Nursing is one of the most prominent career paths when looking for meaningful jobs. It offers you flexibility, diverse specialty options, stability, high income, and a chance to help the ones in need. It gives satisfaction like no other.
Many options come with this career. Most aspiring nurses passionate about travel and exploring the world choose travel nursing as a career path. It is an ideal opportunity for you to earn a decent paycheck and get to see the world.
While traveling to different locations and helping new people sounds like a fun job, traveling nurses face their fair share of struggles in keeping up with their work. After all, it can be challenging to adjust to constant changes in life.
Here are a few tips to help you create a better life as a travel nurse.
1. Figure the Weekly Pay
Traveling nurses have a lot of work opportunities in different areas. Their traveling nursing jobs offer different weekly take-home pay. Some of these pay rates will suit your needs, and others may fall below your pay rate. Therefore, it is important to consider all terms and conditions beforehand.
You can start the conversation by asking for the taxable hourly and nontaxable weekly rates to understand the pay you will take home. It is best to remember that you have to pay your taxes according to the state you work in.
2. Talk about the Holidays
Whether it’s Christmas or Thanksgiving, everyone wants to spend this time of the year with their loved ones. However, some dedicated professionals, such as traveling nurses, are still on duty to ensure a happy holiday season for people in need.
Every nurse must understand that it is not a small compromise to dedicate your holiday season to work. Therefore, every traveling nurse needs to sit down and review the length of their contract before signing it.
If you are expecting any holidays in the duration of your contract, make sure that you discuss the valid rates with your employer beforehand. It can be an ideal opportunity for traveling nurses to make more money than their usual pay rate.
3. Consider the Reimbursement
The problems do not always exist at your end. There are many reasons why a hospital may have to cancel your employment right before your start date. Things can become very problematic if you have already traveled to the location or rejected other offers.
Therefore, it is important to discuss all the possibilities with your recruiter beforehand. It is best to ensure that all your expenses are reimbursed in case the healthcare facility cancels. This way, you can save yourself a lot of hassle and financial trouble.
4. Find Your Housing
Travel nurses are often offered accommodation by their agencies. Of course, it means that you will have to pay for this accommodation from your paycheck. It can be a hefty amount depending on the location of your new job, but many nurses do not understand all the options they have.
However, many experienced traveling nurses prefer finding their own accommodation. This way, you can find far better options that suit your financial needs and also ensure that all your housing preferences are met. You can search for “places to rent near me” and find countless results.
5. Ask Questions Freely
Many traveling nurses fail to understand that their recruiters need them as much as they need a job. This hesitancy can stop them from speaking their mind freely and discussing any ongoing concerns about their pay rate or accommodation.
However, going to an assignment without understating all the details can be the worst idea ever. You can ask any questions that are important to your job, such as the staff ratio, schedule, floating policies, size of the facility, and much more.
Asking the right questions will help you find clarity and confidence in your recruiter. This way, you can be more excited about working at a new place instead of being nervous. Clarity about your upcoming job can help you focus on good things to come.
6. Improve Your Research
It is important for every traveling nurse to know about the place they are traveling to and the hospital they will be working with. After all, it is important to plan ahead when you are going to a place where you may have to live by yourself.
Before signing the contract, make sure that you consider important factors such as your traveling and accommodation expenses. You can ask for higher reimbursement rates for places that need more time and resources to reach.
You can also use research to determine how you can spend your free time and maintain your health abroad in the new place and create great memories. In addition, you can also look for local attractions, parks, cinemas, monuments, eateries, and the list goes on.
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