Travelling nurse?

anyone here that's a travelling nurse? i've been thinking of doing this, but i don't really have an idea of it's like? do you guys get home sick/depressed sometimes? what made you guys decide to do what you do?

i'm not a traveler (i work with several in my trauma icu unit) but from what i've heard-it's great.

most companies pay pretty well and also pay for your housing. i met a nurse a few years ago whose company paid for her car too. the only downfall is they don't provide you with health insurance so you'll need to pull out an individual policy.

for the most part-you pick which cities you would like to go to and what floor you would like to work on. contracts are usually for about 13 weeks or more (and you can extend them if there is still a shortage and you like where you are). if you don't want to be too far from home-you can travel around the hospitals close to your area. most travel companies make you sign a contract stating that you will give them at least a year (or more) of your service.

most nurses do it b/c they get to see the world and get paid while doing it!! it's a great job for a new grad or someone who is single and likes to move around alot.

good luck with your decision!!

my sister in law goes from state to state, working at ORs, like a temp agency thing. the company pays for housing and salary and it's a pretty good thing if u want to see more of the US for free and meet people. also, if you're not tied to any person/s in particular, this is especially good so that u don't get lonely. assignments are completely upto you, duration, where, etc. u actually get to control a lot of the scenario.

My Sister is a traveling nurse, she is married and son is an adult so they are free to go. She went to AZ where there is a nurse shortage, she misses family but they fly down to see her. She loves her job, the pay is awesome, they even pay for her apartment, every 3 months there is a bonus. She worked at a hospital in WI and the pay was not too good, so she checked on traveling and that's been a real blessing to her.