New to Traveling

Posts: 1 · Joined: 25 Aug 2008 Posts: 1 Location: New York

Hi there!

I am new to travel nursing and I cannot figure out what types of floors I should be open to working on. I have 2 years experience on an orthopedic and trauma med-surg floor. We see mostly trauma patients ranging from car accidents, falls, gun shot wounds, you name it! I have experience with a wide range of injuries and am familiar with chest tubes, IR drains, JP drains, tube feedings, general med-surg tele, trachs, among other things...

I'm thinking I should be open to working on just about any med-surg floor aside from possibly cardiac and oncology. Would a transplant or pulmonary floor be over my head?

At the risk of sounding conceited, I am a fairly intelligent person and I have no problems asking questions if I am unsure of something. I usually catch on to things very quickly, as well - and I'm uptight enough that I'll definitely be reading and brushing up on the care of the specific patient population with which I'll be working.

Phew! Can you tell I"m stressed? Any suggestions?
~Lynne~

Posts: 3 · Joined: 01 Sep 2008 Posts: 3 Location: Iowa

I think that most hospitals want you to have experience on the floor that you will be contracted with. IE: transplant experience if working on a transplant floor. It may vary on what agency you work with. Just remeber that traveling can be hard enough, you don't want go get into something to find out you are over your head.

Posts: 4 · Joined: 12 May 2007 Posts: 4

If your worked a trauma unit then probably qualified to do many things.
Regretfully though not a transplant unit. At least a years experience is needed in any specialty unit such as that. And sad to say to get a yrs experience you have to quit traveling and become a staff member for at least a yr...preferably a yr and a half. That is the downfall of being a traveler. No hospital will hire you and give you an opportunity to learn a new skill. They want skilled employess who can walk in off the street and take on a job. There are several areas that I myself would like to try..for instance..Dialysis. But I love traveling so much...I don't want to stop traveling to learn this area. I've been a nurse for 18yrs and know that
no area is that difficult to learn...its just learning what is expected of you
from the facility you are working for. That is the biggest thing as a traveler
every institution has their own policies and procedures...and even though some are better than others by far, I am always asking am I allowed to do this here!!!! And believe me som facilities are about 15 yrs behind the rest. For instance some still hand write MARS. Why JACHO lets these hospitals get by with this is way beyond my comphrehension. I thought there purpose was to set goals ...nationwide. Continuity..is what they need.