Travel Nursing Changed My Life and Fulfilled My Goals!

How a Pediatrics staff nurse from a small southern town took a leap into the adventure of travel nursing -- and loved every minute of it!

My name is Cody, and I am a traveling Registered Nurse. I am originally from a small town in Alabama. I have had many different specialties but I mainly travel as a Med/Surg, RN. Back home at my staff job I worked as a Pediatric and Nursery RN. I am currently working in Georgia on a Covid Med/Surg assignment. This is my ninth assignment since I started back in 2017.

I got into nursing because I always wanted to work with kids and help people feel better. I love taking care of patients from the moment they come in. Hopefully, by the end of my stretch they have gotten better, and they get to go home. With Pediatrics and Nursery, I love seeing the looks on the kids' faces when you finally break through with them, and they no longer fear you -- and they no longer fear the hospital. Changing the way they see nurses, doctors, and hospitals is what I want to do.

Staci, my recruiter, mentioned this Georgia assignment to me because I told her I was looking to stay closer to home. I am renting a room from another traveler who is currently on assignment in California. This is probably my favorite way to find places to stay while I am on assignment.

Well, I was sitting at work one night and had a realization that I really didn’t like where I was in life. I hadn’t seen the world or really done anything that I had planned on doing when I was younger. So I hopped on the internet, googled some travel agencies, and found Staci at American Traveler.

My favorite experience as a traveler so far has got to be while I was on assignment in Springfield, Missouri. It was my birthday weekend, and a couple of my friends from back home surprised me with a weeklong trip to see me. We went zip lining at a place right outside of town, and it was absolutely beautiful. That was the first time I had been zip lining -- it was so much fun.

Staci is one of the best people I have ever met. She is so genuine and kind! I love her with all my heart. I know that if I ever had any problems, I could go to her and she would try her best to resolve them for me. Sometimes she will just call to check in, and to me that means more than anything. I recommend her to every nurse I come across who is thinking about traveling.

As far as my next adventure is concerned, I am rewarding myself after this current assignment with a cruise for me and my boyfriend, Tyler. When I leave for an assignment the one thing I always make sure to grab is my laptop. That is my tv, my email, my way to FaceTime my family back home, and it’s essentially my lifeline for home.

Travel nursing has given me so much more experience than I could ever have imagined. I’ve done assignments on Cardiac, Nephrology, Neurology, Ortho, Med/Surg, and now Covid. It has made me think in new ways and learn from other travelers who have been doing it for years.

I have met so many people on my travel assignments, and they mean the world to me. Now I can say that some of my best friends live all over the United States. And I met them because of travel nursing. Since I have started traveling, I have seen 23 states -- plus six different countries (thanks to that flexible work schedule).

The biggest difference in being a travel nurse and a staff nurse is the money honestly. I don’t want to sugarcoat it -- that is the truth. We are able to make enough as travelers so that we don’t have to stress over bills as much as a staff nurse. Some advice I have for other nurses considering traveling is to just do it. Jump in there and get your feet wet. Just try it for one or two assignments and just see if you like it. American Traveler has provided me with so many opportunities to grow as a nurse, I absolutely love it and have never regretted traveling!