 The Vanlife/RV living experience is about escaping the ordinary and bringing the outdoors into the forefront of your life. This lifestyle provides a consistency in travel nursing where you have "your space" no matter where you may land. For those who are able to take a leap of faith it holds endless opportunities and room for experiences and exploration. Choosing where you land to drink your coffee every morning is incredible.
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 Being a traveling healthcare professional is fun. It’s exhilarating. It changes lives. It puts people out of their comfort zone. It opens up minds. It creates lifelong friendships. It presents a multitude of unimaginable adventures. But overtime, it can lead to a lack of an overall sense of belonging and even accelerate burnout.
After 4 years of travel nursing, I decided it was finally time for me to stay in one place for a bit, have a stable long term job, and buy a house. For the purpose of this blog post, I am going to list some reasons that you as a traveling healthcare professional should be looking for if you’re wondering: should I plant some roots?  “I can’t be a travel nurse, I have a dog.” I’m here to bust this myth! Not only can you be a travel nurse with a pet, it can actually enhance your experience. I have been a travel nurse for the past year and a half and my dog Joni comes with me on every contract. There are so many perks to having your dog with you as a travel nurse. Bringing your best friend with you on a contract can add a sense of companionship if you get lonely. Having your dog can make you more social, I know I strike up more conversations with fellow dog owners! There are definitely some things that can be harder, but I’m here to walk you through my best tips and tricks to travel nursing with a pet.
 So you want to be fit, happy, and healthy while working those tough 12 hour shifts, but don't know where to start? It's not always easy, but it is entirely possible. For the purpose of this blog, I will be sharing my workout routine and give yall some pointers on how to keep up with your fitness while being a traveling healthcare professional!
 It’s your first day at a new assignment. After the initial introduction, one of the most common questions is: Where are you staying? Well, we stay in our very own home on wheels. My husband and I, both travel nurses, live in our 37 ft Class A motorhome and have been full time RV-ers for 2.5 years.
Let me just emphasize that everything in this blog is solely based on my own personal experience during the worst surges of Covid-19. As you will read, it has never been the same experience or rules every time I took a contract, so I’m sure a lot of travelers who have also worked rapid crisis contracts will have completely different experiences. With that being said, enjoy!
Like many other travelers out there, I’m sure you have been curious about the insanely high pay rates that rapid crisis contracts offer, but were not sure on what it all entailed. Here's a little insight on what to expect. First off let me just start by saying, not just anyone can hack these contracts, there is a chance that you will get thrown into literal HELL. However, if you’re lucky, it could be the easiest money you’ve ever made! Ever wonder how you could juggle Grad school and continue to be a travel healthcare professional? Honestly, it’s not for the faint of heart however, tenacity and determination will supersede any doubts you may have. Embarking on this type of journey IS possible and I’ll tell you how. Now, lets take a look at what type of degrees would be easier to navigate while on the road…
First, finding a university or college that’s online is a no-brainer; when starting an NP program I would look for one that is 100% online. If you’re anything like me and have distractions at home such as cleaning over studying or writing, 100% online is not going to work. There are programs that meet every 2-3 weeks and are suitable for those on the road. I would suggest mentioning this scheduling conflict in your interview or first thing at your new assignment. Facilities are desperate these days, so negotiating this into a contract would behoove you. Second, I would talk to an advisor at the university you’re wanting to attend and see what programs are available that cater to the travel lifestyle.  As traveling healthcare workers, we all have well meaning family members and friends who want to gift us something during the holiday season. If you’re like us, you have received your fair share of mugs, t-shirts, and badge reels with the cliche reminders that, “Nurses Call the Shots”, or that we enjoy “Coffee, Scrubs and Rubber Gloves”. Finding essential gifts for the essential healthcare worker can be a difficult task but Lumify is here to help!  After a busy day of working as a travel physical therapist, I returned by foot to my parked car in the Bay Area. As I started to approach, I noticed some glass on the floor, so imagine my shock as I got closer and saw the window smashed in. Sadly, working as a travel physical therapist in this area, I know that these incidents happen all too frequently. In fact, The San Francisco Chronicle reported an increase of a whopping 753% for car break-ins within the Central District from May 2020 to May 2021.  “What’s your dating life like?” “Don’t you miss your family?” “Is it hard being so far from everyone?” Questions we’re all too familiar with answering and concepts that can be difficult for people to understand when they don’t live it. The simple answer, “we make it work.” Let’’ be honest though, there’s really a lot more to it. Some of the biggest hesitations described to me when I recommend someone look into travel nursing are these concerns. Truthfully, it can be difficult at times. My advice - don’t let hurdles stop you from pursuing something you want, especially if that’s happiness or self-fulfillment.
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