Exploring Different Locations as a Travel Nurse
By A. Moore, contributor
Throughout history we have proven that we are explorers. Explorers define us as people and without them we would all still be overcrowded, fighting for a little bit of land across the Atlantic. But since we are an adventurous people we have plenty of space to roam. That, in its simplest form, is what travel nursing is all about.
I grew up in a small town with a graduating class of 60. Most of us talked about “getting out” and moving to the “big city.” Well after I heard about travel nursing from a college advisor I jumped into nursing and couldn’t wait to travel the world on someone else’s dollar. It took two years of work after school before I actually got the guts to try and after three months in sunny San Diego I never looked back.
I have always looked at travel nursing as the best three month vacation you can ever take, and guess what? After this three month vacation is over, you get to start a brand new vacation and a new destination of your choice. So my main advice to you as travel nurse explorers is the following: Explore your new destination, treat each assignment as if you were on vacation, and if nothing else have fun doing what you love.
Exploring your new home starts before you even get there. If you are a smart traveler you always plan a little bit so that there aren’t any “unexpected” surprises. Use the internet to search and research your new destination. Cities usually have web pages for tourism and that is great way to get started. Once you are in your new locale, check out the visitor’s center, they usually can help you out a lot and they have a lot of coupons and discount information. Lastly get to know Web sites that review local favorites like restaurants, bars, museums and other activities. I love Yelp.com. It is run by people like us who live or visit a place and review places they have gone.
Be a tourist, well at least for the first month or so. I always made it a point to see all big tourist traps when I first moved to a new city. For example if you are in southern California check out Disney, Sea World and Universal studios. By the time you have checked out all of the normal vacation stuff you will have met some locals or have become one yourself. This is when the real fun starts, checking out word of mouth places and doing stuff that people who live there do for fun. The citizens of your new town are the best resource for finding stuff to do. If there are a couple of nurses at work you get along with most likely you will enjoy the stuff they do and the places they go on their days off. So ask around and don’t be afraid to try something new.
Most of all have fun. This is your time and on days off you don’t have to always be on the go, take a day and sit by the pool. Always remember what you like though and apply that to where you are. I, for example, love sports. So for every new city I was in I took in at least one game of some sort. Even if you don’t like sports all that much the atmosphere is still fun and its gets you out. I also loved to just walk around or go jogging. I can’t tell you how many times I ran past a cool looking bar or restaurant by pure accident and ended up loving the place. If you love shopping every city has a mall and believe me, the stores may be the same but the stuff inside the store isn’t always that way. I was shocked to see outdoor malls in California, and five story department stores in New York. Don’t let your new location intimidate you; once you get out there I know you’ll love it.
People may start travel nursing for many reasons not just to explore, maybe they want to make the big bucks, or maybe they are looking to pad their resume with great names and great experience at a top 10 hospital. No matter what your reason you owe it to yourself to get out there. The front page of a calendar sent to me by my travel company American Mobile years ago may have said it right. EXPLORE, DREAM, DISCOVER. While to some travel nursing may seem like a dream, don’t let it for you. Get out there, have a blast, and don’t ever look back. LTD, Live the Dream.
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