How to Become a Travel Nurse
These health care roles are taking on greater significance.
Each year, thousands of U.S. nurses take on assignments in multiple states, exploring different cities while helping communities with nursing shortages. Becoming a travel nurse is easier than you think and can also give you a bump in income. What is a travel nurse? We have the details on how to become a travel nurse.
What Is a Travel Nurse?
Travel nurses are nurses who temporarily work in another location than where they live. Often this is another state, but you can also work as an international travel nurse or in different locations in your state. Working as a travel nurse can be a long-term lifestyle, or something you just try out once. These are some reasons to work as a travel nurse:
- for the travel experience itself
- to test out a new location to see if you’d like to move there permanently
- if you’re having a hard time getting your first job after graduating
- to get experience working with different patient populations, specialties, and healthcare facilities
- for humanitarian reasons, for example to help out after a natural disaster or during a pandemic
- if you’re living in a location with too many nurses and not enough jobs
- to develop soft skills such as flexibility, adaptability, and crisis management
- to develop hard skills such as learning new technologies and languages
Travel nurses also benefit the health care practice and the community by providing staff for positions that are hard to fill because of a local nursing shortage.
What Do Travel Nurses Do?
Travel nurses often work typical nursing jobs at a healthcare practice with a nursing shortage. If you’re new to the nursing field, learn more about what nurses do in Monster’s job description for registered nurses (RNs).
There is a higher demand for travel nurses who are specialized, for example in:
- intensive care
- emergency room care
- progressive care units
- surgery
- psychiatric care
- women’s health
What Are Crisis Travel Nurse Jobs?
If you want to help out during times of crisis, consider looking for crisis travel nurse jobs. These nurses take on short-term contracts to help out during a crisis. Crisis travel nurses can work in a healthcare facility or in the field responding to emergencies such as people injured after a hurricane.
The requirements for travel nursing focused on crisis usually include that you’re available at short notice and are more flexible with the location you want to travel to than a regular travelling nurse. Handling stress well is also even more important than for other types of nursing. Many jobs require more work experience as well since it’s likely you’ll work in an intensive care unit or an emergency room.
How to Become a Travel Nurse
Becoming a traveling nurse can give you the experience you need to advance in your career, and it’s easier than you might think. There are no specific travel nurse requirements or required travel nurse schooling.
To become a travel nurse you just have to hold a nursing license in the state that you’ll be working in. Many jobs will also require that you’re a registered nurse with some previous work experience. Otherwise, the requirements for travel nursing will depend on the job you’re applying to.
New to the healthcare field? Start by learning how to become a registered nurse.
How Long Does It Take to Become a Travel Nurse?
It typically takes about 2-4 years to become an RN, and 1-2 years of work experience after that to become a travel nurse.
How to Become a Travel Nurse Through the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC)
The easiest way to be a travel nurse is to get a license in the state you want to work in through the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) if your state participates in this.
The NLC allows nurses to work in both their home state and others participating in the compact (as well as a few U.S. territories). This means you can avoid the usual steps to obtain a license in the location you’ll be visiting for work. Instead, you’ll apply for a multistate license through the Board of Nursing in your state.
You can get a multistate license the first time you apply for a nursing license or if you already hold one. Before you qualify for a multistate license, you’ll need to meet the uniform licensure travel nurse requirements, including:
- meeting the requirements for a nursing license in your home state
- having a nursing degree
- passing the NCLEX-RN or NCLEX-PN exam
- passing state and federal background checks
- not being guilty of a felony, or a misdemeanor related to nursing
- having a valid Social Security number
Keep in mind that if you stay for a long time in one place, you could be considered a resident of that state. This means that you’ll have to give up your license in your home state and apply for a regular license in the one that you’re now living in. You’ll also have to pay taxes in that state, which could subject you to double taxation. To avoid this, make sure you legally maintain residence in your home state.
How to Become a Travel Nurse in Another State
If you want to work in a state that isn’t part of the NLC, you’ll need to apply for a nursing license through that state’s Board of Nursing. In some cases you can qualify for licensure by endorsement, also called reciprocity, a short-cut for nurses already holding an active license in another state. Depending on state rules, you might be able to keep your license in your home state or need to transfer it to the new state.
How to Become a Travel Nurse in Another Country
For international travel nurses, things get a bit more complicated. This is what you typically need to become a travel nurse in another country:
- a work visa, which typically requires a job offer
- a passport valid for at least 6 months
- vaccination proof (for some travel destinations)
- a nursing license in the country you’ll be working in
Some countries allow you to bypass certain aspects of the licensing process if you already hold a U.S. nursing license. For example, you might not need to go back to school, but you’ll need to pass a test. A staffing agency specializing in international travel nurses can help you navigate the process.
Because it takes more time to get approval for an international job, most assignments are longer, typically 1-2 years.
How Much Does a Travel Nurse Make?
A median U.S. registered nurse salary is $34.89 an hour. Travel nurses often make more than the median salary in the local area. To find out what that is, search by location using Monster’s Salary Tools.
These are some examples of an average travel nurse salary from Nursingprocess.org:
- The hourly rate for a travel nurse nationwide is $56.49.
- The average pay for a recently licensed travel nurse is $37.71.
- Some of the highest rates are the average travel nurse practitioner salary ($79.53) and the average OR travel nurse salary ($58.47).
- Some of the best-paying locations are California ($177,040) and New York ($131,810).
The average international travel nurse salary will depend on the country you want to work in.
How Does Travel Nursing Work?
Most travel nurses work for staffing agencies specializing in hiring travel nurses, but you can also work directly for a healthcare practice on a short-term contract.
If you work for a staffing agency, you’ll usually go on short-term assignments of about 1-5 months. If you’re an employee of the agency you might qualify for benefits such as health insurance and vacation time.
Most agencies will help you navigate the process of applying for a multistate license and finding housing. Some assignments will include free housing and transportation to the location and back home, or a stipend for housing and travel.
How to Become a Travel Nurse Without an Agency
To become a travel nurse without going through an agency, search for temporary work, for example to cover someone who is on leave due to maternity or disability. Some locations also hire staff during certain times of the year due to seasonal population changes.
You’ll need a well-written job application to get a travel nursing job. Since travel nurses quickly must adjust to new facilities and technologies, emphasize your ability to adapt to new situations and describe situations where you’ve demonstrated that you’re a quick learner.
Place your hard skills front and center on your nursing resume in a skills section, summary, or in the description of your work experience. Give a visible spot to your licenses and certifications as well. Use your nurse cover letter to describe your soft skills and what motivates you to apply for the job.
Once you’re ready to start applying to travel nurse jobs, search for jobs in locations with high demand for registered nurses. These are the top five states according to the BLS:
The cities with the highest demand for RNs include:
Prescribe the Monster Treatment for Your Resume
Now that you know how to become a travel nurse, get more career advice in your inbox when you create a new Monster profile. Give your resume a boost by uploading it and adding it to our database for healthcare recruiters. This gives it high visibility and can help travel nurse staffing agencies find you and reach out to you for new job opportunities.