Travel Nurses Advocates

Staffing shortages, supply issues and poor pay have all existed in the nursing industry even before the pandemic. With staff nurses everyday facing long hours, low wages, and unsafe nurse to patient ratios, the nursing shortage has struck just about everywhere in the healthcare industry. Nearly 1 in 5 health care workers has quit since the pandemic began. A recent survey by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses found that 92% of nurses felt that the pandemic had "depleted nurses in their hospital, and that their nursing career would be shorter than they had intended as a result." (https://www.aacn.org/)

But one nurse claims "It isn't so much of a nursing shortage as a shortage of nurses willing to work in these conditions". Nurses around the US have left their full time permanent positions to become contract or travel nurses with short term assignments. Many cite pandemic conditions, such as staffing and equipment shortages, as their reason for leaving their local hospitals and health care facilities. But the issue was not created by the pandemic, the pandemic was revelatory. With the overwhelming number of patients flooding hospitals and the need for Safe Harbor protocols during the pandemic, awareness has been brought to the general poor conditions that staff nurses face all over the country.

With their capacities stretched to the breaking point, hospitals have turned to hiring short term travel nurses. Demand for travel nurses grew by at least 35 % in 2020 and has driven up salaries. (https://www.aacn.org/) But the travel nurse boom is a symptom of a much larger problem facing the healthcare industry. Travel nurses are actually advocates for better pay and working conditions. These nursing professionals have learned what they are worth and learned that they are not disposable. This unprecedented need for nurses has put them in control, put them in the driver's seat of their career. They can make more money and have better mental health, avoiding burnout and fatigue.

Maintaining healthcare worker safety is extremely important for the healthcare industry. Travel nurses and allied healthcare workers all over the country are helping relieve short staffed facilities and bringing back the high quality of care that we all depend on. They are also instigating realizations of the conditions facing permanent nurses at hospitals, forcing these facilities to make real changes for these valued members of the medical industry. As a travel nurse you can be an advocate for change and be part of the solution!