Having someone by your side when you travel to a new state, hospital, or both, can make a huge difference in your experience. Travel nursing with a friend can help you feel less lonely, save money, and be more excited about your assignment. However, you might also get on each other’s nerves and potentially limit your options. So, how do you travel together successfully?
Be transparent with your recruiter
Let your recruiter know that you plan on traveling with a friend so they can ensure a smooth and enjoyable process from the very beginning. Inform your recruiter about things such as, who needs to be contacted about jobs, if just one person can make final decisions, and who will be the main point of contact. Furthermore, sharing both of your schedules with your recruiter can help them coordinate interviews and other items easier. Understanding the situation can help your recruiter quickly find the best assignment for you both.
Be flexible with your travel assignment
Since traveling together can limit your assignment options, it’s important to be flexible and open to solutions and ideas. For example, if finding an assignment in the same hospital is becoming difficult, consider working at different facilities that are near each other. You can also increase your assignment options by having a more open schedule. Do you and your friend need to work all of the exact shifts? Probably not. And to be honest, it might be nice to have a few days by yourself!
Set travel expectations with your friend
Before you travel together, make sure you’re on the same page about your trip. For example, do you plan on doing all your exploring together, or are you fine to do things on your own? If one person expects to spend 24/7 with their travel buddy, and the other expects a more, “roommate relationship,” 13 weeks can easily feel like eternity. It’s best to establish what you need from your partner early on, including things like finances, transportation, and housing, so you can have a fun and easy experience.
Keep each other accountable
Help keep each other accountable for all credentialing requirements by checking in with each other, or even doing some of the items together. Remember, in order to start together, you’ll both have to have everything up-to-date, completed, and submitted.
But, before you decide to go all-in on an assignment together, here are a few things to consider:
You might get on each other’s nerves
Spending time with friends can be so much fun. However, spending too much time with the same friend might not be so great. After a while, it’s easy to start getting on each other’s nerves. An easy way to avoid this is by being honest about needing time and space away from your friend. And don’t forget, you can also hang out with other friends you make while on assignment!
You might compete over assignments
Landing travel nurse assignments can be competitive. So if you and your friend have a similar specialty, you could easily find yourselves being each other’s top competition. If you’re worried about competing over the same jobs, then think about traveling with a friend who works in a different department.
When done right, traveling with a friend can make travel nursing an even more enjoyable experience. Use these tips to make your adventure together as successful as possible.
Get paid to travel with your friends! Refer a nurse to work with Ethos, and you’ll both get a $600 bonus! For more information, contact us. Call 1-877-ETHOS-RN or email recruiters@ethosmedicalstaffing.com
