It takes a lot of courage to change a job. It takes even more courage to do it in the midst of the pandemic. It is always a big deal to introduce a change to your lifestyle, it involves a lot of uncertainty and challenges but it can be worth it, especially when your job is as rewarding as travel nursing is. If you are wondering if you should make a transition from staff to travel nursing position, here are some things that are worth considering and that could help you decide.
Is Now The Right Time To Transition From Staff To Travel Nursing?
Travel nursing jobs are in high demand at the moment and it has been so since the pandemic started. Evidently, there is a staff shortage in almost any medical field and at any facility. But, what’s causing the shortage? First of all, the increased number of people that need urgent medical attention due to the COVID infection. Then, there is the matter of work intensity that pressures medical workers into burnout caused by a lack of sleep and stress. These factors affect overall work quality as well as the number of available both staff and travel nurses.
So, when is the right time for a change? We say now.
What’s In It For You?
Since the demand is higher than the supply, it means that you can get a job a lot faster than you usually would. It also means that you can choose from a wider range of destinations and travel to the places you always wanted to visit. More open positions give you more flexibility and freedom of choice and could also imply a higher salary.
Making The Transition Smoother
When it comes to travel nursing, it is essential that you always have a recruiter that has your needs on their mind and offers their full support during the whole process of applying and while you are at your assignment. An experienced medical staffing agency will make a transition a lot easier and smoother.
Take Care Of Technicalities
In order to choose the right recruiting agency, start asking questions. An experienced healthcare recruiter will openly answer all of your questions and will even go a step further and give you advice and share with you some tricks of the trade.
Questions you ought to be asking should regard salary, bonuses, 401k and insurance, bonuses, housing stipend or reimbursement, continuing education stipend, how to handle tax, etc. Go through your contract thoroughly and make sure everything is clear.
We suggest you pay extra attention to tax regulations and licensure, especially if you are a first-time travel nurse.
Once you get answers, you can start with the actual planning and choosing your destination, housing, lifestyle, and of course, your travel adventures!
Prepare Emotionally
As a nurse, you know that different people respond to new situations differently. But, how about ourselves? How do we react to changes? Luckily, there are some things we can do instead of just sitting tight and being anxious. We can prepare.
Try to find and set up an environment that will make you feel comfortable and even excited about your next travel nursing assignment. This includes choosing the city or a town according to your preferences, asking around, and googling things and places you want to see and visit. Planning the best route from your temporary home to work and how you will commute can add up to the feeling of security by reducing uncertainties.
We also suggest coming to your next destination a few days earlier so you can unpack, explore a bit and start feeling more relaxed.
Build A Support System
We think that the whole of humanity understood what we, at Ventura MedStaff have known for so long – how valuable medical workers are. And even though travel nurses are some of the toughest medical workers out there, we are aware that you will need support from time to time.
We suggest you keep nurturing your personal relationships during your assignment as they affect our physical and emotional wellbeing at so many levels. And on the other hand, you can rely on us and know we will be there every step of the way, listening and supporting our travel nurses.
If you still are not convinced, contact us and let us reassure you.
