A Travel Story: How one nurse got started

Recently, I met a traveler who was kind enough to share her story with us. Her name is Diana and she is from Florida. She still has a house in Florida and travels around. I asked her about the hurricanes. She says that although she is not in a flood zone, her house did get hit by a falling tree that did a considerable amount of damage to her house. She has insurance, but she says that when you read the small print the insurance company only covers certain things. These things of coarse didn’t cover her damage and it has cost her quit a bit. “It really makes you appreciate the Red Cross and what they do, she says.” I was in a pretty safe area, but the electricity was out for 2 weeks and the roads were blocked everywhere. I never thought as an educated person, I would be in the soup line, but I was. The red cross would come by and deliver food and water to us.”

“I first considered traveling, when I met a radiologist friend who traveled. She needed to move out of her place and have a place she could call home. We became roommates. She was a perfect roommate. She was never home. I would visit her on her assignment and she would encourage me to travel. I didn’t go at the time, because my mother was ill. After my mother passed, she pointed out to me that I no longer had any more excuses”

I have to admit. I was afraid I wouldn’t be knowledgeable enough to do well at another facility. It was like the first day at school jitters. I am so fortunate that the facility I took my first assignment to was very receptive. It turns out I had a few things to teach them. This increased my confidence. If I would have gone somewhere else for my first time, I may have felt overwhelmed. My second assignment was that kind of place. It was a larger facility with lots of different equipment I wasn’t used to and basically no orientation. Luckily I had the confidence with me from my last assignment to know I could make it.

I believe traveling has made me a better nurse actually. I am an ICU nurse and I am constantly learning where my limits are. Some places insist you can’t push certain medications, for example. While others, are fine with pushing the same medications and the patients are fine. I like seeing the different way things are handled in different places. I also like avoiding all the politics of a facility. If I start to get involved in the politics, I know I have been there to long and it is time to move on.

Right now this is a wonderful career move for me. I can’t wait to one day return to my original facility and teach them what I have learned. I have a 2 year degree and I am working toward my Bachelors degree online while I travel. I only have 2 months to go and I will be done. Traveling is great. I am glad someone was kind enough to encourage me to do it.”