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Karen Leitnaker was working at a small hospital in her home state of Tennessee when she realized her patient was her former next-door neighbor — and that patient needed help quickly.
“I walked into the room and was able to call a code,” Karen recalls. “We brought her back and helped her live for another year or two. Her son later told my grandfather at her funeral that he always appreciated what I did for his mom, and I felt like I made a difference.”
Finding your calling as a nurse
While the chance to save her neighbor’s life stands out as a memorable nursing experience to Karen, she didn’t always know she wanted to become a nurse. In fact, it wasn’t until she joined the Army that she realized what she was meant to do.
“I was a ‘professional student.’ I wanted to be an ambassador in a foreign country, then I wanted to be an elementary teacher, and then I wanted to be an accountant,” Karen says. “When I joined the military and went to medic school, I absolutely loved it and said, ‘I’m going to be a nurse.'”
Serving women and children in Iraq as a medic
As fate would have it, Karen was deployed to Iraq as an Army medic the month after she finished nursing school and quickly had to put her skills to the test.
“Because men are not allowed to touch women of the faith in Iraq, the two female nurses (including me) were the only ones able to treat women and kids at a women’s clinic there,” Karen remembers. “I went on several humanitarian missions and had more freedoms to care for patients than I do even now as an ER nurse.”
When she returned from Iraq, travel nursing jobs seemed to be the next step.
Exploring the country as a travel nurse
“I’ve always loved to travel, and I decided that it was time to start seeing places and making money as I’m vacationing,” Karen says. “Traveling has improved my clinical skills because I have to learn new policies and techniques. It opens your mind to new ways of doing things.”
Karen recommends new travel nurses ask about the type of facility, patient ratios and size of the city and the surrounding area before deciding on an assignment. She also suggests asking lots of questions once you’re on assignment.
“The secret to getting along with the other doctors or other nurses is being open to how they do things there,” Karen expresses. “Be friendly and helpful, and be open to new possibilities and ways of thinking.”
Karen was one of eight nurses who attended our recent nurse panel. Check out her video to see what she likes best about travel nursing, and browse our open travel nursing jobs as well.
