A Travel Nurse Who Ventured Out of the Nest and Learned to Fly - Part I

Journeying from state to state with her boyfriend and pet cat, Kaylyn is living out her dreams of travel!

Hello! My name is Kaylyn Watts, and I am a Medsurg/Telemetry travel nurse currently on an assignment in Dothan, Alabama. This is my third assignment with American Traveler.

I am originally from Pennsylvania, where I was born and raised. I currently travel with my boyfriend, Dakota, and my not-so-sweet cat named Honey. She is a two-year-old cat that I found in my mother’s barn. She is sweet to me occasionally, but she growls at anyone else that comes near her unless they have a treat.

My first assignment was with a different company, but during that assignment I received a phone call from my current recruiter, Annie, asking if I was in the market for a travel nurse assignment. Annie was very sweet and personable. I felt like I vibed better with Annie and wanted to be on her team. Having a recruiter that you know is on your side and will go the extra mile for you was something I found important. ;

Going through nursing school, I worked as a nursing assistant on a medical-surgical unit. There I met a few travel nurses who told me about all the different places they had worked and the people they met along the way. This inspired me to look further into what travel nursing meant and what it entailed.

Once I graduated, I knew that at some point in my nursing career I wanted to try travel nursing. I became friends with another nurse on the unit who had started around the same time as I did. We took vacations together and became good friends. We started discussing travel nursing and decided to start the journey together. We quickly became roommates and a travel duo. We took two assignments together, and I am so thankful for those times together. Having a friend in this process helped me to be more at ease with all the new things we were experiencing.

My favorite experience as a traveler is getting to know fellow nurses and other ancillary staff on assignments. I always say nursing is a team sport because there are many times in your nursing career when you need the help of fellow team members to get a job done or ensure safe patient care. So as you go through these different assignments, you meet many different people and oftentimes they become forever friends.

This current assignment here in Alabama was one I looked for specifically. My boyfriend is in the Army and he has some schooling he needs to complete down here. So I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to really put my travel nursing skills to the test. Before this assignment, I only went to hospitals in my home state of Pennsylvania. I also had never moved away from my family before this experience. My favorite part about this assignment is the people in this area. Everyone is so kind and welcoming. They always have the best suggestions of places to eat and things that I need to go see. I also like that on this assignment I had to overcome my anxiety about leaving my home state and traveling in an unfamiliar area. It is crazy what you can accomplish with a little bit of courage.

Nursing has many different paths it can take you on. Some days being a nurse isn’t easy, but other days are very rewarding, and I know I am where I am supposed to be. I can’t see myself doing anything other than being a nurse.

My passion for this field of work stemmed from a very young age. Growing up, my church youth group took us on many mission trips. We would go to different communities and help wherever they needed us. Sometimes that meant we were fixing up someone’s yard, building a deck with a wheelchair ramp, or just talking with someone who was lonely and didn’t have any family. From doing those mission trips, I discovered my passion for helping and serving others.

Another big influence on me was my mother, who is also a nurse. She has always been a big inspiration to me. Seeing her love her job and love helping others inspired me. When picking hospitals to work at, coming out of nursing school, I chose the same one she was working at. So that I could work alongside her.

Travel nursing has prepared me to meet my future goals by allowing me to grow in confidence and skills in my nursing profession. When you are a travel nurse, you are always the new kid on the block. You know how to be a good nurse, but each hospital has its own set of policies and flow on the floor.

Is a spouse, partner or friend accompanying you on your travel assignment? How some keep both incomes flowing ... Job Ideas for Travel Nurse Partners