Whether you’re new to healthcare or you’ve been in the field for a while, starting your career as a traveling medical professional can help you level up, both personally and professionally. There are a lot of decisions that go into the process, and some travelers-to-be can overthink it, wondering if they meet the right criteria to travel. While it’s great to ask the important questions, you should also be looking at the reasons why you want to pursue a travel healthcare career. Here are some of the signs you’re ready to start a healthcare travel job.
No. 1: You want a job with a change of scenery.
The most obvious and main benefit of a healthcare travel job is being able to change your location every 13 weeks or so. The freedom of choosing where and when you work is a huge perk! If you want to spend your time beachside, you get to make that happen. You want to experience a new part of the country you haven’t visited yet? You have the power to find a healthcare position in that area. It almost sounds too good to be true, but it’s real.
No. 2: You value a healthcare job with transparency.
One of the most frustrating things about starting out as a healthcare traveler is how to start and structure the process of finding a travel job. With power comes responsibility—and one of those considerations that can make healthcare professionals hesitate to enter the travel world is having current licenses, certifications and paperwork lined up for that next (or first!) travel assignment. Healthcare professionals can get compact licenses that permit them to work in multiple states under one license. This isn’t available to all healthcare professions, though, so be mindful of your specialty when looking into compact licensing. Something to look forward to though—additional healthcare professions are in the process of trying to implement compact licensing for travelers.
Sure, there’s a little more that goes into the freedom of traveling for your career, but with the right mindset, it’s worth it. Fusion Marketplace is also making it easier for travelers to keep their licenses, certifications and documents all in one place—a Fusion Marketplace profile. Streamlining the process of searching, applying and landing that next healthcare travel assignment helps travelers get placed faster.
No. 3: You seek control over your career decisions.
Hand-in-hand with transparency is control over your choices as a healthcare traveler. Flexibility in a traveler’s job applies not only to location, but earning potential, agency you work with, and more. In fact, travel nurses tend to earn between 15 to 20 percent more than full-time staff nurses. Currently, there are a ton of active healthcare jobs on Fusion Marketplace in a variety of healthcare fields. Travelers can create a profile and gain the benefits of choosing their agency, choosing their location, and choosing their pay. Having options and autonomy makes the search a little easier on travelers when they’re looking for their ideal placement. Like when you’re searching for the best locations for travel therapy jobs, for example.
No. 4: You’re interested in growing your professional skillset.
When you work in one facility for a long time, you tend to fall into a routine. While a routine can be helpful in stabilizing your plans, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut without challenging yourself and growing in your skills. When you choose a traveling healthcare career, you get the opportunity to work in a variety of different facilities with different environments that can help you gain more experience.
Working in new facilities means you get to learn new electronic medical record (EMR) software platforms. Because different facilities operate with different EMR platforms, you’ll get to jump right into the thick of it and expand your skills—and this is a valued skill to have! Hospitals constantly update new EMR platforms which means knowing different platforms going into your new travel job is coveted and can get you further in your career. In fact, a Black Book Research survey stated that 98 percent of travel nurses said fluency in multiple EMR platforms is highly valued.
No. 5: You’re looking to be challenged in your healthcare career.
One way to be challenged is that element of continued growth in your skills, previously mentioned. Additionally, the component of flexibility adds challenges in of itself. Being able to face these challenges are what can make or break the healthcare travel life for you.
As far as logistics go, it all comes down to planning and maintaining. Maintaining those licenses and certifications are typically a challenge. Managing and updating your compliance is a task too, but as stated previously, it can be helpful to manage all of this on Fusion Marketplace. Additionally, maintaining a permanent home (for tax purposes) while you travel and seeking out temporary housing can be an exciting challenge.
Other challenges you may need to take on include social and personal elements. Being able to adjust quickly to new environments, deal with on-the-job learning, and actively avoid workplace gossip can help you keep your focus on honing your skills in the healthcare industry. Managing your relationships with recruiters, agencies and coworkers is a delicate balance, but very rewarding when you can maintain a good group of supportive people in your corner.
If these challenges seem overwhelming, that’s normal. If you’re still motivated to be a healthcare traveler, those positive aspects of the job outweigh the challenges. Some of the challenges may even be motivators to help you succeed!
Deciding you’re ready to take the plunge into a traveling healthcare career is a huge step. If you’re interested in traveling, read up on tips to prepare for your first travel assignment. If these signs sound like something you’re ready to take on, create a traveler profile on Fusion Marketplace to get started.
