Last week, we talked to Patrice Ballard, MSN; a travel nurse working as a Clinical Educator and part-time ER nurse for 8 months in Globe, Arizona. Part I of our nurse interview clued us travel nurses—eager to blend our medical talents with the spirit of adventure—into Patrice’s exciting months working and traveling the Southwest over. We loved reading about the circumstances behind Patrice’s first travel nurse job and tidbits on her unique housing; this week’s segment dishes on what it takes to succeed as a traveling nurse and why husbands might just fall in love with the travel nursing life, too. Q: Is your current work as a Clinical Educator as rewarding in and of itself, as the compensation and excitement of travel? A: Absolutely! There’s nothing better than preparing my students for nursing careers that will be as rewarding for them, as my career has been for me. Q: What has been the most rewarding aspect of this assignment? A: This travel nursing job has reinforced the way I’ve always felt about life: that every person is given the unique opportunity to see the good in things or the bad. I’ve always chosen to see the good, [+]

Clinical Educator and ER nurse, Partrice Ballard, combines a love of travel with preparing nursing students for bright futures American Traveler caught up with Patrice Ballard, MSN for a chat about her experiences working as a Nurse Educator in Arizona. Part I of this two part nurse interview introduces RNs and physical therapists keen on combining work and travel, to a fellow professional who currently enjoys the best of both worlds. Patrice is a wife, mother and full-time Clinical Educator, with the admirable ability to work, also, in the ER once a week. Here, she shares commentary and tips for making the most of an 8 month long travel nursing assignment. Q: What prompted you to pursue a travel nursing career? A: You know, it’s a little ironic—albeit in a wonderful way—that I began a travel nurse career after 15 years in the ER.  Friends and family used to describe me as a “hover mother� – couldn’t picture me on an out-of-state assignment, but when the opportunity to work 34 weeks in Globe, Arizona came, I jumped on it. Q: You secured a unique position. How did that come about?[+]