MY FIRST TRAVEL NURSE ASSIGNMENT
When I tell you I was NEEERRVVOUUSS for my first contract I’m telling you, I was nervous. Imposter syndrome is a real thing when you transition from staff to travel. Nothing about travel nursing is comfortable, but that being said I am currently on my second contract and completed my first in rural Wisconsin over the summer and let me tell you, I wouldn’t change it for the world.
I had the best summer. Truthfully perfect. I have lived away from my home town in rural Illinois since I was 19. At 23 I transitioned from staff nursing in Houston to travel nursing. I decided to take a contract at a small community hospital near my family and it was a wonderful first contract. It was 36 hours a week at a cardiac stepdown unit, which is my home speciality! The first couple weeks were beyond overwhelming. There is no comfortability, the orientation was short, I never knew where supplies where or who to call for what… but you know what? I made it. I realized very early on that the best way to ensure a good contract is to simply be there. Like always. I made sure to do my job adequately, get as much as I could done prior to the next shift, follow protocol carefully and to always ask for help. With that being said I also would ask my coworkers if they needed anything, if I could help etc. I always offered and never complained about floating and took my assignments head on unless I deemed it was a unsafe assignment. I think as long as you display your willingness to be a team player and assist the unit there’s very little conflict with staff nurses and you may even make some friends!
My top tips for having a smooth first assignment:
introduce yourself (genuinely I’m not saying you need to be a ray of sunshine every shift but try to be upbeat and introduce yourself to your coworkers when you start!)
ask for help (staff or traveler there is NOTHING worse / scarier than a nurse who assumes they know it all, all the time. you ARE going to have questions and need help. showing that vulnerability and openness to learn new things is inviting and shows the unit you care!)
ask others if they need help! (the literal point of a travel nurse is to fill a need, meaning the unit is down hands. asking a coworker if they need help shows how you are going to be a team player and you NEVER know when you’ll need help back so always make sure to ask even if you know they dont! it’s the thought that counts)
be flexible (now i personally don’t think travelers should get the hardest assignments, most patients, floated the most etc etc because those situations are simply unsafe but you should display a sense of flexibility and willingness to be the flexible one… there’s a lot of pros of being staff and those include the luxury of having relationships with coworkers, being comfortable with the unit, etc. travel nurses are always going to be the uncomfortable ones so I always try to offer myself up first to float, take the admit etc because i’m already uncomfortable what’s one more thing lol)
be friendly (nooooo you obviously don’t have to make best friends or participate in unit gossip.. actually i suggest NOT doing that lol BUT being outgoing and friendly goes such a long ways with people. at the end of the day we are all human and it’s nice to have a normal conversation at work. you don’t have to tell your life story but being open and inviting is such a wonderful quality to have as a traveler!)
bring a notepad (my first few shifts I had a small notepad in my pocket and made sure to write down all info I found valuable, this ranged from door codes, phone numbers, unique protocols, specific orders and expectations certain doctors expected, secondary names of supplies and any and all meds I was not familiar with)
take it shift by shift (you are bound to have some doozies… i mean real ROUGH shifts. it’s expected. imagine your time as a new grad, it kind of feel like that for the first couple weeks.. despite being clinically competent there’s non clinical things that are going to throw you for a loop, think about the end goal and try to stay positive!)
Well, those are my top tips for your first contract! You’ll do great don’t forget to take a breath and be present in the moment. There’s a reason you took this leap, don’t let go of that vision.
My favorite memories from my first travel contract
Road tripping with my Dad from Houston to New Orleans to Nashville to home
Visiting the Apostle Islands in north western WI with my Mom
Rooming with my cousin in his apartment and navigating how to keep our Moms from sending us copious amounts of food each week
Time at the lakehouse in Eagle River with so many special people
Fourth of July weekend at home with my friends taking 4 too many tequila shots and having to play hide and seek with my 20 yr old brother who was done by 11:30
Pool days with my mom and aunt
Breakfast with my grandparents
Exploring Door County with my Mom and Aunt
3 AM delusional laughs with my crazy coworkers and lots of energy drink runs
Picking fresh peaches for peach cobbler
Warm late night summer bone fires
Never ending laughed and memories with the people I love the most
Tulum and Florida adventuresss
I try to curate blog posts and informational guides / itineraries so that my content is educational and helpful but sometimes blogs like this serve as an outlet for me and I like to be genuine and authentic in not only what I what I post but WHY I post :) I hope you enjoyed!
