Travel and Medicine: Tourist E.R. Nurse

Travel and Medicine: Tourist E.R. NurseAs an emergency room nurse (E.R. nurse), theopportunity to work in different settingsincluding urgent care centers and emergencydepartments are always present. A career as an E.R.nurse provides the excitement and adrenaline rushfor registered nurses looking for action packedscenes inside the hospital.Emergency room nurses are very much in demand andthere are numerous ER nurse jobs available in

different settings. It may even allow ER nursesto travel to exciting locations.Emergency nurses would get an average salary (asof June 2008) according to www.nursezone.com is$59,227. A travelling ER nurse can expect to makeat least as much or more every year includinghousing, insurance and other benefit due to thehigh need of their expertise and skills andunderstaffed facilities.Travel nursing was developed in response to thenursing shortage. With travel nursing, nurses arerelocated for short term nursing positions.Travel nurses are offering incentives rangingfrom relocation assistance and furnished housingto stipends and bonuses to qualified registerednurses and health professionals.But there are additional costs of being atraveller. Costs would included additionallicensing costs and travelling costs. These costs

can be reimbursed based on the company, recruiterand of course, your negotiation skills.Nurses often dream of combining their medicalgrowth and seeing the world. But a nurse shouldalways be prepared. A successful travellerrequires good financial planning, a flexibleoutlook, knowing what companies and recruiters todeal with and how to negotiate.Of course, salary for travel nurses widely varies.Salary is based on the location, need of thehospital or the nursing unit. Perceived staffingneeds by the unit manager and still, on theability of the traveller to negotiate. Generally,areas in the southern United States pay less thanareas in the north or west. Housing costs can alsohave an impact on the salary as well, sincehousing can be part of the benefits a travel nursewill receive. In terms of picking out the locationan E.R. nurse wants to practice her profession,she would need to consider the process of applying

a nursing license in the state to be assigned.Currently, 17 states belong the Nursing LicensureCompact. With this Compact, a nurse who is underany of these 17 states may practice in otherstates. They would have to follow the laws andregulations of the state in which they arepracticing.A travelling E.R. nurse is can have a staffposition which is frequently in critical caresettings. Many jobs or positions available as atravel nurse would be in critical care. It is alsoessential for a registered nurse who wants to betravel nurse to possess background in criticalcare. Adaptability, flexibility and capable ofeasily making friends are also somecharacteristics present in a travelling E.R.nurse.Some drawbacks in being a travelling E.R. nurseis that there is often little or no time to get

oriented at the new location and moving from placeto place every three months (average). Issues inobtaining licensure and paying taxes are alsosome major drawbacks in this profession.A travelling E.R. nurse with this kind ofprofession would have the chance to meet newpeople. She would even have the chance to growpersonally and professionally since exposure todifferent working conditions is inevitable. Thisopportunity provides a venue for E.R. nurses toexperience different facilities and enhancetheir medical knowledge at the same travel aroundthe country, even the world! It is the best of bothworlds.