[MikePerkins]

Ive been a nurse for almost 2 years, a cna for 4 years, at Franklin Medical Center on a general med/surg telemetry floor in Greenfield, a community of about 28000. Its a 22 bed floor, and generally I have 6-8 patients on a night shift. We deal with orthopedic patients, general med surg, and of course telemetry. I do not have much experience with drips, except natricor (spelling).
I recently turned 30 years old and my girlfreind who I thought I was going to marry cheated on me, and my whole purpose of staying in my area is completly gone. I want to see the country, I want to learn more about other hospitals and places, I want to travel.
Would I be ready for travel nursing? or would it be wiser to work at Baystate medical center for a year, a hospital affiliated with Franklin Medical Center, which serves most of western mass, is a magnet hospital, and a teaching hospital, for the experience, then move on to travel nursing...

Anyone opinions would be appriciated,

Cheer's!

Michael Perkins

[nursinghumor]

Hi Michael,

No one can tell you if you're ready for travel nursing except you.

Most agencies require two years of acute care experience before they'll consider you.

For a trial, you can try working with a local agency. The toughest thing about working as a traveler is adapting to a new enviroment, new people, new procedures every time you move.

Some nurses absolutely hate to float to other areas of a facility they don't know well. Some don't give it a second thought. As an agency nurse, traveler you are the first to get floated to wherever the facility happens to have holes in their staffing.

Before you sign on for a three month, I'd check with local agencies and try a few days, then a few weeks. You may even find that travel assigments are available nearby.

If you do well with a local agency, by all means try a travel assignment. Pick an area you'd like to check out, then go!

Hope that helps, for more information visit http://www.nursefriendly.com/traveler

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursing Associations, Jokes, Schools, Scrubs & More
http://www.4nursing.com