I think most companies require a year or two but with pandemic things might’ve changed. Tbh, you might not want to travel as a new grad. I would at least get a year because you are on your own as a travel nurse and other nurses might not be willing to help (speaking from experience). There are so many unanswered questions as a new grad
No. You really need experience
No. You need experience. Travel nursing isn’t just high paychecks. It’s getting 1 day orientation in a new hospital to care for patients, learning new systems, new people, new areas, etc…if you don’t feel secure in your nursing knowledge and career, then you’ll fail the patients. You can’t focus on learning to be a nurse and learning all of the above.
Definitely not. Travel nursing is meant for experienced nurses who can jump right in with little orientation. You can’t do that as a new grad.
I’ve seen 1 year RNs land travel jobs, but never fresh grads. Critical thinking and time management ought to be priorities the first 1-2 years.
Please don’t. Get as much work experience as you can, maybe a couple of years before you embark in travel nursing. I have plenty of expectations from travel nurses. Versatility and wealth of nursing experience of your particular specialty are the keys.
The money you can earn from travel nursing is great, but it's not worth you risking your license. As a travel RN you will be used and abused, and need a solid foundation in order to manage the workload and keep your patients safe.
The best thing I heard regarding being a travel nurse is, you have to be prepared/skilled enough to care for the most critical/sick patients on the unit. If the answer is no, maybe you are not ready to travel.
No very important to have experience .
You can't travel as a new grad no travel agency will accept you. During the pandemic there was wiggle room and they hired people with as little as one year experience but now it's back to two years minimum plus the amount of contracts are slowing down again.
NOOOOOOOOO! You are not as smart as you think you are. Get some experience so you can understand how you killed the patient on your first assignment.
Absolutely not. As a traveler you get 3 orientation days. One is in class learning computer system, setting up password and getting ID and two days on the floor. They expect you to know your job, you will follow a staff nurse just to get familiar with unit, charting, where everything is. After that you are on your own. Now remember that you are total stranger to them, they know you are there temporarily and get ready to receive most difficult patients on the floor. You must have good communication skills, do not take anything personal, know what are you doing and just go with the flow. I would not get myself there until at least 2 years of experience. Every hospital has their own way of doing things, protocols.
I did travel nursing for 11 years and every time I learned something new but you must have solid knowledge. Good luck.
It would not be a good idea because you don’t have any experience. Don’t take that the wrong way. The saying goes “you don’t know what you don’t know”. It is very important to learn critical thinking as a nurse and whatever unit you decide to work in,has its own issues that will come up and you need to know how to think it through and handle the situation. Try to get set up with a good preceptor and learn as much as you can. Good luck !
Looking about the comment on killing your patient. As a 36 year old female nurse (also single mom of 3 kids) and getting older in life. I’ve focused more on my career and felt the need to comment because I’ve seen some things.
It was not a jab at you, or your current inexperience , Grad RN. It was a flatline statement of protection for not only your livelihood but also your patients livelihood. The real nurse world is completely different than school nurse world, as you’ve heard. And in order for you to continue working as a nurse,you’ve got to keep your license. You don’t want to accidentally (obviously not willingly) kill a patient. But…It happens in nursing.
Getting experience in before putting you in a probably very demanding position would protect you from potentially losing your nursing license ultimately from making a decision that was due to lack of experience. Not that you aren’t good at your experience level now. You can have all the drive in the world. But experience is key. Get your years in and learn some stuff. Stay humble. You will be exalted in due time. When God knows you’re ready and we’ll prepared for that move and position.
