I've often been asked lately what a Travel Nurse actually is and how we can do what we are planning on doing. A Travel Nurse is a Nurse who is hired to work in a specific location for a limited amount of time. Typically it is for a 13 week period, however it can be for as low as 4 to more. They move around the country depending on where the need is to fulfill assignments. Because the demand for nurses is so high, there is often shortages in certain areas, in my husbands case he is an ER nurse so in the ER area. A travel nurse is then hired to come in and work in that position for a short amount of time. Travel Nurses are able to choose between several jobs in a variety of areas lasting for different lengths of time as long as they have a license for that state. This allows traveling nurses the freedom to choose where and when they work which is a great benefit as it allows us to take time off when we want and for Tim to not be stuck at the same job day after day. The major benefit is that we get to choose where we live for the next 4-13 weeks. If we are tired of our current location or want to get away from the cold weather then we pack up the RV and find a different nursing job in a different area. We also have the opportunity to vacation where we work and explore new cities and parts of the country or world on our time off. Most people only have a week or two to enjoy an area, we will have approximately 13 weeks to enjoy the areas we are in. How many other people can say that they were able to live in Hawaii or the Virgin Islands for 13 weeks. Most people are only going there to vacation for a week.
The reason why Tim is in Arizona now is because that is going to be our home base. We will both have our drivers licenses from there and that will be where our "home" is going to be. We knew that we wanted to live in an area that had a compact license. What that means is if you live in Arizona you can nurse in 24 other states with just your Arizona license because they are part of the compact agreement. We are thankful that Tim's dad lives in Phoenix and will be letting us room and board there while we are traveling on the road. The other states that are not part of the compact RN licensing we will just get Tim a license for. For example, California is not a state currently that is part of the compact states, but that is definitely a state that we will be going to so eventually that is a state that we will get a RN license for.
This was the best move we have made. Tim is loving going to other hospitals to see how they work and he has learned so much. We are both excited to see where this adventure is going to take us.
The reason why Tim is in Arizona now is because that is going to be our home base. We will both have our drivers licenses from there and that will be where our "home" is going to be. We knew that we wanted to live in an area that had a compact license. What that means is if you live in Arizona you can nurse in 24 other states with just your Arizona license because they are part of the compact agreement. We are thankful that Tim's dad lives in Phoenix and will be letting us room and board there while we are traveling on the road. The other states that are not part of the compact RN licensing we will just get Tim a license for. For example, California is not a state currently that is part of the compact states, but that is definitely a state that we will be going to so eventually that is a state that we will get a RN license for.
This was the best move we have made. Tim is loving going to other hospitals to see how they work and he has learned so much. We are both excited to see where this adventure is going to take us.