For the most part the life of a travel nurse seems to be for nurse that are in the dawn of their careers before they relationships, families, and other responsibilities that force them to find permanent employment. The other time that many nurses become interested in an occupation as a travel nurse is towards the end of their careers, after their children move out of the house, leaving their parents free to pursue nomadic whims.
It happens, especially to the younger nurses, that they are working at a travel nurse assignment and find that they fall in love with the city they are in, they adore their co-workers, or they find the job so rewarding they want to keep it.
When a nurse finds an assignment that they don’t want to give up is consider the contract they signed with their nursing agency. If they signed a contract that has a time line it is going to be difficult to get out of the contract and accept a permanent working position. Nurses that have long term, binding contracts with an agency will probably find that they have to work as a travel nurse long enough to fulfill their contract. Once they have worked out the terms of their contract they can go back to the hospital or medical facility that they enjoyed so much and seek a permanent position.
Sometimes travel nurses will find out that the temporary position they are currently filling is just that, temporary. For whatever reason the job was created on a one time basis and no matter how badly the travel nurse may want it at a permanent position it just isn’t possible. When this happens the travel nurse has two options. They can decide if it is the hospital they like working at, or maybe they just really like the city, or perhaps they really click with their current batch of co-workers, or they feel that the job they are doing is tailor made for them (and it really might be). If they look at all their options and decide that it’s the hospital or their fellow nurses that appeal to them they can apply for a permanent position in the hospital. If the travel nurse decides that it isn’t necessarily the hospital, the staff, or the position that appeals to them they might want to consider looking for a hospital in a similar location.
If, after you have looked at all the options and decide that it really is the position that is making you consider exchanging your nomadic shoes for a more permanent pair, talk to your nursing agency, even if you have a long-term, binding contract, the agency will be able to keep and eye peeled and look for similar positions. If you are at a point in your life when you are able to accept a permanent position look at other hospitals across the country. Just because the hospital you were working at only offered the position on a temporary basis doesn’t mean that other hospitals wont have the position available on a permanent basis.
The main reason that younger travel nurses give up their careers as travel nurses in favor of more permanent positions because they are tired of traveling, they are ready to start a family, or other members of their family need them at home. When its time to find a permanent position keep an optimistic attitude, you’ll find the right position.
