Chronicles of a Travel Nurse

 

Chronicles of a Travel Nurse

Jessica Sunday

First destination 📍Wilmington, NC. 

I am so beyond blessed that in October of 2020 I accepted my first travel nurse assignment after gaining 2 years of cardiac nursing experience. What a great ending to my birthday month after having some struggles in September. Looking back, the struggles that happened were necessary for this very moment. When your life is shaken, you can choose to let it get you down or you can rise and determine to make that one dream you have happen. 

If I can give you one word of advice going into 2021, I would tell you not to wait your whole life to make your goal happen. Speak it into existence, then shift your moves to make it happen. You can do it. You are strong. My coworkers and manager knew a year ago that I wanted to pursue travel nursing but that I was determined to get my experience first. When I finally gave my 2 weeks notice at a facility I had been at for 5 years, I knew it was going to be far from easy to leave a group of coworkers that were phenomenal to work with. Many of which invested into my learning and clinical skills. The weeks leading up to when I was going to leave were the rockiest. Some people tried to talk me out of going as others said I wasn't thinking rationally for doing this because of a relationship fall-out. Little did they know, I had made it a goal of  mine to become a travel nurse all through nursing school and vowed I would never become a cardiac nurse. Well, that happened. 

I even came to a point in my life that I thought having great goals did not always mean we had to achieve them. As that may be true, I would also say never to limit yourself in the passions you have. I went from working two 12 hour shifts and two 8 eight hour shifts per week with some of the scheduling stacking up and running the end of one week working into the next week working now to working three 12 hour shifts per week with a lot more breathing room. This allows me the time to enjoy the life around me while adventuring new locations and focusing on my other business I am passionate about. 

As I am still in the beginning of this new journey, I will have a lot more to say as my adventures live on. So far the hospital staff is so courteous toward their travelers, the feeling of burnout has left my system, the scheduling process is great, the weather is gorgeous, and the beaches are beautiful. There are more friends to be made, more prayers to be prayed, and more people to bless. 

The strength of a travel nurse comes from  the motivation to protect more than one city. For me, that started during a pandemic. Don't let your fears of failing or crossing the unknowns stop you from turning your dream into your reality today.