Nurses Who Travel – Everything You Should Know
Do you love nursing careers and traveling at the same time? If so, a travel nurse job can be a good option for you. Traveling the world is exciting because you meet new people and patients, and a career in nursing can help you enjoy all that. In this guide, I will take you through what you need to become a travel nurse, travel nurse duties, and the benefits of travel nurse careers.
Who is a Travel Nurse?
Travel nurses are trained professionals who travel to various clinics, hospitals, and health facilities to cater to nursing shortages. They work short-term before being allocated to different places. This could be days, some weeks, or months. Depending on the type of job, travel nurses work within the United States or internationally. As compared to nurses who work permanently in hospitals, travel nurses are employed by an agency for travel nurse.
They are commonly employed to offer services in places stricken by diseases or for instance in the recent COVID-19 pandemic that required more demand for travel nurses. They also fill gaps in places where there are nursing shortages. Travel nursing jobs give you the chance to visit various states and cities which you wouldn’t have done if you had not chosen this career path.

What Duties Does a Travel Nurse Do?
Maybe you are looking forward to becoming a travel nurse. You are probably wondering what kind of responsibilities these nurses offer. Well, travel nurse duties do not differ from the normal duties of a registered nurse. However, travel nurses might have other unique skills or practices to suit their travel requirements. Below are the main key responsibilities of travel nurses.
- Administer medication
- Patient education
- Measuring patient’s temperature and blood pressure
- Monitoring patients conditions
- Working together with healthcare professionals
- Traveling to patient’s homes and schools
- Taking samples and readings
- Doing vaccination drives
- Comforting terminally ill patients and the elderly etc.
Personal Characteristics of a Travel Nurse
It is good to cultivate some personal characteristics to excel well in travel nursing jobs. Here are some personal characteristics that can help you excel well in the job.