code blog: tales of a nurse

The concept of traveling nurses is a rather new one to me. (Yes, you can spell "traveling" with one L or two.) At the last hospital I worked at in the Midwest, we didn't have traveling nurses.

When I moved to the West, I met several RN's that make a living by moving about the country (or the world!) a few times a year. Most of the travelers I work with though have actually been at my hospital for much longer than I have.

When I started working at this hospital, almost everyone would ask me where I was from. When I told them, they apparently assumed I was a traveler. A few months down the road, someone actually asked me if I was "staff" or traveler. When I told them that I was staff, they seemed pretty surprised.

Starting work in a new place is very stressful for me. I hate being the new girl and not immediately knowing how things are done. I really admire those who start over like that on a regular basis.

Over the last few years, there have been a few travelers that have come and gone, and a few that have stuck around. I always feel a bit badly for them; they only get 3 days of on-unit training (I suppose one of the characteristics a traveler must possess is that they be highly adaptable to several types of work environments) and when the time comes, they are always first to float off the unit. I admit that I take great satisfaction in this - as a result of that policy, I have rarely had to float.

When it started to dawn on my coworkers that I was going to stick around for awhile, one RN in particular told me that she tries not to get "too close" to travelers, because they just up and leave after a few months to go to another assignment. I don't know about other professions, but nurses who work together often can become very close friends, even if they don't see each other socially outside of work. We aren't segregated into cubicles - we are constantly in each other's workspace. We learn quickly who we can count on in an emergency, and which other RN's we can trust to keep an eye on our patients when we go to lunch. During slow times, we all sit around at the desk and chat and generally get to know each other fairly well.

A bond between nurses can transpire in little time; a few months usually. Just long enough for a traveler's contract to end. Sometimes they renew, sometimes they are off to other places - as far away as the East Coast, or as close as a major city nearby.

I have been working with a traveler for the last 6 months who is probably going to stay in the general area, but won't be working at my hospital. We have a great time at work and have actually seen each other outside of work. We've become friends and I'd be lying if I didn't say I was a bit stung that she's leaving. She won't be far, but I'm wondering if our friendship will survive her regular absence.

We'll see, I guess.