A travel nurse is a registered nurse who works in short-term positions at hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities across the world to fill staffing gaps in areas with nursing shortages. They use the nursing process of assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation to care for patients in a variety of settings [1].
Travel nurses are employed by an independent staffing agency, and can travel to different states or even countries to work temporarily in hospitals that require additional staff [3]. They can provide specialized treatment and support, respond to medical emergencies and evaluate patients' progress [6]. Travel nurses can help in staffing issues or fill temporary gaps caused by vacations, leaves, or nurse hiring by another facility. Some travel nurses work at local understaffed hospitals, while others work at different locations [7].
Travel nursing can offer a high average salary due to the high demand for nurses in shortage areas [4]. Travel nurses are not limited to specific specialties and can work in various units, such as NICU, medical-surgical unit and more [5]. Additionally, travel nurses may collaborate with doctors, management, and schedulers to provide medical care [8].
Travel nurse agencies offer travel nursing job opportunities across the country. The 2022 tax reform laws did away with certain job expenses, such as food, mileage, and gas, for travel nurses, and these expenses cannot be deducted on federal returns. However, travel agencies may offer stipends or reimbursements for these expenses [9].
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[1] "Travel nurses have a broad range of responsibilities and duties, and specific tasks depend on the specialty in which the nurse is trained. General nursing responsibilities and duties include: Using the nursing process of assessing, diagnosing, planning, implementing, and evaluating to care for patients in a variety of healthcare settings" URL: https://www.registerednursing.org/specialty/travel-nurse/
[2] "Travel nurses are simply nurses that fill gaps in staffing needs for hospitals and facilities across the country for specific (often short) periods of time. There are travel nurses for every specialty, and there are even managerial travel nurse positions." URL: https://www.travelnursing.org/what-is-travel-nursing/
[3] "Being a travel nurse simply means that you are employed by an independent nursing staffing agency instead of by a single hospital. This means you could travel as far as a different country, or you could work at a hospital near you in need of temporary nurses." URL: https://www.travelnursing.org/5-requirements-to-becoming-a-travel-nurse/
[4] "Travel nurses are registered nurses who work in short-term roles at hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities around the world. Travel nurses help fill gaps in areas where there are nursing shortages, and as a result, the average travel nurse salary can be quite high!" URL: https://nurse.org/articles/how-to-make-the-most-money-as-a-travel-nurse/
[5] "Travel nurses are professionals who fill short-term staffing gaps in hospitals and medical facilities around the country. These contracts normally last between eight and 22 weeks, though sometimes travel nurses are offered extensions. Travel nurses fill gaps in a variety of specialties, from the NICU to the medical-surgical unit and beyond." URL: https://www.gmercyu.edu/academics/learn/become-travel-nurse
[6] "Travel nurses provide patients who need specialized treatment with life-sustaining support, such as ventilators and other equipment. They also respond to medical emergencies with techniques like advanced cardiac life support and evaluate patients progress. Why Become a Travel Nurse?" URL: https://nursejournal.org/careers/travel-nurse/
[7] "Travel nurses can help in staffing issues but can also come in to fill in temporary gaps when nurses take a vacation, go on leave or get hired by a different hospital or medical facility. Travel nurses dont always need to work in different states - some serve at local understaffed hospitals." URL: https://www.herzing.edu/become/travel-nurse
[8] "Also known as a traveling registered nurse, travel nurses are RNs, LPs, and NPs who visit homes, organizations and other places to provide people with much-needed medical care. In general, traveling nurses collaborate with doctors, management and a secretary or scheduler. Although there are multiple types of nursing positions, travel nurses ..." URL: https://www.indeed.com/career/travel-nurse
[9] "Meals. Costs for Internet and phone providers. The 2022 tax reform laws did away with many job expenses at the federal level, which means that travel nurses cant deduct certain travel-related expenses such as food, mileage, and gas on their federal return. You can still get a stipend or reimbursement from your travel agency for those ..." URL: https://www.travelnursing.org/travel-nurse-taxes-comprehensive-guide/