BY ANNIE GABBIANELLI
Traveling to care for the ill is not a new concept. During the Civil War, Maine’s own Dorothea Dix was a recruiter for the Union Army nurses. It’s written that the Hampden-born health activist set impossibly high standards for recruited nurses, yet the legion of nurses was extremely successful and crucial in advancing the role of nurses in the war and in the medical field.
Modern day travel nursing became more formalized in the 1970s in Boston with the Traveling Nurse Corps. One current ad found on the internet reads: “Travel RN Jobs Across the USA — Make Up To $6,000 per Week,” and the travel nursing agency-recruiter business is expansive.
According to the website Zippia, an internet job finding company, there are approximately 1.7 million travel nurses currently working in the United States alone.
The Vice President of Nursing and Patient Care Services at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center (EMMC) acknowledged a nursing shortage issue back in 2015 with COVID accelerating the shortage. “Travel nursing has always been an integral part of our staffing strategy,” Deb Sanford said. “We partner with select travel nursing companies who understand our specific needs and standards of care.
“We provide them with detailed requirements for each position, and they conduct a comprehensive evaluation and compliance process to ensure that the nurses they send us are a good fit for our care needs. The compensation for travel nurses is handled by the travel nursing companies. These companies determine the compensation package for each nurse, and we, in turn, pay the company for their services,” Sanford said.
Maine is among 38 states enrolled in the Enhanced Nursing Licensure Compact allowing nurses to practice under one license in many states.
Olivia Foster, a registered nurse of seven years, left Bangor for a new adventure that has taken her to six different states. “My practice as a nurse really does not change, but my life has changed drastically. I have so much freedom and flexibility, and that is worth everything to me.”
The Vermont native decided to become a travel nurse along with a friend of hers almost four years ago. “We were 26 years old yet still felt like excited kids wanting to take advantage of our independence and freedom.”
While most contracts are for 13 weeks, Foster has extended her stay in a few places now and is currently in Denver, Colorado. Foster said the benefits include a high salary which she attributed to mistakes made during Covid. “I truly believe that if hospitals would have raised the salaries of their own nurses instead of throwing money at incredibly high-paid travelers that staffing shortages would not be so grave and nurses would be more satisfied across the country.”
Megan Perry of Etna took that initial leap with Foster, now traveling to four states. “You see first hand the healthcare in other areas and what the nurses there are struggling with [and] excelling at in their facilities,” Perry said.
Perry, a nurse of seven years, said, “Sometimes that means you see where Maine specifically is lacking in healthcare and other times you see where our state is doing well. Each place I worked, there were similarities showing where healthcare and specifically nurses are suffering as a whole which creates a connection and bonds us all together in this field.”
Elizabeth Owens of Bangor enjoyed being on the road from Baltimore to Santa Fe and acknowledged the “unknowns” of being a traveling nurse.
“The downside was always the risk of being canceled and having to possibly relocate at any time,” Owens said. “Finding housing in the locations you’re traveling to can be a big challenge as well, with not knowing the location well, being misled by a renter, and the cost alone. However, I found navigating in most unknown places more of an adventure than a stressor.”
Last year Owens came back home to Bangor. “The decision to stop traveling was very bittersweet, but missing the milestones of life back home was becoming more and more difficult.”
With her return she brought more experience. “My travel nurse journey helped me grow not only professionally, but as an individual navigating my own path in the world. Though there were many challenges to overcome and adapt to along the way, it was well worth the uncertainty.”
Ashley Kruger of Michigan, a registered nurse of four years, has decided to stay on in Bangor. Of her journeys thus far she said, “In three short years, I have been able to see more of the U.S. than I probably would have in 20 years. The downside though is you essentially live out of your car and move every three months. It’s hard to have a sense of home.”
Sanford said the traveling nurse program has been beneficial for EMMC because “travel nursing ensures that we can continue to provide high-quality care to our patients while helping out our employed nurses. Many travel nurses who come to our hospital choose to stay, bringing with them valuable experiences and perspectives that enrich our culture.”
“There is a knowledge gained that can only be achieved by having new experiences and being put in completely different scenery,” Perry said. “The opportunity to work while you travel is such a life changing way to grow as a nurse and as a person.”
