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After more than 20 years of working as a nurse and raising her family with her husband, Brenda Butler was ready for more adventures. She had heard about travel nursing from her coworkers and began researching agencies in 2007, finally taking an assignment with RNnetwork that year.
“RNnetwork had everything I wanted: good insurance, fabulous benefits and recruiters who take good care of me,” Brenda recalls. “It’s wonderful knowing somebody has my back and I’m not doing this on my own.”
A family affair
An ER nurse from Missouri, Brenda says she had friends who began working as travelers once they retired — but she didn’t want to wait that long. Once their children were in college, Brenda, her husband, Steve, and their dog, Max, began hitting the road together.
“Steve is a travel CT scan tech, so we can’t always be together, but he’ll sometimes finish up an assignment and join me where I’m currently working,” Brenda expresses. “We both get to see different things and visit so many places. I’ve been to the Grand Canyon three times, learned to kayak, and even went to New York to see a Broadway play. Steve will ask, ‘What’s on your bucket list?’ and we’ll cross something off.”
Fishing and friendship
Though she’s worked in Arkansas, Arizona, Mississippi, Florida and Missouri as a travel nurse, Brenda says her favorite assignment was in Ontario, Oregon, where she fished in the Snake River, stayed in an RV with her husband and explored McCall, Idaho, and other cities along the Idaho/Oregon border. She loves meeting new patients and making them smile and laugh, especially in stressful ER situations.
“The different hospitals I’ve worked at have been very receptive to travelers and thankful for additional help, and I want to be an asset to them,” Brenda expresses. “I help them keep staffing where it needs to be, and I’ve met wonderful people who are now longtime friends I still talk to.”
Speaking up for yourself
Brenda recommends new travel nurses ask a lot of questions, especially about the nurse/patient ratio and shift requirements, before accepting a job.
“During my first interview, I was terrified because I wasn’t sure what they’d ask and what I was allowed to ask,” Brenda remembers. “It’s better to know what to expect and not have surprises at the facility once you get there.”
Making future plans
When she’s not walking and hiking 2.5 miles every day with Max on her current assignment in Missouri, Brenda is planning her next adventure — though it may be hard to top a Jeep tour on the bottom of the Grand Canyon and an anniversary celebration with Steve in Key West, Florida.
“We’ve been able to explore so much on my assignments, and I talk about RNnetwork to everybody I know,” Brenda says. “It’s rewarding to hear a manager at a facility tell you he hopes they get more travelers like you. You know you’ve been an asset.”
Want to learn more about travel nursing? Check out traveler John Pnaife’s spotlight.
