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4 min read

Chloe Mumford

Nurse on holiday abroad

Have you been thinking about taking a career break? People often have different ideas of what a career break looks like for them. Unfortunately, not all of us can afford to take 6 months or a year off from working. This is why travel nursing could be the perfect way for you to earn money while taking a break from the daily grind, or even give you something to do while you travel. Here are some reasons why travel nursing may be the perfect career break for you.

Flexibility

Travel nursing provides a lot of flexibility. You can plan breaks in-between assignments or plan assignments around your vacations. The flexibility also allows you to travel to different places during your assignments, with opportunities all around the US and abroad. Travel nursing allows you to work AND explore at the same time, which means you can earn while you travel. Overall, if you want to take a break from your career, travel nursing offers the flexibility to tailor the experience to your priorities, whether that be travelling or just simply taking a step back from your normal day-to-day.

Try something new

Are you feeling like your speciality or role is getting repetitive and want to try something new? Well, you can do that with travel nursing, as you’re able to try out new areas of medicine and patient care with each contract. If you feel stuck in your role, then this is a perfect opportunity to fall back in love with nursing again. Figure out what you enjoy, and the type of environments that you thrive in. Who knows, you may figure out that another speciality is perfect for you. It allows you to build on your professional experience and explore your career options.

Additionally, you can try new locations. If you’ve always wanted to move to New York to live the fast-paced lifestyle, or live in California to enjoy a more laid back lifestyle with more sun, then use temporary contracts to give it a go. Covid-19 gave us all a new stance on the work-life balance, and travel nursing provides you with the opportunity to explore how you want to work and live as a nurse.

Keep nursing qualifications active and up to date

If you’re a qualified nurse or midwife then you must meet practice hours requirements in order to remain on the NMC register. Travel nursing allows you to do this. By doing a couple of travel nurse assignments it prevents you from needing to reregister to the NMC if you failed to meet the requirements. Therefore, you don’t need to worry about re-qualifying for your nursing status.

Earn money while on break

Travelling can be expensive, and often people need to do small jobs during their traveling to fund it. This is the perfect way to make money during your career break. It allows you go out and explore, while earning money to fund it.

Travel nursing can be a well-paid gig and often pays more than a standard nursing role. Different states pay different amounts, so if you take an assignment in a state like New York where they have one of the highest travel nursing pay rates, then you can earn a lot in a short period of time. One assignment could fund a long-term vacation or break. Therefore, travel nursing can ease your financial worries during your career break.

Final thoughts

Travel nursing allows you to earn money, but also have all the experiences you want during your break. It is a flexible option, which means you can tailor your job around your priorities and it allows you to travel, while keeping your qualifications active. Use travel nursing to find out what you want out of your nursing career by trying new things, getting out of your comfort zone and meeting new people.

Chloe Mumford

Chloe Mumford

Author

Chloe Mumford is a content writer and researcher for Talent 4 Health. She has a BSc in Sociology, and enjoys writing about travel and the healthcare industry. She can be reached via LinkedIn.