Why a Travel Nurse Should be a Team Player

As a traveler, you are not directly involved in department politics nor do you have as many pressures to fit in and be a team player. What’s the motive then to be a team player at all? There are a few very good reasons I want to discuss in this article.

Get Support

You will not only make life easier for yourself at work by being a team player, but you may potentially avoid law suites and save a few more lives by recruiting the support of your colleges. The best way to get support from others is to be a team player.

Promote the Travel Nursing Profession

By being a team player, you not only provide better care for your patients, but you help promote the travel nursing profession. Hospitals are constantly looking for ways to discontinue the use of travelers. However, the more professional and helpful travelers are, the more valuable they become.

Unknown Future Circumstances

Finally, sometimes unforeseen circumstances arise in which being a team player serves you well. One traveler I knew didn’t see the need to be a team player. She didn’t really like the facility and was only in town temporarily visiting family. Right at the end of her assignment, her mother became ill with cancer and she wanted to stay and take care of her. When she tried to extend her assignment at the hospital, they didn’t want to extend her. She had never been a team player. The thought of looking for another job in the area was too stressful on top of everything else. She did end up finding another job in the area as a permanent staff nurse for less pay, but not until she had gone into debt that would take her another year to get out of.

Being a team player means taking an extra effort to be aware of the needs of those around you and filling in from time to time. It means making the effort to communicate clearly to all members of your team regarding changes. Showing up on time and being reliable to your word is also important. All this takes extra effort, but it could be worth it. When we die, what’s more important, what we did or how we did it?