Travel Healthcare 101 Episode 1: Introduction to Travel Nursing | The Reality of Starting Out

Quick summary

Getting started in travel healthcare can feel like… a lot. There are just so many moving pieces! But I’ve found that understanding who does what, what you’re responsible for and what happens after you accept an assignment makes the whole process much easier to navigate.

If you’re not sure where to start, start here:

When I first looked into travel nursing, I remember feeling like every answer led to three more questions. At the beginning, it felt like trying to put together a puzzle without seeing the picture on the box. And when you’re considering a major career shift and leaving a job you already know, that uncertainty can feel pretty overwhelming. But something I realized over time is that much of the stress comes from simply not knowing how all of the pieces fit together.

The good news is you don’t need to understand the *entire travel healthcare world* before your first assignment. You just need a general idea of how things work, an understanding of who’ s on your team and what things you need to stay on top of — so let’s get started!

In this first episode, I’ll walk you through the basics of what travel nursing is and what it looks like to get ready for an assignment.

Know your team

Your recruiter

Your recruiter is typically your main point of contact throughout the travel process.They help you look for assignments, talk through what matters to you and navigate questions that come up along the way.

Especially early on, one of the most important things a recruiter should do is help you understand what the process actually looks like and what comes next. Remember: they’re an expert in the travel staffing market and have worked with dozens of travelers already doing what you want to do. You don’t need to show up to that first conversation with your whole travel career mapped out. You just need to be honest about where you are, what questions you have and what you are hoping to figure out.

Your experience specialist

Now, once you have an assignment lined up, there are going to be a lot of details to get sorted out. Many of them that have nothing to do with your ability as a clinician, but still have a big impact on your travel experience. Logistics, planning and thinking ahead are a big part of this stage of travel.

And while making choices and being in control of what’s next is one of the best parts, the fact is you’re going to have questions and decisions to make about your new area, housing and likely even something unexpected that comes up before or during the assignment. Thankfully, you do not have to figure every part of this experience out on your own.

This is where your experience specialist comes in. They’ll set up a call with you prior to your assignment to walk you through everything you need to know, and they remain a resource for you at any time during your assignment. They even have a 24-hour support line you can call after business hours if an emergency comes up.

Your compliance specialist

Compliance can feel like a LOT as a first-time traveler — mostly because you’re starting from scratch. A big part of prepping for your first assignment is getting your profile complete, and thankfully, you won’t have to do ALL of that again for each assignment.

Just remember, you’re not alone! You have an assigned credentialing specialist who helps you work through the credentials, license, health requirements, certifications and other items you need before you can start working.

The biggest thing here is: stay responsive and get things done early when you can. Waiting until the last minute can turn a small issue into a much more stressful one.

Know what you own

My final thought here is that having a support team doesn’t mean you can completely hand the process off. You are still in the center of this experience. There are things that only you can do and things you are responsible for, including:

• Keeping your profile current.
• Knowing where your documents are.
• Paying attention to deadlines.
• Being responsive when someone on your Aya team needs something from you.

Those are some areas where the ball is in your court and you have to own them.

And finally, ask questions — there are no bonus points for pretending you understand something when you don’t. You are new to traveling and you are supposed to have questions. That’s normal. Part of owning your side of the process is also knowing what you don’t know yet.

Questions worth asking early

Here are some examples of questions you can ask your Aya team before your first assignment gets too far along:

• Who is my main point of contact?
• What documents or credentials do I still need?
• What should I expect between accepting the assignment and starting?
• When should I expect my first-day information?
• Who should I contact if something changes?
• Is there anything I should be working on now?

You’re going to learn plenty as you go, but knowing these basics just gives you a much better place to start.

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