With all of the vacant nursing jobs around the country, you may have considered travel nursing yourself. Travel nursing may not be your full time aspiration however. There are many reasons to take an occasional travel assignment. Perhaps you’d like to visit a close friend or relative in a certain city. Perhaps you’d like to see a part of the country you’re considering relocating to. There are all great reasons to take a travel assignment.
One benefit you may not have considered is the improvement of your professional qualifications and resume. In a travel assignment, you will encounter personalities, processes, and procedures that invariably will be different than your accustomed routines. This exposure will both challenge and reward you. Successfully completing a travel assignment demonstrates that you have the core competencies and flexibility to adapt to dynamic environments.
You will of course need to be prudent in selecting travel assignments. For instance, if your experience has been purely with small community or rural hospitals, you’ll want to gradually work up to the larger high acuity hospitals. If you’re already accustomed to a large urban hospital environment, you might want to consider a university teaching facility. Assignments at teaching facilities definitely serve to increase your exposure and knowledge of cutting edge patient care.
Enjoy meeting new friends and seeing a different part of the country on your next travel nursing assignment. Enhancing your professional skills will be “icing on the cake”.
