A travel nurse shifts from one place to another within a given specified time schedule. This is common practice in places with less access to medical care and practitioners. Travel nursing can thus drive health to a better place and has the following benefits:
PROS:
1. Adventurous: Travelling to different places for work is very adventurous and good for those who like traveling as a hobby. Visiting new places is super cool as one gets the chance to explore new places. A travel nurse meets lots of diverse people and cultures in the places of assignment.
2. Better pay: Travel nurse receives better pay. The nurse may receive travel allowances and money for upkeep by the employing travel agency. They also benefit from fewer taxes and deductions.
3. Travel nursing gives room for work negotiation: For travel nursing, there is always a mutual negotiation on working conditions between the agency and the nurse. Travel nursing is thus less authoritative.
4. Grants one peace of mind: Travelling by itself is a mental therapy that ensures that one is stress-free. Working in the same station for years can be extremely stressful for a nurse or medical officer. Traveling may thus improve the quality of life of the involved persons.
5. Flexible work schedules: Schedules in travel nursing are not very fixed. There may be breaks between work sessions for the medical staff. One can also make arrangements to work earlier and be on off duty at a given time. This proofs how flexible travel nursing is.
6. More learning: Through travel nursing more skills that are not necessarily medical oriented are acquired. The nurse will learn new ways of solving problems. He/she will learn different ways of handling patients as he works in different hospitals. This forms a rich source of medical knowledge.
7. More relations with people: Travel nursing will involve crossing to different diverse cultures and communities or societies. This will thus enable proper integration and relations with many people who need medical help.
8. Relations increase the employment network: By working together with some of the senior and experienced persons in different stations or hospitals one gets a good chance to grab better employment opportunities in the future.
9. More vacation time: Family vacations are more important and not worth skipping. Due to the flexibility in time schedules, one can plan for vacations with family and friends at ease.
10. Enhance medical service delivery: Travel nursing can be used as a solution to curb the shortage of medical access by increasing medical staff on rotational bases within a given time.
CONS:
1. Separation from family and friends: Travelling comes with the demerit of being detached from loved ones. Due to the various trips made per day, one might not meet with family or friends when on duty.
2. Uncertain of work location: Travel nursing is not tied to a certain location. A person working for travel agencies can receive instructions to shift to a completely different workplace.
3. Flooded job markets: Career vacancies in travel nursing are limited. One can, therefore, stay longer while looking for a suitable contract when the current one ends.
4. Requires quick learning: When one is a beginner some of the assignment can require one to seek help from experienced personnel. Learning must, therefore, be as fast as possible.
5. Proper timekeeping is a must: A nurse allocated to work in a different location over different times must avail him or herself at the right time without fail for better medical delivery to be realized.
6. Largely affected by extreme weather conditions: Travelling to a different location during stormy times is a danger. Some interior places may get too muddy hence restrict movement.
7. Adaptation issues: Changing to a different climate zone over short periods of time may have adverse effects. For example, traveling from a cold place to a very hot place within a month or weeks may not be that comfortable and can bring adverse effects along with it.
8. Most opportunities go to seniors: In travel nursing beginners may not find it easy to enjoy the privileges of seniors. It will be difficult to restructure their schedules or breaks as well as the oversight roles.
9. Founded on contracts: Travel nursing is usually implemented as a job contract instead of being a permanent job position. The agency can easily terminate the contract following certain factors at any time hence leaving a person jobless.
10. Busy at sometimes: When nurses travel to remote and interior places lots of people go to seek medical help. The huge workload makes them strain a lot.
