A lot of travel agencies require a year of nursing.
I heard 2 years of experience in a specialty. The first year you're orientating and getting acclimated to the new role and responsibilities. However, with the current nursing shortage, I can see 1 year as acceptable to hospitals that are desperate. The more years of experience you have, the more confident you will be to travel to new environments with minimum orientation. You are put in situations that are not friendly and you may have to stand your ground. I would recommend joining a travel nurse FB group and read the stories as you prepare if this is what you want.
From what I’ve seen in researching travel assignments, 1 year is standard, but I agree with most on this one. If you don’t have a solid 5 years under your belt where you feel ready to jump into anything, then it can be a really tough gig. Although I’ve never done it myself, I’ve spent a lot of time talking to those who have and it’s very fast pace. You need to really have the basics down Pat, like physical assessment, med administration, etc… so that your focus can be on learning the charting systems, pumps, and protocols quickly. Keep in mind that even though you’re a traveler, you’re still legally responsible for what happens under your care, and getting to that comfort level can take a while.
I wouldn’t feel comfortable traveling with less than 2 years experience. I have almost 8 years experience and I just started working with a travel agency picking up PRN shifts. It’s a very fast paced onboarding, as in like you follow a nurse for one patient and then you are thrown into the rotation to take patients and chart and manage patient care by yourself. So if you are uncomfortable with that concept then you are not ready to travel.
This depends on your specialty and the type of facility you worked as a staff nurse. A minimum of two years *in your specialty*. Try to travel to a facility with similar or lower patient acuity. You will be expected to be comfortable taking care of the patient population at the travel assignment without much orientation. Don't expect on the job training if you're trying to level-up on your skills.
Minimum 5 Years
Minimum requirements for most agencies is 1 year, but it depends on how comfortable you are in your speciality. I took my first assignment after 2 years. You get little to no orientation so you need to be ready to hit the ground running.
