gunsmokex 1 #1 December 25, 2016 For those of you that are or have been travel nurses. I'm thinking of making a bit of a career change, I've been in the same ICU for 14 yrs now and its time for a change, I'm burning out and I feel like I'm stuck in a job prison :( I'd like to get into travelling and just wanted to find out what companies are decent, its been a lifelong dream of mine and there is no better time than now. I need a change of scenery and what better way to work and then jump at some great DZ's on my days off :) Which cities and dropzones have worked well for you etc? I still have to figure out the details but I'm pretty determined to do this. I still haven't quite decided if I will just buy an RV or take the typical housing that most of the companies offer. Thinking of maybe taking my dog with me but its not a deal breaker but it sure would be nice to have him along. Any advice would be much appreciated feel free to PM me. I'm mostly looking to stay in the Midwest/Western states, I'm open to ideas though, but I guess I'm somewhat limited at least for now to the 25 nurse licensure compact states since I reside in South Dakota. Anyways let me know your experiences and advice if you have any. Thanks and Merry Christmas! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gowlerk 1,889 #2 December 25, 2016 Quote I'm thinking of making a bit of a career change, I've been in the same ICU for 14 yrs now and its time for a change, I'm burning out and I feel like I'm stuck in a job prison :( Nothing about travel. But my wife just left her long term job as a CRN in a very busy large hospital based dialysis unit because of burnout. She started feeling bad about her job more than a year ago, but she put off doing anything about it. Finally it got to be too much and she moved. Within the hospital but to a completely different field. She is like a new person, feeling fulfilled again. Don't ignore burnout, don't wait too long.Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
barefut 0 #3 December 25, 2016 There's always lots of jobs in my neck of the woods for experienced RNs. West coast pay is better than other places in the U.S. I've been a Trauma ICU RN in Portland Oregon, Vancouver, Wa for 20+yrs. I have not done U.S. travel nursing but have worked for local agencies. The Northwest has gloomy weather for skydiving about 4-6 months out of the year however we make it work. Portland has 4 dropzones within 45mins to an hour. We also have about every other adventure sport you could want!!! The ICUs that I have worked in are accustomed to people taking jobs for a year and then moving on. I rarely see agency traveling RNs but we do get them on occasion. You could easily just take a reg job, 3 days/wk 12hr shifts, or even part time. PM me if you want anymore info from me.Whale oil beef hooked Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gunsmokex 1 #4 December 25, 2016 Mostly burnt out because of the management I guess. Its definitely been building up but once they started with my vacation hrs I'm just done I love doing what I do but lately I'm more stressed about management than my actual ICU job. Basically we are a 6 bed ICU in a small hospital, mostly just basic med/surg kind of stuff nothing too intense but the typical kind of stuff like sepsis, ARDS, CHF, detox, ESRD, ES liver stuff like that. But yeah I might look into the west coast states just not sure on the licensing because with my South Dakota license I have 24 other states that recognize it with no problem at all. The other I'm sure I need to get going on some CEU's or whatever they require. But yeah ideally I'd like to just find 1 or 2 month contracts with the option to extend because I still would like the liberty to be able to head home now and then as I'm going to keep my 19 acre farm. I did head up to Seatlle for a week though visiting a friend, very cool area but I didn't get out to explore it much as she was kind of a city girl. But yeah I wouldn't mind getting back up there sometime again. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gowlerk 1,889 #5 December 25, 2016 QuoteI'm more stressed about management than my actual ICU job. It's always bad managers who cause this. Moral goes down, turnover goes up, and the staff is left feeling that they have no support. It's not patient care that burns you out. It's generally the feeling that management cares about bureaucratic stuff more than care.Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jackwallace 3 #6 December 25, 2016 go for it. i wasn't a nurse, but a construction worker. worked all over the US. Get the details of the job in writing. Who pays for what: housing, food, transport back and forth to the job, clothes, health ins. Keep good records for taxes and a stash of cash for emergencies. I only know one person that did what you do and traveled. I'll ask her to let you know what's up. I know she kind of was on a circuit. One place for 4 months then another, then another and around again.U only make 2 jumps: the first one for some weird reason and the last one that you lived through. The rest are just filler. scr 316 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jumpsalot-2 2 #7 December 26, 2016 What are the other 24 states you qualify to work in ?Life is short ... jump often. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gunsmokex 1 #8 December 26, 2016 jumpsalot-2What are the other 24 states you qualify to work in ? http://www.nursetogether.com/list-of-nurse-license-compact-states Arizona Arkansas Colorado Delaware Idaho Iowa Kentucky Maine Maryland Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska New Hampshire New Mexico North Carolina North Dakota Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Virginia Wisconsin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AlanS 1 #9 December 26, 2016 gunsmokexFor those of you that are or have been travel nurses. One of my cousins is a traveling nurse. She has been all over the US and Central America. Her passion is volleyball rather than skydiving, but I suspect her motivation for being a traveling nurse is the same. I can try to get you two in touch if you want. PM me for details. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites