By Melissa Wirkus, associate editor
After working as a home health nurse for 15 years, Carol Eberhardt, RN, decided it was time for a change.
Retirement was on the horizon, but Eberhardt knew she was not ready to end her nursing career. With plenty of experience and an inkling for adventure and a change of scenery, she packed up her belongings and was soon on the road as a travel nurse with nurse staffing company Medical Express.
“I was approaching the end of my career and I didn’t want to retire,” Eberhardt said of her decision to start traveling. “I didn’t want another cold winter in Minnesota and I wanted to see a different part of the country.”
With her focus on relocating to warmer weather, she decided to take her first assignment in sunny Santa Maria, California, and continue on her career path as a home health nurse.
“I wanted to see a different part of the country,” she said. “I knew I wanted to go some place warm and I’ve always wanted to be close to the ocean but I never dreamed I would be this close!”
Eberhardt has lived in the small seaside community of Pismo Beach for the duration of her assignment. The picturesque beach town is just a few miles from her assignment hospital and about as far from a Minnesota winter as possible.
“Besides the beach, my favorite part of traveling so far has been the opportunity to meet new people and explore parts of the country that I haven’t seen before.”
Her time in Pismo Beach and Santa Maria has given her the chance to really feel like she is part of the community. “You get to see an area longer than you would on a vacation,” she noted. “You’re part of the community when you’re a travel nurse.”
Traveling also allows a lot more freedom and flexibility than her previous nursing career allowed.
“I can work nine months and then take the summers off now,” she said. “I look at traveling as a pre-retirement opportunity.”
She also looks at traveling as a way to “test out” an area before making a permanent move. In the future, Eberhardt would like to summer in Minnesota but then spend the winters in a warmer location. Traveling has allowed her the opportunity to explore some of these destinations before moving.
“I am looking to travel to Arizona or Palm Springs next, maybe Texas; any place warm,” she explained. “I want to be a snow bird somewhere one day.”
As Eberhardt looks toward her next travel nursing opportunity, she credits her recruiter with having a hand in making her first assignment so enjoyable and memorable. “My recruiter has been great,” she said.
Her recruiter at Medical Express, Carolyn Gass, says she couldn’t have asked for a better traveler. “Carol is a dedicated nurse. She works hard and plays hard,” Gass said. “I believe that is the best quality to have in a travel nurse. To be able to go anywhere and have a great time enjoying your location when you are not working is such a great way of life!”
“From day one Carol and I hit the ground running as a great communicating traveler/recruiter pair. Carol had another offer from a competitor, relayed all the information to me and through the effort of our teamwork we got Carol an interview and an offer that next afternoon EXACTLY where she wanted to be…right on the beach and away from the snow. It has been a pleasure working with Carol.”
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