How Do You Become a Traveling Nurse? - The Best Health Degrees

If you want to work in nursing but you also want to experience new areas of the world, you may want to become a traveling nurse. Hospitals hire temporary travel nurses for a multitude of reasons. In some regions, there is a shortage of skilled nurses or sudden increases in the seasonal population that creates a need for traveling personnel. Travel nurses are also a great solution when long-time staff members are going on leave.

Not only does travel nursing benefit healthcare institutions, but it also benefits the professionals who decide to enter this unique area of the workforce. When a travel nurse signs a contract, their travel expenses, and housing costs are paid for. They also earn a competitive salary while receiving tax advantages and a full benefits package while on assignment. If you want to be exposed to different healthcare systems in different regions of the world, here are the steps you will need to take:

Complete Your Nursing Education

The first step to becoming a nurse is always the most confusing. Since you must be a Registered Nurse to work as a travel nurse, you must decide which of the three pathways that you want to take to complete your nursing education. You can either take a hospital-based program through a specialized nursing school, an Associate’s in Nursing leading to a bachelor’s, or a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

The pathway that you choose will be dependent upon your level of education before pursuing a nursing program and the environment that you want to work in. Regardless, each program will focus on the curriculum that you need to learn to pass the NCLEX-RN examination for licensing, according to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.

Earn Your RN License

Once you complete the necessary training and clinical requirements, the next step to travelling professionally as a nurse is to earn your RN license. You must apply and register with the board of nursing and pay the fee before you can select a test date for your exam. After doing this, you will receive an Authorization to Test that includes instructions and your test location. Be sure to study regularly as the exam date approaches. If you pass the six hour exam, you will submit your fingerprints and then your license will be issued.

Pursue Specialty Certifications

If you want to be more marketable in travel nursing, you should consider getting certified in specialty areas that are high in demand. Critical Care Register Nurses, Neonatal Nurses, Progressive Care Nurses, Cardiac Medicine Nurses and Cardiac Surgery Nurses are all specialties that are high in demand in today’s current world, according to Modern Medicine Network.

Sign Up with an Agency to Get Travel Assignments

If you sign up with a travel nurse agency, you can find assignments by simply picking up the phone. Before you can sign up, you need to submit your resume and letters or recommendation. You are also required to show you have a current TB test and you have had all of the required immunizations. When you compare assignments, you can choose which area you want to travel to and how long you want to be on assignment. You will then interview and receive your start date if you are selected.

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Not many professionals can say that they have traveled all over the country for free while they earned a salary. If you want to help people live more fulfilling lives while you enjoy a fulfilling career, take the steps to become a travel nurse and decide where you would like to go first.