Housing the Travel Nurse
Travel nurses travel all over the country working in various hospitals and medical facilities for short periods of time before they move onto a different job. Working as a travel nurse lets them see various parts of the country, provides them with an opportunity to gain valuable work experience, and introduces them to new friends. Many travel nurses claim that working as a travel nurse gives them a renewed sense of patient focused nursing.
One concern nurses have when they are considering perusing a career in travel nursing is housing. They want to know where they will live while they are working in an unfamiliar part of the country. They want to know how they are going to be paying for their housing. They also want to know if the housing will be safe and clean.
Normally the agency that the travel nurse works for is responsible for finding the travel nurses housing. They try to make sure that the housing is close to the facility that the travel nurse will be working at. They should make an effort to find housing that is comfortably furnished and is clean. The type of housing that most nursing agencies look for is furnished apartments that are available for a short term lease.
Financing the travel nurse's housing can vary from one agency to the next. Some nursing agencies give the travel nurse a living allowance while other agencies expect the nurses to pay for their housing themselves. Travel nurses need to read their contract carefully so that they will know whether or not they have to add housing into their budget.
Before a travel nurse enters into an agreement with a nursing agency they need to talk to other travel nurses that the agency already employs. Ask the travel nurses if the agency does a good job at locating housing for their nurses. Find out if the housing is normally convenient to the work site. Is the housing normally in a nice neighborhood or do the other travel nurses sometimes fear for their lives when they return to their temporary home. Does the nursing agency find housing that comes with maid service or will the travel nurse have to clean house in addition to their work duties.
Although it is not advisable for travel nurses to bring pets with them because the pets become stressed and disoriented by the constant moving around, if the nurse absolutely cannot live without their dog or cat they are going to have to make sure that their temporary housing allows them to keep pets. Also, if you are traveling with a pet, bear in mind that a majority of the time your new living quarters will be a small one bedroom apartment. The living quarters might be tight if they include you and a large dog.
Before you accept a position as a travel nurse consider the location and what you will require in the way of amenities. If it is summer time and you will be working at a medical facility in the south you will want to make sure that your apartment has a working air conditioner. Winters in the country's northern regions are cold. Make sure your northern housing has heat, also remember that cold winter climates mean you will have to wear extra clothing, including heavy boots and bulky coats, try to request that the nursing agency finds housing that has enough space so will have a place to store your outer garments.
