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“You need to go in with an open mind. You can’t go into a facility and just say, ‘This is how I did it at my last place, so that’s how I’m doing it here.’ You have to be approachable, and you can’t have a negative attitude.”
That’s the advice Amanda Sweitzer, a travel nurse from Pennsylvania, offers those taking their first travel nursing jobs. She recommends talking to the staff and asking lots of questions, especially if you’re unfamiliar with a procedure or the facility itself.
“It’s important to ask for help, because no nurse knows everything. I think as a traveler you are more respected if you ask for help and ask questions,” Amanda says. “People are more willing to help you and say, “OK, this is a good person. I’ll help her and she’ll help me back.'”
Amanda notes that she’s had to break down a few misconceptions about travel nursing since she started.
“My mom was really mad because all of her children live in the same town as her — and I’m the only girl in the family — and I was going to be the one to go away,” she recalls. “She said, ‘Who would want to hire somebody for three months at a time?’ My mom didn’t understand the concept that you can actually get a job every three months. I’m proving her wrong, and I’m being successful.”
Her success has spurred a few friends to join her on the journey as well.
“When I told my boss I was leaving to start traveling, she said, ‘Please don’t take anybody with you.’ I laughed at the time,” Amanda recalls. “Then, within six months, four more people left to travel and my boss was cursing me forever. Friends who visited would say, ‘Why am I going to the same place to work every day when I could be moving around the country and exploring and learning new things?'”
Get more of Amanda’s tips for new travel nurses in her video below!
Amanda was one of eight nurses who attended our recent nurse panel. Check out her spotlight for more details on her experiences with RNnetwork.
