As a fully accredited Nurse Practitioner specializing in the care of the elderly and senior population, finding the right position and opportunity to grow can be a daunting task. Although many roles are available in hospital settings and senior living facilities, a less talked about yet viably advanced professional step can be that of a traveling Geriatric Nurse Practitioner.
For many hospitals and places dealing with the elderly population, the demand for nurses from their region is incredibly steep, so many will look to find nurses from other areas of the country or world who are willing to travel and work there temporarily.
What Do They Do?
As a traveling Geriatric Nurse Practitioner, you may have the opportunity to travel longer distances providing your extremely valuable services to different hospitals, institutions, long-term care facilities, or even sometimes residential homes depending on the hiring agency.
Finding an abundance of top-tier health care workers in some parts of the world is a tough thing to do for many institutions focused on senior healthcare, however, it is a necessary and vital endeavor. The elderly population is especially in need of fully credentialed and professional health care workers who will be there for them to make the best decisions for their well-being.
This is where a traveling Nurse Practitioner comes into play, narrowing the gap between a high demand of well-trained professionals and a low supply of local talent.
Below is all information needed to weigh the odds and see if being a travel Geriatric Nurse Practitioner is the right choice for your career.
What Are the Benefits?
For the traveling nurse, the benefits and spoils that most opportunities offer may be significant depending on the lifestyle choices and habits one considers to be optimal.
Here are a few:
Advance Your Career
- Take the next step in your career and specialized field of medicine by using your time as a traveling nurse accumulating valuable hands-on knowledge and experience in different settings amongst highly trained professionals in healthcare. There are even scholarships available.
“Shop Around” for the Right Future
Find out what professional atmosphere makes the most sense in the long-term for you. View the different travel nurse assignments you take on as a trial which can allow you to try new things without a commitment and provide insight on what professional direction feels right.
Added Pay for the Same Job
Travel nurses make more money than stationary nurses usually because of a travel pay differential that healthcare facilities are willing to provide an incentive for you to make the trip.
Always a New Adventure Waiting
Break up the monotony of most health care settings and travel from different types of healthcare settings and different teams of professionals. Travel for long periods in temporary jobs throughout different hospitals, long-term care facilities, assisted living sites, etc. Meet different types of people, including patients, doctors, specialists, and other nurses.
The Bonus Perks
On top of flexible schedules and new environments enjoy bonus perks like paid vacation time, paid sick leave, paid leave of absence, maternity/paternity leave, and full health insurance depending on how you negotiate your contract.
Living Accommodations
Many staffing agencies and healthcare facilities will even offer fully furnished and paid living accommodations for the duration of your contract. Lower your living expenses drastically while on-location at the job.
Drama Free Zones
Avoid any drama or workplace nonsense that can occur frequently in places where people work in a permanent capacity. Understanding that your work at any location is a temporary and time-limited event, you can make the most of your experience and focus on the job you are hired to perform.
Never Feel Burnt Out
The healthcare profession can be an emotionally draining field especially when you’re stuck in the same building or location for long periods. Travel Nurse Practitioners can avoid being “burnt out” from the stagnancy of the “same-old-same-old”.
Flexibility For Your Life
Traveling nurse practitioners in the Geriatric field have the flexibility and freedom to work where they want and how long they want. Make the schedule, contract length, and desired location the exact ones that fit your ideal needs.
The Bottom Line
Helping seniors and the elderly can be an emotionally draining and physically demanding job and can create a real damper on those who work long term at one location.
Because many health care settings will do whatever they can to entice workers to help them meet their staffing needs, the travel nursing system is a seller’s market (the seller being the nurse) where finding the right location, workplace, and team of professionals is easier to do.
Making an exciting and bold career move as a Travel Geriatric nurse Practitioner may provide you the freedom, higher pay, travel wishes, and other benefits to living your best professional life possible.
