This past week marked the half way point in this contract. With both the good and the bad, I have started to understand both the difficulties and the benefits of travel nursing.
Last week HIGHLIGHTED some of the most difficult things I have experienced about travel nursing. Despite my knowledge of my job, I was ill prepared to perform a procedure that was vastly different than what I was use to at my previous employment hospital. Personality and power conflicts have also been an issue as I have been placed “On Call” by nurses who simply don’t want to take their own call and charge nurses simply say, “Oh, that’s fine. I’ll put Andi on call instead.” ( I am on call this Saturday in the place of another nurse who was previously scheduled) Since this incident, I have been placed on call twice as much as the regular staff for the next 4 weeks. Abuse of the Travel Nurses and the rumors of “give them the worst assignments” is relatively true and evident by my pending call schedule.
Overall though, the benefits to Travel Nursing, in my opinion, equal or out weigh the the difficulties for this specific contract! Having an 8 week contract has been beneficial and perfect for me and I will definitely be looking for 8 week contracts in the future! The plus side about having to be on call so frequently is that this facilities “Call Back” rate is VERY LOW which is the complete opposite of my previous experience. Having only 4 weeks left also keeps me motivated to make as much money as possible and know the end is near. It is also a short enough contract that I don’t feel like I am being pulled into the politics of the unit. I am neutral! I smile, do my job, do other peoples jobs ( lol ) and go home with the knowledge that I am making 4 months worth of income in a 2 month period to do the same exact job. That is one of the main reason most nurses do Travel Nursing, right!!! The money IS worth it and the ability to see new cities and explore new areas is a huge benefit.
At the end of this contract, I want to do a complete breakdown of my compensation vs. living expenses and how much more I really made in 8 weeks of Travel Nursing compared to my hospital employment 8 week income and I will share it with you! Stay tuned!
4 weeks down, 4 to go!!
