How to Become a Travel Nurse: A Step-By-Step Guide

You can do so much with a nursing degree, with a wide range of work settings and specializations available. There is no career where that is truer than that of travel nursing. What exactly is travel nursing?

Travel nurses complete temporary assignments at hospitals around the country. They can take on contracts in places they want to visit while helping hospitals with a staffing shortage. Sometimes, hospitals and other healthcare organizations contract with a travel nurse if they need someone with an uncommon specialty.

As a result, travel nurses can explore the nation while broadening their nursing skills by working at hospitals of all types, from rural facilities to urban trauma centers.

In this article, we’ll examine how to become a travel nurse, determine whether travel nursing is right for you and discuss the qualifications.

1. Meet the Travel Nurse Requirements

Becoming a travel nurse won’t happen overnight. You’ll have to work toward this career, starting with fulfilling the education requirements. How long does it take to become a travel nurse? It varies. Earning a nursing degree can take as few as 16 months or as long as four years, depending on your prior educational background. Then, you’ll need to pass the licensure exam and gain at least a couple of years of clinical experience.

Here’s a look at how to be a travel nurse:

Earn a BSN

The first step toward becoming a travel nurse is to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). If you’re ready to get out and start exploring the world as a nurse, chances are you don’t want to spend two to four years earning a BSN in a traditional nursing program. At Xavier University, our Accelerated BSN (ABSN) program leverages your previous education and prepares you to graduate in as few as 16 months.

Pass the NCLEX-RN

After earning your BSN, the next step is to take the NCLEX licensing exam, which is required to work as an RN. Your coursework, labs and clinicals at Xavier’s ABSN program will prepare you to sit for the NCLEX. It’s also important to devote plenty of time to studying for it, however.

Obtain Licensure and Certifications

If you already know you want to be a travel nurse, you’ll want to apply for a multistate license. A standard, state-issued nursing license allows you to practice only in the state where it was issued. On the other hand, a multistate license enables you to work in any state that is part of the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC). Not all states are part of the Nursing Compact. Only states that are part of the compact issue multistate licenses and allow nurses with a compact license to work without applying for licensure for the state specific Board of Nursing.

Working nurses with a single-state nursing license can apply for a license by endorsement. However, new graduates can apply for a multistate license by exam. That means when you apply for the NCLEX, you’ll indicate you wish to obtain a multistate license. When you pass the NCLEX, you’ll be eligible to receive your multistate license.

2. Gain Relevant Nursing Experience

You’ll need to gain work experience before pursuing your first travel nurse position. Travel nurse agencies generally prefer to work with nurses with at least a few years of clinical experience.

This time will teach you how a hospital runs smoothly, allow you to adapt to best practices and help you settle into your role comfortably. Think of it as building a foundation you can draw from when you begin taking on travel contracts and blending into a new team. This is your time to hone your nursing skills and adjust to life as a working nurse.

When looking for your first nursing job, try to find one that offers you the opportunity to use a broad range of nursing skills and further develop critical thinking, clinical reasoning, time management and prioritization. These are essential to any nursing specialty, and having these skills will enable you to transition into other practice areas.

3. Research and Choose a Travel Nursing Agency

After gaining experience working in the field for a few years, you’ll be ready to build your travel nursing career. It all starts with finding a travel nursing agency — or agencies — to work with. Travel nurse requirements vary from agency to agency, so ensure you meet them before contacting an agency. In addition, be sure you fully understand the terms and conditions before signing any paperwork and see if you can talk with any nurses currently working with that agency.

At this point, you should have several documents compiled and ready to go. The typical paperwork required to work with an agency includes:

• Updated CV or resume
• Tuberculosis skin test results
• Medical immunization records
• Digital copies of your multistate nursing license and certifications

You’ll then work with your recruiter to identify and choose from a list of available positions, ensuring you meet the travel nurse qualifications for that role, and then go through the application process. The application process is much like applying for any other new job. You’ll submit your application, CV and other requested documents, have a virtual interview and wait to hear back. It’s important to carefully review all paperwork associated with a job before committing to taking it.

4. Prepare for the Travel Nursing Lifestyle

It’s a good idea to thoroughly explore the travel nursing lifestyle before deciding if it’s your best choice. If you encounter a travel nurse at work, ask them about it. Like every career choice, travel nursing has challenges, such as:

• The frequent job hunt
• Finding housing in each new location
• Managing tax payments or issues
• Maintaining social relationships

All of these potential challenges have solutions. For example, if you’re worried about changing jobs frequently, tell your recruiter you’re interested in longer-term assignments. Travel nurse agencies also connect nurses to short-term housing or provide them with stipends. Tax issues can be solved by turning to a certified public accountant (CPA) for help.

Being away from family can be a tough challenge to solve. However, many travel nurses take long breaks between assignments, during which you could enjoy lots of quality time with your family and friends.

5. Maximize Your Earning Potential as a Travel Nurse

Travel nurses can earn a good living. Ways to maximize your earning potential can include:

• Look for long-term contracts to increase the amount of time you’re working.
• Choose a high-paying nursing specialty.
• Begin looking for your next job before the current one ends to decrease the time between contracts.
• Pursue graduate-level nursing education and obtain additional certifications.

6. Continue Professional Development and Career Growth

Like all nurses, travel nurses have the potential to pursue career advancement. You can increase your job opportunities by obtaining a graduate degree, which may include becoming an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) or gaining additional leadership, education, or nursing skills. Opportunities include becoming a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA), nurse practitioner (NP), forensics nurse, certified nurse midwife (CNM), or clinical nurse specialist (CNS).

How to Know If Travel Nursing Is Right for You

Travel nursing isn’t for everyone. While the idea of traveling to new places is exciting, some nuances of the profession can be challenging, depending on your personality. Travel nursing may be a good fit for you if you are:

• A self-starter
• Determined, with an adventurous spirit
• Comfortable with moving around a lot
• Flexible

Let’s take a more in-depth look at how these traits complement a career as a travel nurse.

Flexibility With Job Requirements

Travel nurses need to be flexible concerning location, shift and pay sometimes. Jobs need to start soon after one another to maximize annual pay. Your job selection will be limited to what’s available when you’re changing jobs. As a result, your most desired location might not be available. Some flexibility is required to succeed as a travel nurse. That said, you can find great people, hospitals, culture or natural beauty in unexpected destinations.

Self-Starter on the Job

One of the byproducts of changing jobs so frequently is that travel nurses must acclimate to new hospitals more often than average. Travel nurses receive an orientation to the unit each time they arrive at a new hospital; however, hospital orientations for travel nurses vary from hospital to hospital, some being more comprehensive than others.

In all cases, travel nurses must take some initiative. They must acclimate to finding their way around the unit and supply rooms, discovering how to handle time reporting or figuring out the hospital’s scheduling system independently. For all these reasons, being a self-starter helps make travel nursing a much more enjoyable experience.

Living on the Road

Speaking of enjoying the experience, the “travel” part of travel nursing is perhaps the most attractive part of the career. They get to visit some of the most beautiful locations on earth and get paid while they do it.

That said, it’s essential to consider all aspects of living on the road. Travel nursing requires a certain level of independence. Getting homesick, lonely or bored can be easy when constantly moving to a new location.

Luckily, the staff at many hospitals welcome travelers and often include travel nurses in outside activities. Additionally, seeking out other travel healthcare professionals and partnering up for activities can be all it takes to enjoy your experience.

How to Become a Travel Nurse at Xavier

Xavier University welcomes future nurses to learn more about earning their nursing degree in Ohio. If you have a non-nursing bachelor’s degree and are considering a career as a travel nurse, our 16-month ABSN program with locations in Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland might be right for you. If you have some college credit and are considering a degree in nursing, Xavier has a program for you as well that is available at all of our locations; the length of the program will depend on the number of credits you’ve already earned that will apply to a nursing degree.

Contact our admissions team to get started on your journey to become a nurse today.