An Introduction to Travel Nursing

I finally did what I came to Las Vegas to do. I finished my first few shifts as a Las Vegas travel nurse. “Become a travel nurse! See the world!,” ahh how exciting. This is how agencies portray travel nursing, when really they could cut the crap and say “Suck it up and deal with your okay nursing job so that you can enjoy the scenery on your days off!” I joke I joke, it’s pretty cool here and I get it…Vegas NEEDS nurses (including myself the ICU was staffed with five nurses last night, and TWO of us were agency).

So far, I’ve only worked in one community hospital, about twenty minutes from the Vegas strip. The hospital is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. The grounds are surrounded by gorgeous palm trees and mountains that make my drive home in the morning a pleasant one (see my latest instagram pic on facebook, yep that’s the view from the third floor). The hospital itself is very clean and stocked with lots of new equipment. Healthcare itself in Nevada is probably behind the times compared to what I’m used to in Philly and the fact that I’ve only ever worked in a teaching hospital kind of rubs that in.

I shouldn’t complain though. Compared to JHN, these patients are cake. I almost want a subarachnoid to show up in the ER and come to ICU just so I can show them what I’m made of. Checking out the stock room, however, I’m not sure if they even have the right equipment to handle one. Of course this is not necessarily a bad thing. This particular hospital is very laid back. Get this- if my patient doesn’t have central access, I don’t have to draw labs. Phlebotomy draws them! After two nights working there, not one patient on the unit has needed a CT scan or MRI. And I actually took a full break – both nights. They have “break teams” there so that when you go on break you have anassigned person to watch your patients. I honestly didn’t know what to do with myself for a full half hour.

I do miss JHN though. The stress of caring for some of the most challenging patients doesn’t seem so bad when surrounded by familiar, friendly faces and helpful coworkers. Don’t get me wrong, all the nurses in this particular Las Vegas facility are super nice. I guess it’s just lacking in that sense of teamwork and family that JHN has gotten me so used to over the years.

Three days/nights a week isn’t bad though. Being a nurse is pretty much the same everywhere. The charting is the toughest thing to get used to.

But on my days off in Vegas, Joe and I get to check out all the really cool stuff both off and on the strip. That’s what we’re here for. So far, we’ve been having a great time (see Joe’s other, way more exciting and entertaining posts)and I’m sure there will be much more fun to come. Hey, maybe you’ll make your way into one of our posts.