Travel nurses comprise a crucially important demographic of the healthcare industry. Despite the fact that nurses are the largest clinical population in hospitals, there is a nationwide nurse shortage. Hospitals and other medical settings across the country have a high need for nurses that has only increased as rates of COVID-19 continue to soar.

In times of crisis, the nurses willing to take travel assignments to other medical settings, cities, and states are the glue holding our healthcare system together. Thanks to travel nurses, short-staffed hospitals are able to supplement their bandwidth by pulling employees on 4-week travel nurse assignments from outside the hospital’s usual hiring area.

Travel nurses are an invaluable asset to under-staffed medical settings and an essential factor in providing adequate care to all patients. Here are just a few of the reasons why we need more nurses on the road.

1. New COVID-19 Hotspots Appear Constantly

When COVID first rose to prominence in the U.S., the major hotspots were Los Angeles, New York, New Orleans, and other major metropolitan areas; those areas continue to shift. Nurses who take travel assignments are essential because the ability to prepare necessary locations with the right staff and equipment as quickly as possible is vital. 4-week travel nurse assignments are of particular importance because hospitals can benefit from short-term relief without keeping nurses from other understaffed facilities for longer than necessary.

2. Many Hospitals are Understaffed

Even during the slowest times, many hospitals in rural or smaller urban areas require nurses willing to go there on short travel nurse assignments simply because local areas do not have the resources to meet patient demand. The added burden of rising COVID-19 cases has further strained the ability of public health facilities to keep up with the demand for medical services.

A smaller facility that must contend with the challenge of treating large numbers of patients with the novel coronavirus can quickly be depleted of staff and resources. Nurses who take 4-week travel nurse assignments to hospitals with fewer resources—or even hospitals that are typically well-staffed but simply cannot deal with the unprecedented number of patients—help to alleviate the strain on these facilities.

3. Traveling Provides a Great Medical Education

Travel is an enriching way for any person to grow and learn, but medical travel assignments add a special context. While many workers in the U.S. are limited to a set location for the majority of their job, travel nurses have the opportunity to experience different subcultures and cities across the nation. Different locations and facilities all face their own unique medical challenges, giving nurses who take travel assignments a breadth of experience that they would not have otherwise.

Whether it is a 6-month or 4-week travel nurse assignment, new people and places can further develop a nurse’s medical knowledge as well as their soft skills and cultural competency. A travel assignment to an ICU in rural Texas requires—and provides—a different set of experiences than an assignment to a convalescent home in San Francisco.

There are medical facilities across the entire United States in need of immediate help. Partnering with a company like Coast and taking on any length of travel assignments, can offer nurses the ability to help, an impressive depth of knowledge, and a wide range of experience.

4. Permanent Staff Need Help Battling Burnout

The novel coronavirus is not only stretching hospitals to their limits in terms of equipment and capacity but nurses and doctors themselves are facing unprecedented challenges given the abnormally high patient load. By accepting travel assignments to hospitals where the staff is battling emotional burnout, travel nurses can provide permanent staff with a bit of relief. New staff members can provide new expertise that the permanent staff may not possess, but they also boost morale just by virtue of their appearance and fresh attitude. Even 4-week travel nurse assignments inject much-needed reinvigoration into the permanent staff by supplementing them with brief but effective aid.

5. Creating a Beneficial National Community of Nurses

Nurses who accept travel assignments act as a link between otherwise-disparate locations and facilities across the country. This connection between diverse locales and medical settings creates a national network of nurses who can support, uplift, and inform each other in times of need. Even short travel nurse assignments are long enough to form connections between temporary and permanent staff that can benefit facilities and patients across the country thanks to the exchange of experience, knowledge, and advice.

By accepting travel assignments, nurses are able to spread knowledge and form relationships with other medical professions that benefit both staff and patients.

The Coast Medical Difference

Coast Medical Service is always looking for caring, qualified medical professionals who know their worth and truly want to help others to the best of their abilities. We pride ourselves on hiring amazing nurses who are willing to take short travel nurse assignments to whatever location may need their help. Additionally, we foster the relationships between nurses and the facilities they travel to, so nurses don’t have to spend time handling the logistics instead of helping others.

Even if it’s only from a 4-week travel nurse assignment, the bonds formed with the place you visit and the people you meet can last a lifetime. Whether you are a pediatric nurse, an ICU nurse, or anything in between, you can find a home at Coast Medical Service. We make sure our travel assignments go to the best and brightest in the healthcare industry, and if that describes you, then we want to meet you.

If you are ready to take the next step in your career and start making a positive difference across the country, apply for a position with us now and ask about our rates and placement options. We serve locations across the entire West Coast, Southwest, and South, and we are constantly expanding and finding new travel assignments for our staff. Travel nursing is fast becoming one of the most important medical vocations of our time, and we would love for you to make the biggest difference that you can by joining the Coast family today.