A travel nurse is a registered nurse (RN) who works with a travel nurse agency to fill temporary positions at healthcare facilities, often traveling outside their home state to fulfill assignments. Nursing shortages can have serious consequences for patient care, which is why many facilities turn to travel nurses to fill temporary vacancies.
If you are considering nursing, becoming a travel nurse can be a great way to explore the country, meet new people, and learn from other healthcare professionals and environments. At Concordia University Irvine, the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program can help you earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) in as few as 15 months, quickly setting you on the path to earning a nursing license and becoming a travel nurse.
Further explore the answer to “What is a travel nurse?” to help you decide if travel nursing is the direction you want to take your nursing career.
How Does Travel Nursing Work?
Travel nurses accept assignments to work at healthcare facilities in various locations across the country. Typically, these assignments are available through travel nurse agencies, which often handle the logistics.
To become a travel nurse, you must apply to a travel nursing agency. Once accepted, the agency will connect you with travel nursing job opportunities across the country, filling vacancies at various hospitals and clinics. These are short-term assignments typically due to staff shortages caused by illness, parental leave, or similar circumstances. Assignments can last weeks to months.
Once the travel nurse identifies an opportunity, the agency sets up a virtual interview. If hired, the nurse receives a contract that specifies pay, reimbursements, and other details. The nurse travels to the new location and can choose to stay in designated travel nursing accommodations or use the provided housing stipend to arrange their own temporary accommodations.
At the end of the contract, the nurse is free to take a break from work or immediately jump into the next contract. In some cases, a travel nurse may agree to extend an existing contract if the hospital still needs help.
What Do Travel Nurses Do?
Because travel nursing is not technically a nursing specialty but rather a method of employment, travel nurses could be pediatric nurses, oncology nurses, critical care nurses, or any other specialty.
There is no set job description for travel nursing. Rather, they perform duties that align with their specialty. In general, a travel nurse can expect to perform the duties typically expected of a registered nurse, including:
- IV and central line management
- Lab sample collection
- Patient assessments
- Patient education
- Medication administration
- Medical equipment management
- Records maintenance
- Wound care
Travel nurses also generally need to complete all behind-the-scenes tasks, such as providing patient reports to the next nurse on shift and collaborating with other healthcare providers to coordinate care.
What Skills are Needed for Travel Nurses?
Just as any other nurse, travel nurses must possess a diverse set of skills and qualities, developed through their nursing education and on-the-job experience. Some of these essential skills and characteristics include:
- Adaptability
- Collaboration
- Critical thinking
- Lifelong learning
- Patience
- Patient advocacy
- Problem-solving
- Rapid learning
- Resilience
Travel nurses must quickly adapt to new environments with each assignment. They must also be strong collaborators with versatile interpersonal skills so they can quickly learn the dynamics of each new nursing team.
Explore the top nine leadership skills and qualities all nurses need
Is Travel Nursing Right for You? The Pros and Cons
Travel nursing is on the rise, as the Health Resources and Services Administration’s most recent survey revealed that employment grew from 1% in 2018 to 5% in 2022. Is travel nursing right for you? There are many benefits to consider, including:
An Adventurous Lifestyle
Travel nursing can be an ideal career choice for nurses with an adventurous spirit. If you love to see new places, meet new people, and experience new cultures, then travel nursing could be right for you. Travel nursing allows you to explore the culture of a place in a way that a typical vacation doesn’t allow. Since you will live and work in your new destination for weeks or months, you will experience life there more deeply.
Opportunities for Professional Growth
Since you will work within many different hospitals and health systems, you will experience a wide range of healthcare policies, protocols, and procedures. You will be able to assess and adapt to best practices in the workplace in a way that someone who only works within one health system might not be able to.
Travel nursing also offers the chance to work with a wider range of patient populations as you move from one assignment to the next, allowing you to develop greater cultural competencies. You will also have chances to learn from more healthcare professionals than you would working in a single facility.
Robust Professional Network
As a travel nurse, you’ll make new professional connections everywhere you go. Every new nurse and healthcare professional with whom you work could become part of your professional network. If you decide to leave travel nursing and settle down somewhere on a more permanent basis, you will have a large network of contacts.
Common Challenges
There are benefits and potential drawbacks to virtually everything in life. In travel nursing, common challenges include trouble finding housing, complex tax situations, and licensure issues; however, these challenges are easily addressed.
If you have trouble finding housing, you could choose the provided accommodations. Although travel nurses have more complex tax situations, a CPA can handle the paperwork for you.
Lastly, nurses need a state-issued license for the state in which they plan to work. Fortunately, the Nursing Licensure Compact allows nurses to obtain a multistate license valid in many different states. Currently, 41 states have enacted or are awaiting implementation of the NLC. Of the U.S. territories, Guam has partially implemented, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are awaiting implementation.
How to Become a Travel Nurse
The first step in becoming a travel nurse is enrolling in nursing school to earn a degree. There are many paths you can take to become a nurse, but the most common degree types include an associate’s degree in nursing and a bachelor’s degree in nursing. Both degrees will qualify you to take the licensure exam.
If you have already earned a bachelor’s degree or have pre-existing college credits, you may want to consider an accelerated BSN program. These programs leverage your academic experience and apply it towards earning a BSN on a faster timeline than traditional programs.
At Concordia University Irvine, you can earn a BSN in as little as 15 months through the ABSN program. The program prepares students to become caring, compassionate, and competent registered nurses in any clinical setting and nursing specialty. If you have a non-nursing bachelor’s degree or a minimum of 65 college credits, you may meet the admissions requirements.
Regardless of your chosen program, you will need to follow the same five steps to become a nurse and later start working as a travel nurse.
1. Apply to Nursing School
The first step to applying to nursing school is contacting an admissions counselor. At Concordia University Irvine, our admissions counselors will explain the next steps and guide you through the process.
Depending on your prior college education, you may also need to complete prerequisite courses to ensure you have the necessary academic foundation for your nursing education. Our admissions counselors will help create a prerequisite completion plan and assist you throughout the admission process.
What’s the difference between ABSN and traditional BSN programs? Learn more to decide which path is right for you.
2. Earn a Nursing Degree
Once enrolled in a nursing program, you will complete nursing coursework, participate in hands-on nursing labs, and complete clinical rotations at local healthcare facilities. If you choose an accelerated program, you might complete coursework online in addition to in-person components.
At Concordia University Irvine, the nursing curriculum is offered through two learning modalities: the campus-based ABSN program in Irvine, California, or the hybrid ABSN program in Rancho Cucamonga, California, which combines online learning with in-person labs and clinicals.
The ABSN program includes 765 clinical hours at nearby healthcare facilities throughout Orange County, Los Angeles County, and the Inland Empire. Clinicals are designed to provide practical experience caring for patients under the guidance of expert nursing faculty.
3. Pass the NCLEX-RN
After graduating with a BSN, you are ready to sit for the NCLEX-RN licensure exam, which you must pass to qualify for a nursing license in your state. The exam is challenging and requires significant preparation. In fact, it is generally recommended to begin preparing as early as your first semester. At Concordia University Irvine, NCLEX-RN preparation is built into the ABSN curriculum through testing, practice questions, and NCLEX-RN review sessions and materials.
Instead of testing the applicant’s ability to memorize key nursing concepts, the exam evaluates their clinical judgment and nursing competency. The best way to prepare is to consistently review practice questions, complete practice exams, and join NCLEX study groups early in nursing school.
4. Obtain Work Experience
After obtaining your license, you will need at least two to three years of work experience in your chosen nursing specialty before applying to a travel nurse agency. Use this time to continue refining your skills and knowledge.
5. Apply to a Travel Nurse Agency
After gaining valuable clinical experience, you can start looking for a travel nurse agency. Consider agencies’ housing policies, benefits packages, job availability in your specialty, and reputation. When you find an agency that’s right for you, speak to a recruiter and initiate the application process.
Travel Nursing: Frequently Asked Questions
Explore the answers to frequently asked questions about travel nursing:
What Is a Travel Nurse?
A travel nurse is an RN who helps fill staffing gaps at healthcare facilities by accepting short-term contracts. They are most often employed by a travel nursing agency, which provides job listings and orchestrates the logistics, such as housing.
What Do Travel Nurses Do on the Job?
Travel nurses perform the same duties on the job as any other nurse. Travel nurses can work in various nursing specialties and healthcare environments, which can impact their specific responsibilities and most common tasks; however, you could expect to perform tasks such as patient assessment, medication administration, and patient education.
How Long Are Travel Nurse Assignments?
Contract lengths vary depending on the facility’s needs and the travel nurse’s availability, but the most common assignments range between eight and 13 weeks. In some cases, nurses can extend their contracts with the facility if their services are still needed.
What Are the Basic Requirements to Become a Travel Nurse?
The basic requirements to become a travel nurse include: a nursing degree, such as a BSN, a state-issued nursing license, and a few years of clinical experience. The required number of years of experience varies by travel agency, but two years is often recommended. This helps ensure travel nurses are prepared to fit into their role.
What Is the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC)?
The NLC is a nursing license agreement that establishes the criteria for a multistate nursing license. Nurses who apply for licensure in one of the 43 jurisdictions receive a multistate license, allowing them to practice in any other NLC jurisdiction without obtaining a new license.
Do You Need a BSN to Be a Travel Nurse?
No, you do not need a BSN to become a travel nurse; however, earning a BSN offers many benefits that make it a compelling choice. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, studies have shown that BSN-educated nurses contribute to higher rates of positive patient outcomes.
Earning a BSN also makes you eligible for graduate programs, should you decide to earn a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) or a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and pursue career advancement.
What Skills Help Travel Nurses Succeed?
Travel nurses must have the same skills expected of nurses: clinical judgment, critical thinking, compassion, and the ability to work as a team. Because travel nurses take on short-term contracts and must quickly adjust to new facilities, procedures, and coworkers, they must also be strong communicators, adaptable, and rapid learners.
Where Will Your Nursing Career Take You?
At Concordia University Irvine, we strive to graduate caring, compassionate, and highly competent nurses who are prepared to lead with integrity. Offering a values-based curriculum, Concordia University Irvine encourages each nursing student to treat the whole person: body, mind, and soul.
If you’re interested in transitioning to a meaningful career in nursing, whether as a travel nurse or any other type of nurse, you can build a foundation for your future here. Contact one of our specialized admissions counselors today to learn if our ABSN program is right for you.