"I am a nurse"
Ever think back to the day you started nursing school? How afraid and timid you were, maybe hungover, or happy because you're following your dreams. You walked into class to realize that many other students want to become a nurse too. You find someone to study with, and/or someone who will listen to you complain, cry, and laugh with. 4 years later, or depending on the program, you graduate. You take your boards, eventually pass and begin your first job... then what? Are you supposed to stay in that job forever?
Personally, I always wanted to become a traveling nurse. After hearing so many people say how they never did, and wish they had, I knew I had to stick to it. When my first year of working as an RN came around, I said to myself, "Is this it? Is this where I'll be forever?". I began to find myself dreading going to work, ready and waiting for something new, something to see, learn, achieve, and grow my nursing practice.
And that began my search for a travel company that would fit my desires and dreams. Medical Solutions messaged, emailed, and called me within an hour of me signing onto the website (when I say that, I mean Megan my recruiter did all of that within an hour and you can find a blog about me actually meeting her in person)! Yes that might sound a little crazy, but it showed me how much they were interested in me and their determination to help me start traveling.
Once I was about half way through my assignment, I thought, 'HOLY COW, how hasn't every nurse tried this once? Just once?'.
So why do I think you should pack your bags and head to somewhere new or old, but mainly, exciting?
You find yourself. Ever go to work and feel that you've lost your desire of being a nurse? Where did the compassion and excitement I had when I started go? Whether that feeling is caused from low staffing, being over worked, coworkers, families, patients, or all of the above and more, it will show. Patients are usually at one of the most difficult moments in their lives and you are the person walking in that can change their frown from hearing their latest diagnosis to a smile. That moment of caring that a patient needs is not only important for the satisfaction survey or a daisy award, but mainly to their healing process.
"People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel" - Maya Angelou
Ever move from home to a place where you did not know a soul? Scary to think of right! Sometimes, you need that change. A fresh start may be exactly what you need to again find yourself and grow. When I say grow, I mean you learn how to support yourself without anyone around. When you travel, it is usually just you! YOU have to find new people to talk to, hike with, and adventure with. Is it terrifying? Yes, but once you start working and beginning to talk to patients and co-workers, you find that there is much more out there to see and experience than just one hospital.
"Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire" - Unknown
These days we have so many things that we find 'valuable', but when you have to pack all of it into one vehicle and travel across the states for 13 weeks, you have to decide what really is valuable in your life. Of course you realize what clothes you don't need, but most importantly you realize what has meaning or purpose. Is it the blanket someone made you? Is it the necklace your grandma gave you? Not only is it materialistic things, but also people and experiences. Does it mean more to you to hike all weekend and get lost in mountains? Would you rather stay in bed and watch Netflix? What is your purpose? What means the most to you?
"We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves"
Romans 15:1
When I tell people I travel, the first thing they commonly say is, "Wow, you make a lot of money". I am not traveling for money. I travel for the adventure. The experience. The unknown of going to a new city frightens and excites me. What I will learn. What I will see. The lives I will touch. The smiles I will share with others. That is what traveling is all about. Find you, find your purpose, and be a nurse.
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