Do you love traveling and meeting people of different cultures and traditions? Do you love helping needy patients situated miles away from your residence? If you’re an adventurous nursing professional then psychiatric travel nursing jobs will offer you exciting opportunities to live your dreams.
Nursing is one of the most rewarding and in demand careers in the medical industry in the US. It is diversified into many specializations and is a recognized profession in the health care sector. Becoming a well qualified Registered Nursing (RN) professional is considered to be the beginning of an illustrious career in the medical field. If you have a notion that nursing jobs are only about white uniforms and long hours of work in hospitals, then you’re only partially true.
The past couple of years have seen a tremendous growth in the field of travel nursing jobs, that are a relatively newer addition in the immensely diversified nursing career. So all those aspirants who have been dreaming of a career in medicine can consider the profession of travel nursing as a rewarding and lucrative career option.
Who Exactly is a Travel Nurse?
A travel nurse practitioner is a qualified, trained and licensed medical professional who travels all across the United States or even in foreign countries, as a part of medical assignments in several hospitals and medical clinics. Travel nurses are just like the registered nurses (RNs) except that they have to travel abroad or in other countries as per the demands of the employer.
Why There is a Need of Travel Nurses?
The concept of traveling nursing profession hasn’t evolved overnight. It is a dire need that has been recognized by the medical fraternity in the recent years. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported in its article on April 1, 2011 that nearly 2,83,000 jobs were added in the medical sector in 2010 despite significant job losses in other sectors due to the harsh effects of 2009 recession. It also stated that the health care economy will continue to grow in the coming years. This directly points to the fact that there is acute shortage of trained and qualified medical professionals in several health care departments in the US.
Further, if you go through the April 2011 updated factsheet of The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) on their official website, you’ll find out that the shortage of trained nurses in US has become a cause of concern for the medical industry. To meet the requirements of nurses all across the US, the field of travel nursing has grown significantly in the recent years. Isn’t it a fascinating idea to get the job done? You’re recruited for few weeks; you do your job and then you fly off to a new destination, to help other people.
Why Should Anyone Think of a Traveling Nurse Career?
- Opportunity to travel in every nook and corner of the country.
- Limitless possibilities to meet new people, make friends and help patients recover.
- Explore different types of job set ups in medicine field in several states.
- Lucrative salaries as per the market standards besides added bonuses, travel reimbursements and health insurance.
- Help other hospitals and healthcare clinics in need of medical staff.
- No monotonicity in work as one gets opportunity to switch over from one assignments to the next, traveling, exploring and enjoying.
Duties Entailed in Psychiatric Travel Nursing Jobs
If you enter in the specific field of psychiatric travel nursing, then you’ll be expected to take care of patients struggling with variety of mental disorders. The number of people suffering from wide range of psychiatric problems such as depression, bipolar disorder and psychosis has shot up in the last decade. As psychiatric travel nurses, you’ll look after administering medications to patients and often help them in daily chores of eating, bathing and dressing. You’ll also monitor the treatment effects on the patient and make a note of improvements in the health condition of the patient. You’ll work in consultation with the expert doctor to help patients regain their normal health conditions.
Requirements to Become a Psychiatric Travel Nurse
To enter in travel nursing jobs, nurses must have at least one year experience in their interest area. Psychiatric nurses hence must have one year experience in a chosen psychological specialty. Before that, one must take a bachelor’s degree in nursing from any accredited nursing school and must also get trained in psychiatric nursing practices. Passing the National Council Licensure Examination of Registered Nurse to obtain licenses is mandatory.
Psychiatric travel nurses needn’t worry about licenses in the states they will be expected to travel. The employer ensures that the travel nurses are able to get licenses for professionally working in the respective state. So if you’re expected to travel to NY for a four weeks assignment but you don’t have the license to work in NY, your employer will ensure that you get it for the stipulated period. The employer even bears the expenses incurred in getting the license approved.
Students and aspirants who love to explore different facets of national and international work culture, for them, these jobs can be fascinating. Moreover, salaries of travel nurses are higher, there are bonuses and several benefits from the employer’s side. You can be on a medical assignment for one week to a month or for even two years (if it is in any other country). So, if you have that adventurous nurse heart to travel around the world and heal people, this profession has its doors open for you.