, or tech.
The Good.
I could write a whole blog post on all of the good that can come from travel, and I probably already have (you can check out all of my previous blog posts here). But since you’re reading this blog in the first place, I’m going to assume that you’re already interested in travel and probably more enticed by hearing about the bad and ugly, so I’ll try and keep this section short. I want to leave you with one great point about traveling, and it’s that you’ll be forever changed by the experience. Taking on a travel assignment will draw you out of your comfort zone. In doing so, you’re going to grow not only as a person, but also as a healthcare professional in your field. Your skills will be tested, you’ll have to learn to adapt to new people, and you’ll be taught new ways for getting the same end result. All those things might sound hard and scary, but I’ve never met someone who isn’t fulfilled by tackling a challenge. If you put your heart into your new traveling career just like you have in your permanent position, you’ll come out of the experience as a changed and better person.
The Bad.
There’s no sugarcoating it, so I’ll come right out and say it: working as a traveler can be lonely. Travel assignments are typically 13 to 26 weeks in length. That’s not a very long amount of time, so just when you feel like you’re getting settled into a location, you’ll be packing up to help out a new short-staffed facility in a different location. If you’re not someone who feels comfortable constantly having to meet new people and make new friends, you might find that being a traveler is not for you. Before you become a traveler, consider if you’re okay being away from your home base. Some ways around this feeling of loneliness are to travel with a spouse, partner, friend, or coworker. Having someone familiar around when you’re on the road can help ease the sadness you might feel from being away from home and everything familiar. If bringing someone along or traveling as a pair isn’t an option, you have other options to bring home with you on the road. For starters, consider taking a pet along. Traveling with a furry friend isn’t for everyone and you should also keep the personality of your pet in mind when deciding, but there’s a lot of information available if it’s something you’d like to do. You might also find that FaceTime, bringing pictures with you on the road, or even good old-fashioned handwritten letters might ease the feeling of being homesick. Another option is to take time off between assignments to go back home and spend quality time with those you love. I talk to a lot of travelers who love the freedom, flexibility and extra income travel brings. Because of this, they’re able to take more time off work than they would in a permanent full-time position.
The Ugly.
I wish I didn’t have to talk about the fact that you could end up at an assignment with people who aren’t helpful, friendly, and welcoming, but unfortunately, you might. The truth is, travelers aren’t always well received so it’s something you could run into. Fortunately, there are things you can do to protect yourself against ending up in this situation. The best way is to network with other travelers. This helps you get the scoop on what previous travelers have experienced and get an idea of what the facilities are like. I’d also suggest checking in with your recruiter to see if they know why the facility needs a traveler, and whether the facility is known to be traveler friendly. Also, listen to your gut. If you don’t feel right about taking an assignment after you speak to a manager in the phone interview, it’s okay to pass on the job offer. It’s also important to keep in mind what you can control. While you’ll never be able to change someone else’s poor attitude, you do have the power to control your own. If you find yourself in an assignment at a facility with a negative culture, I recommend you put your best foot forward and be the light amongst the darkness so that you can hopefully leave having made an impact for the better.
If you’re a current or past traveler, what would you say is the good bad and ugly of travel assignments?
Katie Lutmer is a Recruiter for the Aureus Medical Social Media Recruitment Team
There is also the uncertainty of where next? While that can seem exciting, it can also be quite unnerving. You have to have license in hand, typically before a facility will even grant you a phone interview. So again it can be a bit of a gamble.
Licensing is not always easy. Every state has its own requirements, no matter how you try, it can be expensive to carry licenses in several states. ( I currently have 7, and am thinking of adding a few more).
Wanting an assignment in a certain local is not guaranteed, there are times when you have to go where the job is. I suppose this depends on the occupation and your skill set. I have found having recruiters with multiple agencies has served me best.
Thanks
Those are all great and realistic points to bring up about a career as a traveling healthcare professional. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us, Marie!!!
THE GOOD-you get out what your willing to put into a job, the new people, learning different MD’s, and how the department works. So far I’ve had great places to live, the people have been receptive and glad I’d come, this most recent housing leaves a bit to be desired, 3rd floor, no elevators, place was not clean on arrival, but my recruiter & I took care of it, weather is usually in the 90’s, put there’s a pool. I’m hoping my recruiter will keep her promise as to getting me to Hawaii sometime.
THE BAD- learning to keep some distance and not getting caught up in other peoples problems and their department problems. As you are a great expense to the hospital, you are the first to come and first to be let go, it seems one problem that is not explained in full to you can follow you for quite sometime. However I’ve also been privileged to the manager informing me that it is not what he wants or any of the people I’ve worked with, but high up management that is canceling the contract.
THE UGLY- some equipment in some places can be quite outdated and have quirks you need to learn, The hardest for me has been the paperwork, currently where I am you do everything, so far I haven’t had to to the paperwork, but scrubbing every case, no breaks, often grabbing your lunch when you can, or being texted during your lunch that your next case is on the table, then taking the trash to a trash room and mopping the floor, setting up for the next case and scrubbing it. But you do what you have to, usually everyone helps, and you get to know the ones who don’t.
My husband is the traveler, but we’ve been traveling with him for the past year. There are a couple of things that have piqued my interest about traveling and about the facilities we’ve encountered.
Good~He makes a lot more money as a traveling tech than he could dream of making in a permanent position. He has had a lot of good experiences, from what I can tell. It’s a difficult job, but everywhere he’s been has asked him to stay…not just the management, but other lab staff. They find you a place to live so you don’t always have to search for apartments or hotel rooms.
Bad~Unfortunately, not all traveling professional placement companies actually find a place to live for the techs if they’re looking for a campground or RV park. We’ve played hell trying to get a place within 10 minutes or so of a facility because there simply isn’t an RV park nearby. Also, landlords don’t tend to like having someone live in a place for 3 months then leave-they like their 6-month to 1-year leases! Also, traveling with pets can be a bit frustrating. Landlords don’t like pets. Period. Most will have a fit if you bring along a furry friend, and hotels are no different.
Ugly~I’m not a prejudiced person. I like people to be varied and of all different colors and backgrounds. How else would you get to know the cultures and beliefs of others? With that said, we stayed on a reservation in Arizona for 3 months. The whole time we were there, he wasn’t ostracized because he was a traveler…he was racially profiled as a white man trying to take over the native Americans. Finding a place to live, they refused to give him a space in their RV park because it was for native Americans in the local school only. No landlord would allow it claiming, apparently, that they’d “given us enough. What more do we want?” When we finally got a place at the hotel 55 miles away and down the rough side of a mountain, the pet deposit we were required to pay was billed all at once, on a daily basis, for 3 months! We ended up paying around $1200 for pets when we were leaving, making us spend a LOT less on the trip home. We had to stay at the cheapest hotels just to get home.
This article says that you should take furry friends along to keep you company, but be aware that some places simply won’t take them. You might end up in a crappy hotel paying a huge pet deposit daily for your beloved fur friend.
Great Blog Katie! The Good? Too many things to comment on! However, I can say that my most favorite part about traveling is the freedom! I love the fact that I am no longer restricted to one facility and that I am constantly learning. It keeps me on my toes! Aureus is a great company. ESPECIALLY for the first time traveler. I never had to worry about a thing. Thanks!
As a new traveler you also want to ask plenty of seasoned travel nurse’s about the good destinations/hospitals to try out, as well as reputable agencies to work with. As we all know, not everyone is going to have your best interest at heart or just want to see you have a good experience. As a new traveler, I’ve fallen and bumped my head a few times and it all could have been avoided had I just asked more people about what to do and what not to do.