Travel nursing provides nurses a way to practice their profession while getting the benefits that they need to stay motivated at work. According to a 2023 study conducted by MIT Sloan Management Review, travel nurses or nurses who work for staffing agencies are, on average, more satisfied at work than other nurses. This fact is especially important in a post-Covid-19 nursing landscape.
The global pandemic has intensified grave burnout and stress in the entire nursing workforce, not just in the US but all over the world. This has and will continue to result in higher turnover rates — by 2030, it’s expected that the industry will need a whopping one million nurses. At the height of the pandemic, around 100,000 registered nurses left the profession. In 2021, the average nursing turnover rate in the US was 27.1%, and 22.5% in 2022, according to the NSI National Health Care Retention & RN Staffing Report.
A few of the main reasons why nurses leave their jobs are inadequate pay and benefits, burnout, and stressful work environments. And a shortage in nursing professionals is directly related to a decline in patient care, including increased mortality, length of hospital stay, and medication errors. With travel nursing, more nurses are able to avoid burnout while staying fulfilled at work — a true win-win situation.
This article discusses the top three benefits of being a travel nurse and explores the reasons why travel nurses are generally more fulfilled at work.
Flexible work schedules
Inflexible work schedules are associated with poor mental health among nurses. One of the many benefits of travel nursing is that nurses can choose where and when they want to work, allowing them to control their schedules.
A 2020 study showed that nurses who had more control over their schedules had better sleep duration and quality, which directly correlated with higher job satisfaction, lower turnover rates, and better patient care.
Travel nurses can create their work schedules around what works best for their personal lives, including fulfilling their personal travel goals, doing their passion projects, and spending quality time with friends and family. They can choose to work and travel to different states for several months and take enough time off for personal pursuits, something that is difficult to do as staff nurses.
Better pay
In contrast to staff nurses who typically get paid a salary that’s based on their education and experience and get pay increases after a set timeframe, travel nurses get paid depending on different factors, including their specialties, the states they’ll be assigned to work, their shifts, and their experience or education levels. In the middle of the pandemic, when nurses were in very high demand, travel nursing rates reached a peak of about US$4,000 per week. In 2023, weekly salaries have stabilized at US$3,000 per week.
On top of higher pay, travel nurses also enjoy a variety of bonuses and benefits, such as housing and travel reimbursements, health, vision, dental, 401K, and depending on state laws, even paid sick leave.
Resume, skills, and network expansion
Because travel nurses have a say in the work assignments they get, they can choose to work in a variety of healthcare settings, from hospitals to specialty clinics. This can help nurses build their resumes and enhance their clinical and interpersonal skills in a short period. Different facilities also use different tools, systems, and processes, and travel nurses can be exposed to and learn these, giving them a unique edge.
Working in different facilities can also expand a travel nurse’s professional and personal network. Aside from meeting and working with more professionals who can help them with work tasks, they can also find friends at work who can provide emotional support when things get stressful.
