If you are in the medical field, you’ve probably heard of travel nursing, or some type of traveling healthcare job. It has been around longer than most people realize, but has really taken off since the pandemic. I think after people felt so holed-up and travel deprived, many of us decided to include travel in our career. Nursing shortages have been an issue everywhere I have worked, whether that was as a staff nurse or a traveler. So, I have listed the pros and cons of becoming a travel nurse. To be completely honest, it really isn’t for everyone. Keep in mind that this is a completely subjective list! Let’s start with the positives.
Pros:
#1- Freedom
The freedom that comes with travel nursing has to be my number one reason for choosing to start. Not only do I not work for a hospital (I work for my agency and get hired through them), but I can pick and chose when I want to work and where. Typically, I will decide where I want to be for 3-6 months and start looking for nursing contracts in that area. It’s a good way to look at pay and cost of living, so you can decide if it is really worth it.
I also almost always take a week off in the middle of my contracts. This is negotiated during the interview process and is usually always accepted by the hospital. Sometimes hospitals will have limits on how many days you can take off. So far I haven’t had an issue with limits to my requested time off.
Another great addition to the freedom part of travel nursing is that contracts are typically 8-13 weeks long. If I don’t like a hospital or a location, I know it won’t be long before my contract ends. Plus, if you are having a hard time with something work-related and need to end your contract early, you can. On the flip side, if I really like a place, I can also ask the hospital about extending my contract. I have only run into a problem with that once, where the hospital didn’t need travelers anymore. None of us were able to extend.
#2- Pay
Since you get to see what the pay packages look like before you apply, you’re able to base the decision on where you want to go on the pay. And, in most cases, you are going to be making more than a staff nurse makes. This is huge for me. Not only am I trying to create a cushion in my savings account, I also want to travel as much as possible.
If you don’t know how pay works for travel nurses, the breakdown usually goes something like this:
You will have an hourly rate which is taxed in whatever state it is you are working. The second part of the pay package is a tax-free living stipend. This covers living expenses like rent, meals, incidentals, etc. The amount varies because it is dependent on where you are living. The Bay Area, for example, pays more because cost of living is higher than almost anywhere else in the country. Usually, my recruiter fights for me to get the highest stipend for the area. Sometimes that decreases the hourly rate, which can be confusing. Just remember, your hourly rate is taxed and the stipend isn’t. The higher your hourly rate, the more taxes you pay.
Another bonus is that your agency will reimburse you for new licensing, certifications, and renewing licenses and certifications. Many do travel reimbursements, up to a certain amount, which helps with gas, flights, etc to get to your next location. Benefits are often provided as well if you want to go through your agency to get those.
Tip: You can let your agency find housing for you. I never do this because I want to pocket as much of that stipend as possible. I find housing in my budget and then I get to save the rest. Air B’n’B, Furnished Finders, and Facebook are all great ways to find places. There are also hotels that do long-term stays where you can get discounts for being a travel nurse. I have never stayed in a hotel, but I know people who have and like it.
#3- Travel
Okay, this one might seem obvious, but it’s half the reason I started travel nursing. It is so cool to get to live in places you might not have lived before. Three months always flies by so quickly, but I can confidently say that I get a pretty good feel for the areas I live in during that time.
In November 2021, I moved from Hawaii, back to the mainland. I actually lived in Hawaii for almost 4 years and moved there as a travel nurse! When I decided to start traveling again, I took my first contract in Fresno, California. I was there from January to the end of March and decided to take my next contract in Florida. Since I like to have my car, I took a huge solo road trip from NorCal to Iowa. A few weeks later I drove from Iowa to Orlando, Florida. Now I have seen some places I’ve never been, and I got to see some friends along the way!
#4- The relationships
You’ll see in the “cons” section that this can be a pro and a con, but hear me out. One of the best parts of travel nursing for me has been the people I have met along the way. Usually I will connect the most with other travelers, because we are all outsiders. I can confidently say that some of the best times I’ve had in unfamiliar places have been with new traveler friends. I even met a staff nurse at my job in Chicago who is talking about visiting me in California. You just never know, they might be some of your lifelong best friends! And hey, now you have more people and places to visit.
Cons:
#1- Loneliness
This comes in at the #1 reason why travel nursing is difficult. More specifically if you are traveling alone like I do. A good cure for this problem is to find someone you like to come with you. Maybe that’s a significant other who can work remotely or is also a nurse. Or another nurse friend who wants to try travel nursing. That’s what I did with my first job in Hawaii. My friend Kaytlyn decided she wanted to try travel nursing too. She really wanted to go to Hawaii, so we applied, and a month later we were moving! It made my time in Hawaii that much better having someone else there to live and do things with.
I like to route my trips in locations where I can see people I know or stop somewhere I’ve really wanted to see. For example, on my last roadtrip coming to California, I stopped in Sedona, Arizona. I’d only ever driven through it once, but I knew I wanted to hike those gorgeous red rocks! And it made my lonely trip so much sweeter! Also, you don’t have to move across the country every 3 months like I have been doing.
Tip: Have some people you can call and talk to regularly. This makes a world of difference when you’re feeling lonely. FaceTime makes it even better. I made numerous calls on those long drives. Another way I have felt less lonely is by renting a room instead of living completely alone. This also helps me feel safer in a place I don’t know.
#2- Constant moving
If you hate moving, this may not be for you. Moving every 3-6 months can be exhausting. Remember, some places let you extend so this doesn’t always have to be the case, but you will inevitably be moving a lot. Because you are moving a lot, it is best to have a limited amount of stuff. I always rent furnished places because I am not trying to move a bed and couch every 3 months. Everything I bring with me fits into my small SUV (I have a Hyundai Tucson-see the photo above). It’s about 4 suitcases and a couple of backpacks, plus my electronics bag.
There are times where I am living out of suitcases and my car for weeks or months. You have to be okay with that. I like to take time off between contracts which tends to make this a more common thing for me (see the “Freedom” section in pros). Basically, you just have to decide if this is a big enough issue for you to stop you from travel nursing.
#3- Taxes
If you are traveling to multiple states for work in a year, you will have to find someone to do you taxes who can file them in multiple states. I got lucky, and one of my old landlords is certified in all 50 states. Relationships you guys! Anyways, you have to have a permanent residency/tax home where you reside for a certain amount of time each year. If you are audited, this can be a crucial part of the process because of that tax-free stipend.
For some reference, my tax home is in Iowa, which is where much of my family is. I live there when I go “home” to visit. That is where my mail goes, my car is registered, I have my Iowa driver’s license, and I am a registered voter in the state of Iowa. I also pay rent monthly to my grandma who is the one who lives there. It isn’t a lot, just enough to show that I am a resident of that home.
#4- Nursing licenses
We all know that nursing license are super annoying to get. Even if you are only licensed in one state, you remember you had to do fingerprinting, background checks, show transcripts, and pay money to obtain that license. Every state has different rules and requirements. Since the pandemic, there have been some places doing an expedited license that is meant to be a short-term solution. You can work under this temporary license, but should apply for actual licensure if you are taking a contact there. These are mostly stopping now from what I have seen.
There is also something called a nurse compact license. This license is currently accepted in 37 states (including Guam). You can see the list here. Basically, if you have a license in one of these states, you can work in any of the places on the list under that license. So to explain it better, I have an Iowa nursing license. I was able to use that license to work in Florida. Illinois, California, New York, and Hawaii are not on that list, so I have all of those licenses separately.
Nursing licenses are usually “good” for 2-3 years and then you have to renew them. This means you have to prove that you have done a certain amount of continuing education hours, sometimes you have to submit fingerprints, and you have to pay whatever the state requires. This renewal gets you another 2-3 years to work on that license. That’s why the nurse compact is so great! Maybe one day all 50 states and the territories will be in on it.
What do you think?
So? Is travel nursing something you might try some day? Do the pros outweigh the cons or the other way around? Be sure to post comments or questions in the box below! And if you want to learn more about how to start travel nursing, grab my e-book here!
