My nursing career has brought many blessings: financial stability, the ability to travel and form relationships, and the comfort of knowing I will always have a career.
And as much as I love the outdoors, can I give surf lessons or instruct mountain biking for a living while having health insurance, providing for my family, and working decent hours?
Not likely.
Therefore, at this point in my life, nursing continues to be for me—for the flexibility and stability.
Financial stability
The travel market is saturated, but I have a skill set where I will always be in demand and always be able to put food on the table. As a new father, this is on the forefront of my mind as we plan for the future.
A while back, a second career nurse painted it perfectly.
He got laid off in the early 2000s and went to nursing school. He smiled as he recalled how he had now been through two financial recessions but never felt the strain. Had he not become a nurse, he would have been in a difficult boat being the provider for his family.
Flexibility
Right now, I enjoy a 3-day work week. With all the things that come with homeownership, fatherhood, relationship stability, and self-maintenance, I enjoy this freedom to choose what works best for me.
Do not disturb
When I am off, I am off. I give what I have and do everything within my power and abilities when I am at work. But when I am out, it’s out of sight out of mind. No one calls me on my day off, and no one bothers me when I am on vacation. I sometimes envy people and what they have going on with their remote gigs and seemingly different flexibility—but not when they have to suddenly take a call or hop on an impromptu meeting.
Freedom
The last thing is the consistency of taking time off. When I became a travel nurse, I basically started working 6-8 months a year averaging a month off in between assignments. Every now and then I would take 2-4 months off to travel. Being able to schedule time off into a contract or taking time off between assignments means you can have a break anytime you want.
I have only ever worked ICU. I feel fortunate to have been a travel nurse for ¾ of my nursing career, so my experiences are very different from staff or newer travelers. If I were to get overly burned out, there are still so many things I could do.
Of greatest benefit is that I get to be home with my family 4 days a week. Every week. I’m not home by dinner and there are long days, but I have not missed any milestones. I didn’t have paternity leave, but I had the ability to take a month off at our son’s birth.
As I now break ground as a nurse entrepreneur, the sky’s the limit.
Bob Goldnetz is an ICU travel nurse who has worked at various levels of hospitals across the country. When he’s not learning how to be a new dad or taking care of patients, you may find him backpacking, snowboarding, skiing, surfing, mountain biking, paragliding, or rock climbing.
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