January is known as the busy season in the travel nursing industry. And, there’s lots of reasons why. If you think about it, this is the time of the year when temperatures reach their lowest points and severe weather can make some summer-souls want to run for the hills! Luckily, when you’re a travel nurse, you literally can make a run for any destination you desire and whenever you feel like it. But, when father winter strikes—how does a travel nurse know where to go to?
The first step is to think about what kind of place you’d like to be climate-wise. Are you looking into an assignment that will come in like a lion and out (in spring) like a lamb? Then choose a temperate location. Maybe Baltimore, MD or Williamsburg, VA. Or, maybe you want to embrace the extreme temperatures of the seasons—for better or for worse.
If you’re someone who hates being cold and especially hates shoveling, salting, and slipping on ice; you clearly want a warmer place. Think like, Sacramento CA or Miami, FL. Also, Texas is always super warm and there’s a huge market for travel nursing there. Pretty much anywhere where flip-flop season is every season is the place to be for nurses that crave the sunshine all year round!
If you’re someone who actually LOVES the cold, then choose a destination where you can indulge you’re inner snow-bunny. Consider Salt lake City, UT or Denver, CO. Or, perhaps Montpelier, VT! Picking an assignment where you can both work in your rewarding healthcare field AND hit the slopes on your down time is seriously a paradise for winter-loving travel nurses.
Another thing to explore when you’re choosing a winter travel assignment is your other life priorities and how the location may affect them. For example, would choosing a warm climate perhaps take you much further from family than you would hope for? Or, which locations are more interested in filling winter positions than others. Because of that, which facilities will offer the best pay and benefits? You also want to consider how far from your work your travel housing will be. If you’re choosing a colder place during the winter, it may cause some issues traveling during severe snow and ice conditions. And nurses can’t take snow days.
Regardless of what your winter goals are, considering new locations to travel can be a hard decision no matter what season we’re in! The best way to get started is to really think about what your motives are. After all, in the profession of travel nursing, we do it so that we can get the opportunities to see what we wish to see and lead the lives we wish to live.
Most important of all though for travel nurses this season? Just enjoy and love every single minute of it. Get browsing for your next travel nursing assignment today with Travel Nurse Source.
