Working as a journey nurse presents an thrilling alternative for certified Registered Nurses (RNs) to mix a nursing profession with a ardour for journey.

Journey nursing lets you discover the USA whereas incomes comparatively excessive pay. Gaining expertise as an RN makes the transition to journey nursing simpler.

This text covers what a journey nurse does, turn out to be a journey nurse, and the job outlook for these professionals.

What’s a Journey Nurse?

Professionals within the journey nursing profession path dwell and work in a number of cities throughout the USA, filling non permanent and short-term staffing wants in hospitals and different well being and medical settings on a contract foundation. Journey Nurse assignments are sometimes for 13 weeks.

These contract nurses have the identical obligations as everlasting nurses. Along with normal nursing, journey nurses can fill gaps in specialty areas, intensive care models, emergency rooms, working rooms, and pediatrics, amongst different areas.

Function and duty

Journey nurses typically carry out the identical roles and obligations as conventional nurses. These nurses deal with sufferers of all ages and work with medical doctors and different well being professionals to develop plans of care and therapy. Their each day duties usually embody the next:

• Coordinate affected person care
• Analysis, analysis and monitoring of sufferers
• Educate sufferers and their households about well-being, their situations and coverings
• Administration of medicines, remedies and vaccines
• Creating and updating medical information
• Monitoring provides and stock

The duties of journey nurses can range relying on their specialty and the wants of the ability the place they work.

Work setting

Journey nurses work in numerous settings. Their working environments might embody:

• hospitals
• Emergency room
• Pressing care amenities
• Nursing properties and assisted dwelling amenities
• rehabilitation facilities
• Hospice
• Group well being facilities
• Healthcare organizations

The working hours of journey nurses can range vastly relying on their task. Whereas there is no such thing as a “typical” work day for journey nurses, they will count on to work a minimum of three to 4 instances every week in six to 12-hour shifts.

On the whole, journey nurses have extra say over their working hours and may seek for journey assignments primarily based on the times and hours they like to work.

Easy methods to turn out to be a journey nurse

The necessities to turn out to be a journey nurse might range barely by state, staffing company, and hospital or healthcare facility. Nonetheless, there are key {qualifications} that every one journey nurses should have. Beneath you will see an summary of the steps to turn out to be a journey nurse.

Get an schooling

A journey nurse should first turn out to be an RN, which requires a minimum of a bachelor’s diploma in nursing. Nonetheless, most journey nurse businesses and purchasers desire and even require nurses to have a minimum of a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from an accredited program and college. Incomes a BSN diploma sometimes takes 4 years of full-time examine to finish. On common, nursing college students full roughly 120 credit as a part of their program.

Go the NCLEX-RN

To start working towards, all nursing college students should move the Nationwide Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) created by the Nationwide Council of Boards of Nurses. ). As soon as the NRB confirms your eligibility, you’ll obtain a take a look at authorization by e-mail.

Earlier than taking the examination, you should definitely evaluate the NCLEX Bulletin, which presents detailed info on the NCLEX take a look at plan. A wide range of in-person and on-line assets, corresponding to NCLEX follow exams and prep programs, can be found to assist college students create an NCLEX examine plan to move the examination.

You will need to register for the NCLEX examination properly upfront of your scheduled examination date.

Get your RN license

Nurses should be RNs licensed to work as journey nurses. To turn out to be a licensed RN, you will need to earn a bachelor’s diploma in nursing or increased from an accredited establishment, move the NCLEX examination, and meet some other nursing licensure necessities set forth by the state through which you want to follow. You possibly can apply to your RN license six weeks earlier than you graduate out of your nursing program.

The Nationwide Council of State Boards of Nursing created the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) to permit nurses to carry legitimate multistate licenses in NLC collaborating states. This nationally acknowledged settlement permits nurses to work in collaborating states with out having to acquire extra licenses. At the moment, 39 jurisdictions take part within the NLC. Journey nurses who want to work in non-NLC states should apply for particular person RN licenses from these states.

To realize expertise

Hospitals and different well being care settings sometimes desire extremely certified nurses with superior coaching and a minimum of two years of hospital bedside expertise. There’s additionally a excessive demand for nurses with specializations in healthcare areas corresponding to neonatal, pediatric, crucial care, emergency room and trauma. Journey nurses meaning to work in specialised models should have earlier expertise in that specialism.

Discover a staffing company

Staffing businesses assist fill employment gaps by offering nursing placements to hospitals and different medical settings. These businesses work with nurses to slim down employment alternatives primarily based on the wants of nurses.

Staffing businesses sometimes assist safe contracts, providing comparatively excessive salaries and sturdy advantages packages. They usually present their nurse recruiters who match nurses with their very best jobs and placements throughout the nation.

When selecting a staffing company, the next needs to be thought of:

• Compensation, together with common hourly charges, additional time, per diem and bonuses
• Advantages package deal
• housing choices

It is very important analysis completely different staffing businesses to see which package deal and contract choices are most aligned along with your skilled objectives, desired wage and advantages, obtainable journey nursing locations, and help providers, together with office help.

Advantages of journey nursing

Working as a journey nurse can include many incentives, corresponding to increased pay, aggressive benefits, bonuses, sponsored lodging and alternatives to journey.

Increased pay

As a result of journey nurses carry out short-term assignments in understaffed areas, these nurses typically earn greater than employees nurses who’ve the identical {qualifications} and expertise.

Staffing businesses provide aggressive hourly charges, sometimes increased than the hourly charges that employees nurses earn, in addition to bonuses and advantages. In return, journey nurses should have flexibility, a willingness to relocate, or expertise in a specialty space. Journey nurses can also obtain increased pay as a result of they tackle assignments in specialty areas which are troublesome to fill.

Journey nurse salaries range vastly relying on the task, place, contract, and space of ​​specialization. A number of the highest paying journey nursing specialties embody first support, medico-surgical care, and supply and supply.

Perks and bonuses

Along with aggressive pay, journey nurses usually obtain numerous incentives and bonuses. These advantages might embody the next:

• Refunds for journey and licenses
• Backed housing, free non-public lodging or tax-free dwelling wage
• Weekly pay slips
• Well being and dental insurance coverage

Journey nurses usually obtain bonuses on high of their pay and advantages. These might embody hospital, company, retention and referral bonuses; hospitals might provide sign-in and completion bonuses.

Backed housing

Some journey nurse staffing businesses embody lodging stipends within the nurses’ pay to cowl dwelling bills. Companies also can present lodging or select housing choices for his or her journey nurses.

Alternative to journey

Working as a journey nurse presents thrilling alternatives to journey, discover new cities and meet new folks. Journey nurses might tackle assignments in rural, underserved areas or massive cities. Some frequent journey nurse locations embody California, Texas, Massachusetts, Hawai’i, New York, Alaska, Washington, Florida, Virginia, and Illinois.

Journey Nurse Wage and Job Outlook

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics experiences that the median wage for RNs is $77,600 yearly, and demand for these professionals is projected to develop 6% between 2021 and 2031. It is very important notice that these information don’t are particular to journey nurses, however somewhat replicate profession information for all nurses. On the whole, journey nurses are paid greater than employees nurses.

Often Requested Questions (FAQs) on changing into a journey nurse