Disadvantages of Travel Nursing

There are disadvantages to being a travel nurse. While there are many advantages and benefits to accepting travel assignments there are some drawbacks. Some of the disadvantages to life as a nursing gypsy are:

Frequent change
The life of a travel nurse is full of change. Every 13-26 weeks on average you change residence, change jobs, you even change friends. You change geography and even the weather. The only thing that remains constant is the fact that you are a nurse doing nursing work. If you are the type of person for whom variety is the spice of life then these frequent changes are easily taken in stride. If you are shy or slow to adapt the constant change can be very stressful.

Long distance banking
These days with the internet and banking deposits that show up almost instantly long distance banking is not quite the negative it used to be. Until your deposits go astray and get put in someone else’s account, your checks bounce and the ATM eats your debit card. Trying to get through to someone on the telephone can be challenging.

Most banks don’t have 24 service manned by their own employees. They use a telephone customer service company who follows set procedures to assist you. And if your problem doesn’t follow the script you get to wait and try to call the main bank during business hours. One way to alleviate this problem is to bank with a large national bank that has branches in every major city. You lose that home town touch but if you are traveling all the time just how often are you really going to see anyone at the bank in person?

Family separation
If you are close to your family and you like to be with them for every birthday and holiday then being a travel nurse will present some challenges. It may not be as easy to be there for your sister’s birthday. The hospital you work at may be expecting you to work on major holidays that fall during your contract. That may be one of the reasons they hired you. Don’t assume you will have Christmas off unless your contract says you do. You can overcome this challenge by planning your assignments to start just after a major holiday or to end just before one. You may be able to trade work schedules with other staff. With a little planning its still possible to enjoy time with family and still be a travel nurse.  In my opinion this is the biggest disadvantage of travel nursing.

Relationship issues
If you have a relationship with someone then travel nursing will put a strain on the relationship. Unless they travel with you anyone you are in a relationship with is going to have to adapt to having a long distance relationship with you. There are unique challenges to all long distance relationships. Everything from spending time together to anniversaries is impacted.

There are some things you can do to make it work. You can call each other almost every day. You can send a romantic email every day or just once a week. With the internet there are internet messaging services such as AIM or Internet Messenger. Skype is an application that combines web-cam and voice over internet protocols to allow you to have real time video calls with your loved ones and families.

Employer challenges
No matter how good a hospital is or well written the contract there will always be challenges with employers. You show up thinking you will be working in the Cardiac Step down unit and they tell you they have decided to put you in the neuro ICU. Or the contract specifies that you will work and get paid for 48 hours per week and the employer tells the agency they only will work you 36 hours per week with no overtime. Adaptability, knowing your own limitations, critical thinking and creativity all will be needed to deal with these types of challenges.

Co-worker resentment
Every assignment a travel nurse takes there will be someone where they work who resents the thought that they might be getting paid less than the travel nurse does. The idea that you deserve to be compensated for being willing to re-locate on a temporary basis and adapt to a new environment for 13 weeks while working night shift, week-ends and holidays doesn’t seem to cross their minds. The fact that if you weren’t there means they would have 5-10 extra patients to care for with no one to help them is a notion that has escaped them.
Being friendly, helpful and courteous will go a long way towards disarming these co-workers who somehow feel they are being slighted. The truth is that you may not be making as much more than they do as they think. If they were to factor in how much their benefits package is worth on top of their regular wages they might be surprised to learn that your salary and theirs is pretty comparable.