“Where will my next adventure take me?”
Travel nursing opens up a whole new world for nurses.
But with all of the decisions to make …
- Where to go
- Where to live
- What agency to join
- How to continue your education
… it can be difficult to navigate on your own.
Joining a travel nurse organization offers many benefits, including helping to network with other nurses to get your questions answered.
Read this guide to learn more about the benefits of travel nurse organizations, and which one might be right for you.
Table of Contents
- What Is The Purpose of Travel Nurse Organizations?
- How Can Travel Nurse Organizations Help You in Your Career?
- 3 Travel Nurse Organizations You Might Consider Joining
- Travel Nurse Organizations: Membership Benefits
- Trusted Nurse Staffing: A Dependable Partner for Your Traveling Nurse Career
What Is The Purpose of Travel Nurse Organizations?
Travel nurse organizations can help you learn more about the travel healthcare sector. This is especially helpful if you’re new to travel nursing.
Mary Beth had already been an RN for three years when she decided that she wanted to advance her career and gain more experience working as a travel nurse. She knew the importance of networking and went online for advice on where to begin.
This search led her to discover travel nurse organizations.
How Can Travel Nurse Organizations Help You In Your Career?
Mary Beth found that travel nurse organizations could help her (and any travel nurse’s) career by:
- Connecting her with travel staffing companies
- Offering her leads and lips for licensing
- Helping with continuing education tasks
- And much more
What caught her attention the most was that travel nurse organizations can help her learn from and connect with both experienced and new travelers like herself. Nursing isn’t about luck. Excelling in this field (especially as a travel nurse) takes hard work, dedication, and networking. Networking — it’s the key to successfully navigating her new adventure.
It’s always a must to work with a professional staffing agency such as Trusted Nurse Staffing, but it never hurts to have other resources in your pocket as well. Plus, any membership fees are tax-deductible.
3 Travel Nurse Organizations You Might Consider Joining
There are a variety of professional and social communities for traveling nurses, all of which can provide you with additional knowledge and connections within the world of travel nursing.
Beyond gaining experience through years of working as a travel nurse, you can join professional organizations (yes, even more than one) that aim to develop their members’ careers. Bonus: involvement can look great on your resume.
We’ve outlined three travel nurse organizations that we believe are worth looking into as you seek additional resources.
We share why each organization is different or unique, and what they can bring to you as a travel nurse.
#1: National Association Of Travel Healthcare Organizations
Founded in 2008, the National Association of Travel Healthcare Organizations (NATHO), is a nonprofit association of travel healthcare organizations. NATHO aims to promote:
- A gold standard for conduct in the travel nursing industry
- Ethical business practices
- Educational opportunities
- Advocacy
Benefits of Joining This Traveling Nurses Association
NATHO’s mission statement states: “The National Association of Travel Healthcare Organizations is dedicated to promoting ethical guidelines in the industry by providing a forum and resources to travel healthcare organizations through common standards of practice, committee and partnership involvement, government and regulatory advocacy and compliance, and educational programming.”
NATHO offers their members:
- Resources for travel health clinics
- Advocacy for issues in the travel nursing industry
- Aid in cultivating market
- And much more
#2: International Council of Nurses (ICN)
The International Council of Nurses (ICN) is for all nurses, not just travel nurses. They’ve been around for a long time. In fact, they’re celebrating their 120th birthday in 2021.
This is considered more of a “council”, as the name suggests, than a stand-alone travel nurse organization. There is no individual membership, but they work directly with member associations supporting both the association and the association’s members. “Two for the price of one.”
Benefits of Joining This Traveling Nurses Association
ICN’s mission statement is: “To represent nursing worldwide, advance the nursing profession, promote the wellbeing of nurses, and advocate for health in all policies.”
Their vision states: “The global community recognizes, supports, and invests in nurses and nursing to lead and deliver health for all.”
Benefits for an association to become an ICN member:
- Enhance your credibility as an association
- Have a seat and a voice at the policy-making table
- Help build nursing leadership
- Improve working conditions and health outcomes
- Host ICN local events
- Share knowledge and learn from other associations (networking)
- Benefit from continuing education offers
#3: Professional Association of Nurse Travelers (PanTravelers)
PanTravelers has been considered a voice and advocate for healthcare travelers in the U.S. since 2007. Their site offers information, professional development, tools, and resources.
They offer their basic membership for free, but also offer a full membership that includes full access to their benefits.
Benefits of Joining This Traveling Nurses Association
PanTravelers’ mission statement is: “The Professional Association of Nurse Travelers serves as a comprehensive educational resource for healthcare travelers in the United States.”
Their vision: “To improve the conditions for healthcare travelers, hospitals, and patients.”
Benefits for basic members include:
- Traveler’s calculator
- Legal services
- Assistance with taxes
- Articles and editorials
- And more
Benefits for full members include:
- Insights from experienced travelers (tricks of the trade)
- In-depth articles on insurance, housing, taxes, portfolios, etc.
- “Real Pay” traveler’s calculator
- Test-taking tips
- Unbiased education
- And more
Travel Nurse Organizations: Membership Benefits
We’ve previewed many benefits that joining travel nurse organizations can offer.
Let’s take a closer look at exactly how you can take advantage of these top three benefits to help advance your travel nurse career:
- Furthering your education
- Finding housing, and
- Networking
Furthering Your Education
If you’ve considered an advanced degree or specialty area, many travel nurse organizations provide continuing education opportunities.
You’ll be able to pursue education while still working.
Furthering your education as a travel nurse can:
- Make you a more desirable candidate, allowing you to get first choice for assignments
- Increase your salary
- Offer more job satisfaction
Finding Housing
Agency-placed housing has its pros and cons.
They can offer:
- Affordability
- Convenience, and
- Piece of mind
However, they can also cause headaches with limited availability and options.
If you’re wanting to think outside the box, many travel nurse organizations offer tips, services, leads, and other options to consider such as:
- Traditional housing
- Vacation rentals
- RV or mobile housing
- Temporary housing
- Extended-stay hotels
- Just to get the list going
Travel nurse organizations, as well as a trusted nurse staffing agency can work with you to help you find the right housing for your placement.
Networking
Networking as a travel nurse is always important to help advance your career.
This is perhaps the greatest benefit to joining a travel nurse organization. As your professional network grows, so can your career.
A travel nurse isn’t working with a permanent hospital that allows them to move through the ranks. You don’t have a boss watching you grow and develop as a nurse and recommending you for a promotion. You’re representing yourself 24/7.
By networking with other nurses and your recruiter, you can keep your professional image polished. It can even help you land a permanent job down the road when you’re ready to settle down.
Trusted Nurse Staffing: A Dependable Partner for Your Traveling Nurse Career
Travel nurse organizations are invaluable resources for travel nurses. They can help answer questions, help with networking, and help with continued education.
BUT .. you still need a trusted staffing agency to support you along your journey.
Create a free profile with Trusted Nurse Staffing to explore a world of future possibilities in your travel nursing career.
Trusted Nurse Staffing can help you find travel nursing positions that fit your professional, personal, and adventuring needs.
Based on the details you provide in your free online profile, our recruiters will match you with assignments that you’ll love.
We’ll listen to your:
- Goals
- Interests, and
- Availability
If you’re interested, we’ll connect you with your top choices and arrange a phone interview with the facility’s hiring manager.
Don’t wait to start your adventure. Click the link below to get started now.