Can Nurse Practitioners Be Travel Nurses?
Adventure-seeking nurses head out on weeks-long assignments, but what about nurse practitioners? Can they become travel nurses as well?
If you’re a nurse practitioner, the answer is yes, there are opportunities for traveling nurse practitioners. These opportunities can be found on the VISTA Staffing Solutions website. Nurse practitioners can enjoy an exciting career, meeting new people, experiencing jobs in new locations, and honing their skills in new environments. Here’s what you need to know about locum tenens nurse practitioner opportunities.
Locum Tenens Nurse Practitioners
Locum tenens nurse practitioners fill needs in clinics and hospitals and are in demand in healthcare facilities around the country. These opportunities can be quite lucrative, as traveling nurses fill needs that are urgent and important everywhere they go. Often, these opportunities include housing incentives. This means that travel nurses are often able to save money on living expenses, even as they make comparatively more money.
Most companies that hire travel nurse practitioners require experience and don’t allow for significant on-the-job training. This means that traveling nurse practitioners must be capable of picking up on skills and routines quickly. Traveling positions are not appropriate for most nurse practitioners who are just starting out their careers. However, if you’ve been a nurse practitioner for many years, and you’re open to a less fixed lifestyle, then traveling opportunities may be just right for you.
Locum Tenens Lifestyle
Travel nurse practitioners must have a flexible lifestyle, able to move from one location to another with ease. For healthcare workers who have families and obligations in a specific spot, a travel career may not be the right opportunity. Sometimes people are drawn to the traveling lifestyle after their kids are grown and out of the house.
If you’re available for picking up new assignments, have an adventurous spirit, and are open to new opportunities as they become available, then you may be inundated with opportunities for new assignments.
If you’re a nurse practitioner who would like a traveling opportunity, but still want to stay close to home, you can work locum tenens locally, near where you live. This works best for NP’s use NPs not NP’s living near large cities or healthcare hubs, as nurse practitioners in out-of-the-way locations may not have enough opportunities to sustain themselves.
Ultimately, locum tenens are a great way to add variety to your career. By going to new places and trying out new opportunities, many nurse practitioners are able to broaden their horizons. Some choose to stay in traveling careers forever.
How to Become a Travel Nurse Practitioner
After passing the board exam, it’s best to work for one or two years as a nurse practitioner. This experience is important due to the limited training you will get as a locum tenens NP. This will prepare you for success.
Once you’re ready to work as a travel nurse practitioner, and you have the appropriate experience, it helps to connect with a reputable medical staffing agency with connections in the cities and states where you want to work. Once you’ve found a medical staffing agency that works for you, the next step is to apply.
Average Salary of Travel Nurse Practitioner
Traveling nurse practitioners make an excellent salary. On average, nurse practitioners make $50.65/hour, which translates to $105,347/year, according to ZipRecruiter.
Contact VISTA Staffing Solutions
Are you interested in working as a travel nurse practitioner? Apply for our travel opportunities. Not sure I would use “apply for our travel opportunities” We’ll guide you through the process and support you along the entire journey.
