Can I give you some traveller advice from a staff RN?

1)Don't expect to be welcomed warmly. We have to watch you closely.
Many, not the majority, of travellers before you have had personality
defects or they have been addicted to drugs. Remember, these people are
travellers because they are gone before their problems are fully discovered
and staff RNs are more willing to wait out your contract than take on your
problems.

i dont have anything to hide. no discipline on my file in any of my states. never done drugs. i may be addicted to computer games so you may be right there. my only problem i run from is crappy nurses and hospital politics.


2)Don't whine and moan that you float all the time. You are THE TRAVELLER,
it will always be your turn to float.

i dont mind floating esp if you are on my floor. i am glad to go to new areas and learn new things. makes me a better nurse.

3)Do not put your two cents in about old policies, new policies, policy changes.
When you do this, we know it is time to not renew your contract. You are
NOT staff. This tends to happen to travellers who have had a few contracts
at the same place.

then do not ask us things like how have they done it elsewhere? or anything else along them lines. this is part of my avoiding hospital politics.


4)Do not whine that you don't feel good or are working while sick. You chose to be a traveller and knew you could not miss any work or you had to make it up. If you do take time off for illness, etc., do not approach regular staff to ask if you can work that extra shift or ask regular staff to change their schedule so you can "make up" your sick time. Not our problem, you are a traveller by choice. We will just say to ourselves this is another reason NOT to be a traveller.

i dont call out sick i come in to work when i am sick. if i am sick and have to take a day off i understand i have to make it up, which has never been a problem as of yet. i dont have to ask regular staff to make up my extra shift i ask the manager who will then take you off your shift and give me mine.

5) Do not try to brag about what you make. In the late 90s, travellers did make a bit more. Anybody with 5+ years experience in all likelihod make more than you. We will tell you that's great and think it's good they do not know what we make. When you tell us about hour housing allowance, most of us will think how we own homes and our mortgages accrue equity at 2-3x the mortgage we pay. We will tell you that is great, but be thinking that is not a benefit, you do not have anything to show for it (i.e. home that appreciates).

i would love to compare paychecks with you. as of this year i made a mere 19,878 in may and june. (total for year is barely around 90k at this time but it is only august) i have never seen anyone come clost in a hospital make anywhere near what i do, but you can think what you want.
your right i do not have one house i have two do you? i have a house in florida and a house in TN. last i check i pay a mortgage and they accure equity. oh since i make alot more i can pay mine off earlier and not have to worry about things like equity. i seriously doubt that you make 2-3x the amount you pay in your house in equity. that is a whole lesson in economics which i doubt you would understand.

6)Do not refer to the job your working as "my" position. It isn't.

yes it is my job. and my position.

7)Regular staff may benefit from lighter assignments and special perks.
Do not expect these or feel slighted when others get them. You are THE TRAVELLER.

then remeber when i cant help you because i am busier. i would love to cover your lunch but i have my own patients things like that may be heard.

8) Do not complain about your schedule. You are there to fill in the holes. You are not staff.

yes i do fill holes. i normally fill the holes your lazy ass wont work.

9) Do not complain that you have to work 100%. You are a traveller-you have to. Most of us work part-time because we can. We are not travellers.

i may have to work 100% for 13 weeks but i am able to take approx 8 weeks vacation a year how many you have. this year is slow for me i have only had 7 weeks (but like i said its only august)

10)Please do not expect us to remember you--you will be a nameless fuzzy face in our minds.

as you are a fuzzy name to us.

11)Do not tell us a better way to do things. There are many ways to do things. You are a traveller, we will not welcome or appreciate your remarks.

which is why you will never be a good nurse. any nurse can take critisim whether good or not. i listen to stupid staff recomendations and if they ever utter one i tell them thank you.

12)Do not complain about your assignment--you are not going to get a good one most of the time.

if all nurse were like you no i would not get one. thankfully 99.9% of nurse are better then you. in many hospitalsi have been treated better by management/staff then the staff does.

13)Do not complain if you have to float so a regular staff person can pick up an extra shift on their unit. They have priority over you.

do not complain when you have to go home so i can make money.

14)It does not seem that there are as many good reasons to travel now as n the 90s. Now, your agency is making a lot of $$ and you are not. Also, most areas have minimized the use of travellers by paying their own staff better than you, treating them better and giving them better perks than you now have

allyally534- ALL OF US HAVE WORKED WITH NURSES LIKE YOU. YOUR ARE ONE THAT EAT THEIR YOUNG! I WAS WARNED OF YOU 18 YEARS AGO WHEN I FIRST STARTED MY CAREER. I STILL SIDE STEP AND IGNORE THE LIKES OF YOU. YOU GIVE NURSES A BAD NAME. I SAY TO YOU, I HOPE WITH YOUR ATTITDUE YOU WORK SHORT EVERY SHIFT! YOU DESERVE IT.. I CAN ONLY IMAGINE THE CARE YOU GIVE YOUR PATIENTS WITH YOUR BITTER ATTITUDE WITH YOUR OWN. SAD!

I just joined this forum, and read your post.....whew! Boy are you bitter!
I am in my first travel assignment, am 51, my husband and I are together in our RV, sold our home and are having the time of our lives. We don't do drugs, or have a personality defects (other than me going through a mid life crisis and getting a tatoo)..LOL.....I was a staffer for over 9 years, and felt I wanted to see the country before I was too old to be able to do it. We ride motorcycles and this is the perfect way to have a paid vacation. There are a lot of travelers at my facility and most seem to have a good sense of personality and responsibility. Just coming from being a staffer, I think you can get so stuck in a place, you don't simply have the guts to get out. I meet so many staffers here and at my former facility that all they do is complain and are bitter about life and their job. Traveling is a way to get a new perspective and broaden your interests and conversations. As far as drugs, I was drug tested three times prior to coming to my assignment. We're always drug tested a lot, so I can't imagine someone toking away till their next assignment. Do you realize Ms. Allyally, that in order to walk into a facility and nurse effectively you have to have some good skills? There's always a bad apple in the bunch, I agree, but you seem to have a bitter, one sided approach to things. Before you state a lot of travelers have personality defects, you may want to look in the mirror.

Hi! I'm looking into beginning my travel nursing career! I am a new nurse with a little over a years med/surg experience. I am talking to two different companies and trying to decide which route I want to take. If you could give me one piece of advice what would it be?? What do you wish you knew when you first stated traveling?? Is it acceptable to keep my apartment and still travel across the country?? Is the money really worth it...(I only ask that b/c I am in debt upto my eyeballs from college loans ) You all have such knowledge and experience so any advice you can offer would be appreciated! Thanks!