Traveling Nurse Q & A
This week on our Travelers Tuesday social media video series, we sat down with Katie Shehan, RN, one of our travelers who shared what it’s really like to become a travelling professional with Voyage and advice she has for anyone who’s considering making the move. Enjoy!
View our full interview with Katie here.
Where are you from, Katie, and what inspired you to become a traveling health professional?
I’m from Plainview, Minnesota, and was doing a few different forms of job hunting when I came across a post of Facebook from Voyage that had Colorado tagged. I was avidly hunting for a Colorado contract. Colorado has just always been a state that I’ve dreamed about living in. I came here on a ski trip with my sister six, seven years ago. And ever since then, I always knew that this was a place I eventually wanted to be and just seemed like a good time to do it.
What are your first impressions of being a travel nurse?
Travel nursing, it involves a lot of flexibility. You really have to be open to going wherever and as many shifts as you possibly can. It opens up so many more doors for you as far as your pay scale, getting the shifts that you want, being in the areas that you want. All of it kind of comes together if you’re very open.
Originally, I was on day shift before I even started travel nursing. I loved the hustle and bustle, the learning opportunities and the support from being on days. My last contract was for night shift and I absolutely fell in love with it. I was able to get a block schedule so it was really easy to get my sleeping routine on-point and it was great having that set schedule.
Where are you working now?
I’m in Grand Junction, Colorado, in the mountains, right next to Glenwood Springs. The contract I have now is in a medical surgical unit, which is lower acuity. Then, you go to an intermediate unit and then you go to ICU level, which is where I was at. I was able to get into a medical surgical unit because my willingness to float, my willingness to pick up where I’m needed, and my adaptability.
What advice do you have for other nurses, CNAs or LPNs considering a career as a travelling health professional?
I say do it because now is the time to do it. You have to enjoy your life and if you’re wondering if you want to do it or wouldn’t want to do it, just do it. That’s how I got into it. I jumped, and somebody was like, “Yeah, I’m doing this.” And I was like, “I’ll do it with you.” And I don’t regret a single thing. It’s been one of the best experiences. I’ve met so many great people. I’ve seen so many great places.
Interesting in starting a new career as a travelling health professional? With Voyage Healthcare, you have a team in your corner. We’ll help simplify the process, from signing to starting. Learn more about how we help travel nurses find the careers of their dreams at https://www.voyagesolutions.com/job-seekers/.