By ProMed Staff
Whether you are a new nursing grad or an experienced local nurse looking to explore the world of travel nursing, it is important for you to know the pros and cons of this challenging yet rewarding career.
Sure, there are tons of blogs out there highlighting the benefits of travel nursing, but not all share the disadvantages of this profession. At ProMed we believe that it is our duty to share the cons of this profession so that you can make a more informed decision.
So here’s a comprehensive list of the pros and cons of travel nursing:
Pros
Opportunity to explore new places- Right off the bat this is the most obvious advantage. If you are looking to satisfy your wanderlust and are not ready to settle in a new location, then travel nursing is the perfect solution for you. You can experience a new place, new culture, new people without the hassle of actually living there.
Try it before you buy it- Travel nursing gives you the ability to try new locations, new employers. If your end goal is to work as a resident nurse, start out as a travel nurse to evaluate whether a particular state, city or employer is a good fit for you. If a work dynamic isn’t working for you, move on to the next until you find your match!
High pay- There is no doubt that travel nursing is a lucrative career. On an average travel nurses make almost double of what regular nurses make in a year.
To ensure that you get your worth, it is important to partner with an experienced travel nurse recruiter. Here at ProMed Staffing Resources, our recruiters work directly with medical facilities (link to facilities page), so we are able to offer the maximum offered pay with benefits.
Flexibility– One of the biggest advantages of travel nursing is that you can be your own boss. You have the ability to choose the location, employer and can even negotiate pay rates. With the right staffing agency by your side, you can plan your next gig the way you want it.
Expanding your work experience-When you sign up for travel assignments, you not only learn about different cultures, different people, and languages, you also experience different work patterns. As a travel nurse, you’ll work in different medical facilities; these facilities have different approaches to patient care, different processes, procedures, medical equipment, treatment protocols and reporting methods. As a result, you will attain a broad set of experiences that could prove valuable moving forward.
Cons
Being away from friends and family and moves a lot–
Probably the most difficult part of travel nursing is being away from your friends and family; this is especially difficult when you are traveling with your young children, there is no support system, and you have to manage everything on your own.
Travel nursing paper-work-
Ask any travel nurse about the most reviled aspect of travel nursing, and they’d say the sheer volume of paperwork involved. While it is the most important aspect in landing a travel nursing job, it is also time-consuming.
To ease the burden of our nurses, ProMed has reduced the initial paperwork needed and made it easy for nurses to navigate the paperwork required post offer.
Filing taxes –
Usually, travel nurses work in more than one state in a year. It means they need to file taxes in the states they’ve worked in and their home. Dealing with multiple state taxes can get stressful.
Maintaining multiple state licenses-
Obtaining and renewing a license to practice nursing in another state can be stressful especially when you are already working on an assignment. It is both expensive and time-consuming to maintain multi-state licenses, you need to fulfill the CEU requirements for each state. You’re lucky if you have a compact license which is valid in 25 states. But if you want to work in the more popular travel nursing destinations like New York, California or Florida, you must get them individually.
At ProMed we know about the challenges that travel nurses face, whether it is filing taxes, maintaining the licenses, or finding the right housing. Our recruiters work closely with our nurses to solve these issues so that they can concentrate on their work. If you are interested in a travel assignment in New York and New Jersey, call our recruiters at (212) 719-9600 or email us at jobs@promedsr.com
