One of my best nursing school friends took a job with a travel nursing agency not long after we graduated. She had what I thought it took to be successful—she was young, adventurous, and single. After working for a while in the mountain states she took a job out west and settled down, although her version of that is still much more active than mine at the same age. I thought that travel nursing, especially in an exotic area, would combine vacation and work, arenas that I like to keep separate.

Scanning the web I found out a few interesting facts. Travel nurses love to blog, and they want to share the best and worst of their world. There can be a considerable number of factors that go into selecting a position, things that I’d never even considered, like whether the housing provided mandates a roommate or allows pets. Equally important, what are the perks, such as an extension bonus, and what are you required to do in the case of an employee strike. And what about bringing a spouse?

At http://thetravelnurse.blogspot.com you can learn about life in an RV and how it’s affected by the cost of gas as well as all about mandatory overtime, use of technology and braving adverse nursing events.

Kim at http://travelnursingjob.blogspot.com shares photos of her kids and adventures of their travels as well as discussing the nursing issues we’re all eager to hear about. She has a work facility checklist that you might find helpful.

Conrad lives in San Francisco and wrote about travel nursing for so long that he was eventually coaxed into starting his own blog: www.askconrad.com. He covers both the good and the bad and will answer questions online.

Finally, if you’re really considering travel nursing you should probably look into purchasing the latest edition of Highway Hypodermics: Travel Nursing 2007. Author Epstein LaRue lives in Pocatello, Idaho and has collected 350 pages of advice including how to select a good agency, how to make the recruiter your friend, home schooling your children, obtaining state licensure and which destinations to consider. Take a look at www.highwayhypodermics.com where you’ll also be directed to the monthly e-zine.

Christine Contillo RN, BSN, has worked as a nurse since 1979, and has written extensively for various nursing publications as well as the New York Times.

2 COMMENTS

• Skilled Nursing, Inc. Staffing and Search

  SNI offers local travel jobs in PA, NJ and DE and also has NP travel jobs open in SC, GA, TX and various other places via independent contracting. Our travelers get the tax benefits of contracting, earn more, retain more and build their wealth. Great to see articles on Travel nursing thanks

  Sep 03, 2008

• Michelle Adams

  American Traveler Travel Nurse making the News on the Big Island Over the past 6 years, Dawn Sheard, RN, has practiced in hospitals all over the U.S. "I'd always had the itch to travel," she says. "When the opportunity arose for an assignment in Hilo, Hawaii, I jumped at the chance." Read the rest of Dawn Story @ http://www.50statesstaffing.com/news_detail.aspx?story_id=1000037335

  Mar 30, 2008