Day in the Life of a Traveling Nurse

By Jesse Kesler

Depending on the assignment a traveling nurse accepts her day can be filled with the chaos and drama of a busy emergency room or the hustle and bustle of a med-surg floor. The choice of course as to what assignment a traveling nurse will be doing is up to the traveling nurse themselves!

Let's follow along and see what a day on the med-surg floor might be like. While this is a fictionalized account it is drawn heavily on the author's personal experiences!

0630 - You arrives at work eager to face the day and overcome all the challenges of the day ahead.

0645 - Our nurse, having seen the assignment the charge nurse has assigned her (or him) has decided that "someone up there doesn't like me" . The assignment looks like it's going to be busy, complex and challenging. It's 14 patients and the "team" is one RN, an LPN and a CNA. The charge nurse tells you that's the best they can do because a) they are short handed and b) 5 of your patients should be discharged today. 0700-0730 Report is over. The travel nurse hits the floor running. Coordination with the CNA and the LPN ensues. The LPN agrees to pass meds (except for the ones that only an RN can do). The CNA will do the initial shift vital signs and start making a bath list.

0730-0930 The next couple of hours pass in a blur as the nurse performs 14 assessments, assists the LPN with meds, Assesses a potentially high blood pressure the CNA alerted her to, and attempts to chart all the assessments in the computer before a crisis can show up and really derail the day.

0935-1030 the charge nurse informs you that a fresh post op surgery is on the way and did you know that Dr Schnelling had discharged Mrs Myopia in room 211?

You prioritize quickly and have the CNA go make sure Mrs Myopia has a ride on the way and doesn't need help getting dressed. You have the LPN check the room the post-op will be in to ensure there is a vital sign machine, oxygen and suction available. As well as a bed! You sit down and quickly prepare the discharge instructions and paperwork for Mrs M. You quickly do the discharge teaching before the surgery arrives.

1030-1100 You and the LPN double team the fresh surgery drop off and get report from the PACU nurse. The surgery went well and the dressing looks clean, dry and intact. The vital signs look good and g nurse starts thinking about sending the LPN to lunch. The charge nurse graciously (or not) agrees to cover your group while you go to lunch after the LPN.

1130 - the CNA disappears for her lunch break just as 4 call lights all go off simultaneously. You stop trying to chart the post-op assessment and work at trying to see what all 4 patients need.

1200 -the LPN and the CNA are both back from lunch and your team has managed to get 2 more patients discharged. The charge nurse informs you that you will have to wait until after 1300 to take lunch. You quietly quell any thoughts of cannibalism or mayhem and decide to wait patiently while catching up on medication passes, dressing changes, assist the CNA with a bath, and think about charting.

1400 -You finally get to go to lunch and discover that the lunch room at your new assignment runs out of the "good entrees" about 1330. You settle for a tuna salad sandwich that doesn't look too old and a bag of doritos plus a diet coke and quietly chuckle to yourself about the bag of junk food and diet soda.

1430-1900 - the rest of the shift passes in a blur as you, the LPN and the CNA all wonder why they don't issue roller skates to nursing staff? The meds are all passed. You and the LPN pray that you didn't miss anything significant or accidently give someone the wrong medication. You tally it up and realize that you started with 14 patients, discharged 5, did direct admits on 3 and received 3 surgeries. The end of the day tally is 15.

1900-1930 - you give report to the oncoming shift, laughing with the group as you all realize that half the night shift is traveling nurses including the charge nurse because he has been here for over a year as a travel nurse, double check to make sure you accomplished all the major tasks, ask forgiveness for the ones forgotten and head to the apartment the travel agency has arranged for you to live in for the next 13 weeks.

2100 - you fall into bed and wonder if you should start looking for the next assignment in the life of a traveling nurse.