Travel Nursing: Endoscopy is Closed

Here we go again….

While on Contract in Asheville, NC earlier this year, the novel Covid-19 virus completely shut down my department to all elective cases. 95 percent of the cases performed in Endoscopy were suddenly put on hold until further notice. Elective Endoscopy cases did not start back up again until after my Asheville contract ended.

I was without work for 2 months while waiting for endoscopy travel assignments to become available again. On June 1st, I was finally back to work starting my 4th contract. Fast forward to Week 9 present day and Endoscopy is closing down again.

As society is returning to a somewhat “pre-virus” normal routine, the virus has continued to spread and has hit my current host city extremely hard. Hospitals are seeing inpatient numbers double overnight and the number of patients on ventilators continues to climb. But, none of this is worse than the fact that the number of frontline workers contracting the virus is higher than ever. My current hospital is in desperate need of nurses to fill the void and step up.

With this being said, they are recruiting from their current pool of travel nurses that work in elective procedure departments. The hospital is requesting that we continue our 40 hours in our “home” departments but then also do an additional 8 hours a week for the remainder of our contracts as a float nurse in a department in need. Because I have not had experience as a floor nurse in over 5 years, I was offered a guarantee that my role would not include patient assignments.

I have decided to help fill the void where I can and have agreed to the modified contract. I feel that by accepting the offer, it has given me more job security than without. Travel Nurses can be “let go” at any time. Contracts can be cancelled without notice and I am concerned that if do not accept the offer, the hospital will not have any need to keep me on payroll. I am here for the next 4 weeks regardless, so I feel that accepting the offer guarantees me work of some sort and a healthy paycheck.

I only have 4 weeks left on this contract until I get to head back home to my family and life in The Barn. I have no doubt that this will be the hardest 4 weeks I have ever worked but in the end, it will be worth it!

Travel Nursing is not for the weak, it is for the adventurous!