By Susan Schneider, contributor
Edward O’Brien was bitten by the travel bug when he was sent overseas by the University of Pittsburg Medical Center to help open a hospital in Sicily.
“That was it,” said O’Brien. “I knew I wanted to keep seeing traveling.”
That was seven years ago. O’Brien has been working for the staffing agency Nurses RX ever since. He was very happy to find a way to combine his personal and professional pursuits through travel nursing.
Over the years he’s been to San Diego twice, Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska a few times, on the island of Maui for over a year, to Stowe, Vermont and back to Hawaii for assignments on Oahu. He has also selected assignments Philadelphia and Indianapolis.
Right now he’s in Lancaster, Pennsylvania because it’s close to home and he wanted to be close to family for the holidays.
“I get bored easily,” said O’Brien. “So traveling is perfect for me. The constant change, new people, new places…it all keeps me motivated and happy. I love it.”
Besides having a passion for travel, O’Brien is an avid outdoorsman. He loves to fish, hunt and ski. He is somewhat of a snowbird too, choosing assignments according to the season.
“I like that I’m not dependent on anyone to set my schedule or say when I have to work. I usually plan to be off for three weeks in the spring for fishing and then again in the fall for deer hunting. The freedom to set your schedule around what you want to do outside of work is really great. You just can’t get that in a staff position.”
“My recruiter, Brooke Bower,” is fantastic,” added O’Brien. She’s always there for me with ideas and any help I need. She knows what my interests are and tells me about great assignments.”
O’Brien said that he has learned to travel light. While he’ll bring along outdoor gear, he doesn’t bother with household items.
“Nurses RX gives you a checklist of what to bring and what not to bring, so I’ve followed that from the beginning. If I need something, I’ll buy it at Wal-Mart when I get to an assignment and then just give it to another traveler when I leave. I don’t like to be weighed down.”
O’Brien works in PACUs. He said that in addition to seeing the country, he’s getting to expand his skills and learn different ways to perform the same procedures.
“I think travel nursing really broadens you,” he said, “And I think you can bring your experience from hospital to hospital if you’re diplomatic about it. I’ve learned to make suggestions rather than be critical of how something is being done and I’ve found staff nurses to be extremely open. The trick is to be outgoing and friendly. You can’t be shy or abrasive. I make friends wherever I go and never feel lonely.”
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where O’Brien is currently on assignment, has a large Amish population. He said it’s been very interesting to learn about them and their culture. The hospital provided an orientation that explained how not to do anything offensive or at odds with Amish beliefs.
“They are very nice and friendly,” said O’Brien. “It’s eye-opening to be around people who don’t use technology in their homes at all. You have to be sensitive to that in the hospital. For example, one man thought the IV pump was used for talking.”
O’Brien has a serious girlfriend at home and is starting to think about settling down.
“It will be hard to give up traveling,” he admitted.
And then, after a moment’s pause, he added with a laugh, “I do still have Seattle and Louisiana on my list of places to explore.”
© 2008. AMN Healthcare, Inc. All Rights Reserved.