Working Extra Shifts

Can't sleep and the wi-fi isn't working at the hotel Mary & I are visiting so I sit with at least a decent cup of coffee in the hotel lobby borrowing the guest computer till a few people wake up to press the wi-fi reset button.

Yes, taking a few days off to visit friends for the holidays and that is my subject this morning, taking time off. One of the most frequent questions I am asked about travel nursing is about the pay being as good as what the rumors say?

I suppose if a travel nurse wanted to make great paycheck and work extra shifts each week they would bring home some good money, but that is also true of many other professions. Even a friend who is a truck driver logged in tons of hours a week and bragged about the pay, trouble was he couldn't keep it up and when it was all done and over with, he didn't really have anything to show for it.

Nursing shifts are usually twelve hours long, resulting in three day work weeks, hence four days off. Not bad! Here is the dig though, we have a very stressful profession and need that time off to recoup. In my view, to work extra shifts for any serious length of time will increase the stress on your body and lead to more problems in the long run.

I recall talking to a massage therapist who had all her therapists take a half hour break between clients to rejuvenate and center themselves. A great idea, but totally not practical for nurses, and so those days we have off need to be used to recharge and de-stress ourselves between difficult shifts.

Illness and burnout are usually the results from not heeding this advice, and both can be disastrous for travel nurses. Nothing worse than being hundreds of miles from home and feeling sick, especially if you are new to an area and have no one to help. Burnout though, can ruin a travel career and damages the profession for all of us, as the most memorable experiences staff has with travelers can be the worst ones.

So here is my thoughts on nurses wanting to travel and make big bucks by working extra shifts a week. Stay home! You can work extra shifts where you are locally and share your few moments away from the hospital with loved ones. Perhaps you will see that a few extra dollars aren't worth it, and realize that the overtime money you are making will most likely end up in a vapor that disapears with the next billing statement.