I was asked to write a quick post about what makes travel nursing a great career choice for young nurses. Honestly I didn’t know where to start. So, at the risk of pigeon-holing an entire generation, I started looking at what sets the Millennial generation apart. I found way too much research on it, but the common traits all the “experts” tended to agree on were that Millennials:

• Are technologically savvy
• Are optimistic, but practical
• Embrace diversity
• Believe in balance and fun
• Are entrepreneurial
• Are environmentally and socially conscious

After that I took a look at all the benefits and advantages of travel nursing that make it a great fit for Millennial nurses and the strengths that they can contribute to travel nursing and organized them here for you.

Technology savvy

1. Improve your clinical skills – By working in a variety of hospitals travel nurses are able to gain access to a much broader range clinical practices.
2. Learn the latest technology – Staying at one hospital means you will learn one software system and one way of doing it, but when you travel you will be exposed to a wide variety of software, hardware, computer systems and other technology that is available to do your job.
3. Utilize your social networking skills – Travel nursing can be lonely at times, but no group is better equipped to deal with that than young nurses who feel just as comfortable connecting with friends and family on Facebook as they do at a party, maybe even more so.

Optimistic, but practical

1. Help more people – The mere fact that you are a nurse demonstrates a commitment to helping people in your community, but as a travel nurse you will be able to help people in other parts of the country too.
2. More volunteering opportunities – In any local community there are tons of great chances to volunteer for causes you believe in, but when you are traveling it just opens up that many more chances.

Embrace diversity

1. See the country – Even in the current economic conditions there are still needs for nurses all across the country, which means plenty of opportunities for travel nurse to see the nation.
2. Be a tourist – So many people live in their own little world and never see all the great museums, theaters and natural wonders this country has to offer, but as a travel nurse you can easily do that and so much more.
3. Test drive cities you may want to live in – When you are starting out in life there are so many amazing choices of places to live, but the hard part is deciding where. Travel nursing gives you the chance to sample the country for a couple years to see what city is the best fit for you.
4. Experience different cultures – The U.S. is full of diverse cultures that you can never experience fully living in one city, but the opportunity travel nursing offers allows you to immerse yourself in them.
5. Make new friends – One of the toughest parts of leaving a travel nursing job is leaving new friends, but that means that one of the best parts is making them.

Belief in balance and fun

1. Avoid nurse burnout – New nurses have a high burnout rate and can end up leaving the profession, but travel nursing can provide a more positive alternative and can refresh a nurse’s passion.
2. Go mountain climbing – Magazines like Healthcare Traveler that feature travel nurses’ profiles are filled with stories of nurses learning and experiencing things on their travel nursing assignments they never dreamt they would do in their lifetime.
3. Visit friends and relatives – If there is any family or friends you want to be near or have lost touch with over the years, working a travel assignment near them is a great way to spend some time with them and reconnect, plus they can be a great guide and help you avoid loneliness during an assignment.
4. Have a good work-life balance – One of the biggest struggles of perm nurses is finding the time to balance work and family life, but you seldom of hear that problem with travel nurses who are in charge of their own careers and time.
5. Say good-bye to hospital politics – Hospitals have their fair share of gossip, cliques, favorites and drama, which can be tiresome when dealing with the stress of being a nurse on top of it. Travel nursing gives nurses the ability to stay out of this and focus on patient care.

Entrepreneurial

1. You can make more money – According to a recent article in Healthcare Traveler Magazine travel nurses can make up to 30% more annually than a perm nurse. The hourly range commonly seen is anywhere from $30 to $40 depending on the specialty, hospital need and location.
2. Build your resume – Instead of staying in one position for years travel nurses could potentially work in four new hospitals a year and have a decided advantage versus a nurse whose resume who only has one or two positions on their resume over eight years.
3. Be your own boss – Of course you will have a Nurse Manager at a hospital, but as a travel nurse you will have more control over your professional development, hours and days and of course what assignments you take.
4. Work at great hospitals – One of the best ways to move ahead in your career as a nurse is to work at renowned hospitals that take you out of your comfort zone and expand your skills. As a travel nurse you can work at a teaching hospital one assignment and a community hospital the next.
5. Create your nursing brand – Travel nursing offers you the chance to really delve into your specialty and build yourself into an expert.
6. Work less/more – The nature of travel nursing, with its flexible assignments and higher pay, means that with careful planning you can work fewer months in a year and still make as much as perm nurse.

Environmentally and socially conscious

1. Help solve the nursing shortage - Travel nursing is in part a solution to a nationwide nursing shortage that, impacts patient care and puts a lot of stress on the nurses we do have. As a travel nurse you have the chance to do your part in addressing this problem.

As you can tell if you are a young nurse that is serious about your nursing career and meets the basic qualifications of being a travel nurse (been a nurse for at least two years; worked that long in your specialty; and licensed to work in the state you want to travel to) then you are in a unique position to both benefit from a travel nursing career and to contribute your skills, traits and attitudes to it.

To learn more about travel nursing visit TravelNursingBlogs.com.