And a-traveling I will go....

Abstract

TRAVEL NURSING. All the students talk about it, and many graduates are eager to complete their first year of practice so that they can join the travel craze. But a half-century old faculty member who has not practiced without students in more than 20 years? No way! Call it a midlife crisis or a whim, but after hearing secondhand about travel nursing for several years, I decided to explore for myself. The hefty salaries I had heard about and the opportunity to travel to another part of the country for free beckoned. Upon the recommendation of a patient's spouse who worked as a traveler, I investigated a travel nursing company, completed the application online, and began talking with a recruiter. The recruiter (not a nurse) referred me to a nurse in the credentialing department who reviewed my skills checklist to assess if I had the ability to really work as a nurse. Everyone I spoke with asked how much direct patient care I had provided in the past year. I continued to explain that I supervised eight students and all of their patients, which, in my opinion, was as difficult, if not more difficult, than carrying a full patient load myself. No one bought it. Here I was - a nurse with 30 years of experience, a doctoral degree, and more than 25 years as a faculty member - and everyone was questioning my skills. Finally, the company decided to give me the opportunity to interview with hospitals. The recruiter reviewed geographic, clinical, shift, and salary preferences to narrow the list from nearly 10,000 positions to fewer than a dozen. My name and credentials were forwarded to the hospitals in which I expressed an interest, and the unit managers/clinical directors contacted me for interviews. My intention was not to be arrogant, but I do have advanced degrees in nursing, and that may have been a deterrent to their interest in me. Only one potential employer had previous experience with a faculty member as traveler, and he worked part time in a hospital during the academic year. Although I had several interviews, I only found one hospital position attractive. By this time, my planned start date was looming, and I had no idea how much detailed paperwork would be needed before I could begin. And then I started to have second thoughts. How could I leave my home, husband, adult children, and dog for eight weeks and travel 3,000 miles to pursue a whim? After receiving an offer, I asked for one more day to carefully consider all facets of this potential experience and to discuss the position with my husband. I finally made peace with my decision. A small hospital in a rural area would be just right for me. The next six days were spent getting ready. The travel company was very thorough in assuring that I was a real nurse and required many signed, notarized, and fingerprinted documents before I got on the plane. I was exhausted before I started. I usually consider myself a very detail-oriented person, but I was overwhelmed by the volume of forms required to verify my identity, home address (very important as a traveler), tax status, licensure, benefits, and skills (again). Thankfully, I could fax and email everything. But the many tests validating my competence as an RN heightened my anxiety. The company was great about accelerating all details since I was to start in less than a week. The housing department found a place for me to live within a few days and provided all the information I would need to locate my residence. A contact person at the site helped me decide what to pack for the eight-week assignment in a totally unfamiliar geographic region of the country. Relocating from the humid, triple-digit temperatures of the South to the cool Northwest would take some adjustment in my wardrobe. And getting a flight to the state capital so I could obtain my temporary nursing license and renting a car for the 400mile trek to my home-away-from-home took more energy. I was nearly exhausted by the time I settled in for the long cross-country plane trip. …