All travelers know that the main perk of travel nursing is exploring new destinations and seeing the world. Still, this industry requires highly specialized professionals ready and able to fill staffing shortages in multiple healthcare facilities—it isn’t an easy task.
Travel nursing plays a critical role in the medical community, and when large-scale disasters or illnesses plague the United States, travel nurses become even more necessary. Travel nurses are usually employed by independent staffing agencies, such as Nurse First, that help them find travel nursing jobs. Without these travel nurse agencies, nurses wouldn’t be able to find their dream travel nurse assignments. If there are no travelers, hospitals and areas in need won’t receive vital services for the patients and the permanent staff.
Today, the demand for travel nursing is constantly on the rise, and with good reason. In addition to providing vital services, travel nurses bring a wealth of knowledge and experience they can share with the existing nursing team, increasing the benefits shared throughout the facility. Their importance to the healthcare industry also benefits other areas.
Increased Cost Efficiency
Nurses comprise the largest clinical population in hospitals, with more than 5 million employed nationwide. With that said, the rapid decline in healthcare staff due to various factors has only fueled the need for travel nurses. While they command higher salaries than a hospital’s permanent nurse staff, employing travelers reduces onboarding and training costs and additional fees associated with high turnover rates. This is mainly because travel nurse hours can be modified to the hospital’s immediate staffing needs while saving the hospital’s outlay for a benefits package highlighted in the travel nurse contract.
Higher Quality of Care
The link between inadequate nurse staffing and adverse patient outcomes has been proven time and time again—higher falls, hospital readmissions, and patient mortality due to surgical complications. Overloading an already overwhelmed, shorthand staff spells disaster for patients, the team, and the entire facility. These are the areas travel nursing agencies try to staff immediately to prevent the worst-case scenarios from happening. The presence of travel nurses helps maintain higher staffing levels to give patients the best care possible. With more hands on deck, travel nursing benefits the hospital’s bottom line while optimizing patient outcomes and preventing nurse burnout, which we’ll get to later.
More Patient Satisfaction
As previously mentioned, well-traveled travel nurses bring clinical experience, knowledge, and rapid critical thinking skills to their assigned unit due to their unique perspectives from various travel nursing assignments. Travelers understand the necessity of patient satisfaction and how their role can impact the workflow and overall patient outcomes. Nurses, in general, choose this profession because of their dedication to helping others. This is why travel nurses thrive in busy environments and strive to help deliver personalized patient care.
Combat Nursing Burnout
Travel nursing eases the workload of some hospitals with difficult-to-fill positions. With the extra support from travelers, permanent staff have more flexibility to hone their skills and take more time to ensure patient safety. Stressed-out nurses can sometimes shirk certain responsibilities to make time for other patients but risk putting them in danger. Travel nurses also allow facilities to maintain proper nursing staff ratios, improving job satisfaction and a pleasant work environment.
Travel nurses and travel nurse staffing agencies make a difference in the well-being of the hospital and its patients. The advantages they bring are greatly appreciated and provide much relief to the overburdened healthcare industry.
Are you interested in starting your career as a travel nurse? Visit the Nurse First website to learn more about travel nursing and how it can benefit your life! Check out our job board for available travel nurse jobs in the top travel nurse locations around the country.
