What does a Traveling Nurse do?

Updated January 8, 2025
8 min read
Quoted Expert
Lisa Rebeschi Ph.D.
What does a Traveling Nurse do

Often employed under a staffing agency, a travel nurse primarily works short-term on different limited-staffed hospitals in cities all over a country, and even abroad on rare occasions. They are mainly responsible for providing treatment and immediate care to patients, administering medicine, assisting in various tasks, preparing meals, and other functions that the supervising colleague delegates. Furthermore, as a travel nurse, one must quickly familiarize the surroundings and colleagues to work efficiently, all while upholding their oath as health care workers.

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Traveling nurse responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real traveling nurse resumes:

  • Manage critically ill patient as a result of trauma, including vent management, ICP monitoring, and CRRT.
  • Manage and further help stabilize elective and/or urgent surgical patient in their post-operative, post PACU admission to the floor.
  • Manage bedside care per MD orders, administering medications, ensuring patient safety, assisting in ADL care, etc.
  • Monitor chemotherapy and administration of oral chemo medication, obtain laboratory specimens to manage client status via central lines.
  • Travel nurse who provide care to patients in SICU, MICU, CCU, and CVICU.
  • Work in both MICU and SICU
  • Float to ER, MICU, SICU as needed.
  • Work with critically-ill patients in SICU.
  • Stabilize patients in crisis through BLS and ACLS protocols.
  • Provide compassion and emotional support to patients throughout IVF experience.
  • Obtain ACLS recertification, CPR recertification, and acute stroke cerfication.
  • Develop and utilize time management skills overseeing a 12-bed PACU staff with 3 RNs.
  • Care for patients requiring mechanical ventilation.
  • Provide care to medical/surgical and oncology patients in an outpatient clinic and surgical floor.
  • Perform triage duties efficiently and effectively to ensure the patients receive care promptly and appropriately.

Traveling nurse skills and personality traits

We calculated that 15% of Traveling Nurses are proficient in Patients, Acute Care, and Healthcare. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Compassion, and Detail oriented.

We break down the percentage of Traveling Nurses that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Patients, 15%

    Assessed and admitted patients, used computers for charts/plans of care and coordinated multidisciplinary teams to facilitate discharge planning.

  • Acute Care, 10%

    Provided collaborative patient care to medical/surgical and telemetry patients in acute care facility.

  • Healthcare, 9%

    Demonstrated excellent abilities for recognizing change in respiratory status, problem solving, communication with other healthcare personnel.

  • Acls, 6%

    Intervened and administered appropriate ACLS interventions/medications during code blue and emergency situations.

  • Surgery, 6%

    Travel nursing assignments including orthopedic surgery, general surgery, and gynecology at Little Company of Mary Hospital.

  • Telemetry, 4%

    Provided nursing care on a Medical Telemetry Unit to a low Socioeconomic population with patients who were incarcerated and/or drug addicted.

"patients," "acute care," and "healthcare" are among the most common skills that traveling nurses use at work. You can find even more traveling nurse responsibilities below, including:

Communication skills. The most essential soft skill for a traveling nurse to carry out their responsibilities is communication skills. This skill is important for the role because "registered nurses must be able to communicate effectively with patients in order to understand their concerns and evaluate their health conditions." Additionally, a traveling nurse resume shows how their duties depend on communication skills: "process of communication established between radiation oncology and medical oncology for mutual patients. "

Compassion. Another essential skill to perform traveling nurse duties is compassion. Traveling nurses responsibilities require that "registered nurses should be caring and empathetic when working with patients." Traveling nurses also use compassion in their role according to a real resume snippet: "provided compassionate holistic care to a broad spectrum of patients with a multitude of different diagnoses. "

Detail oriented. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of traveling nurses is detail oriented. This skill is critical to many everyday traveling nurse duties, as "registered nurses must be precise because they must ensure that patients get the correct treatments and medicines at the right time." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "maintained detailed clinical notes accurately documenting clinical picture and medication administration. "

Emotional stability. A big part of what traveling nurses do relies on "emotional stability." You can see how essential it is to traveling nurse responsibilities because "registered nurses need emotional resilience and the ability to cope with human suffering, emergencies, and other stressors." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical traveling nurse tasks: "provided psychosocial and emotional support to the patients and their family. "

Organizational skills. Another crucial skill for a traveling nurse to carry out their responsibilities is "organizational skills." A big part of what traveling nurses relies on this skill, since "nurses often work with multiple patients who have a variety of health needs." How this skill relates to traveling nurse duties can be seen in an example from a traveling nurse resume snippet: "served as icu representative on organizational nursing education council and cardiopulmonary resuscitation committee. "

Physical stamina. Lastly, "physical stamina" is an important element of what a traveling nurse does. Traveling nurse responsibilities require this skill because "nurses should be comfortable performing physical tasks, such as lifting patients." This resume example highlights how traveling nurse duties rely on this skill: "consisted of but were not limited to the performing physical assessment pre and post treatment, medication administration. "

Most common traveling nurse skills

The three companies that hire the most traveling nurses are:

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Compare different traveling nurses

Traveling nurse vs. Registered nurse charge nurse

A registered charge nurse is responsible for supervising nurses' workflow in a particular department or area, ensuring every patient gets the proper care that they need. A registered charge nurse has the discretion to direct tasks, arrange schedules, and monitor patients, such as in the aspects of admission and discharge. Furthermore, a registered charge nurse must maintain an active line of communication and coordination among nurses, physicians, and other personnel involved as the conditions in a hospital can be unpredictable.

If we compare the average traveling nurse annual salary with that of a registered nurse charge nurse, we find that registered nurses charge nurses typically earn a $12,619 lower salary than traveling nurses make annually.Even though traveling nurses and registered nurses charge nurses are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require patients, acute care, and acls in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, traveling nurse responsibilities require skills like "healthcare," "surgery," "picu," and "cvicu." Meanwhile a typical registered nurse charge nurse has skills in areas such as "bls," "cpr," "rehabilitation," and "resident care." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Registered nurses charge nurses earn the highest salaries when working in the health care industry, with an average yearly salary of $68,929. On the other hand, traveling nurses are paid more in the professional industry with an average salary of $98,373.On average, registered nurses charge nurses reach similar levels of education than traveling nurses. Registered nurses charge nurses are 1.9% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Traveling nurse vs. Nurse extern

The job of a nurse extern is to assist the mentor nurse in their nursing duties. They help the mentor nurse in various medical procedures such as administering medications or starting intravenous therapies. They provide or help with personal patient care, including changing bed linens, oral hygiene, and bathing. Nurse externships typically have different requirements that include having finished nursing school, completing a clinical nursing course before the training, and being registered in a nursing program.

Nurse extern positions earn lower pay than traveling nurse roles. They earn a $46,805 lower salary than traveling nurses per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Traveling nurses and nurse externs both require similar skills like "patients," "telemetry," and "icu" to carry out their responsibilities.

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that traveling nurse responsibilities requires skills like "acute care," "healthcare," "acls," and "surgery." But a nurse extern might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "cpr," "direct supervision," "medical-surgical," and "infection control."

Nurse externs may earn a lower salary than traveling nurses, but nurse externs earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $39,085. On the other hand, traveling nurses receive higher pay in the professional industry, where they earn an average salary of $98,373.In general, nurse externs achieve similar levels of education than traveling nurses. They're 1.9% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Traveling Nurses in the next 3-5 years?

L

Lisa Rebeschi Ph.D.Lisa Rebeschi Ph.D. LinkedIn Profile

Associate Dean of the School of Nursing Professor of Nursing, Quinnipiac University

Telehealth will continue to play an essential role in the delivery of high-quality patient care. As nursing professionals, RNs must be familiar with the delivery of digital health, including issues such as the scope of practice, regulation, delivery platforms, and patient privacy to name a few.

Traveling nurse vs. Registered nurse in the icu

A registered nurse in the ICU, or intensive care unit, is responsible for monitoring a patient's progress and performing regular reports to physicians and families. Most ICU patients require extensive attention and assessment, which will require a nurse to be more observant and proactive. A nurse may also have duties producing paperwork, arranging schedules, responding to various inquiries, and crafting a particular care plan. Furthermore, should there be any emergencies, it is crucial to inform the assigned physician right away.

On average, registered nurse in the icus earn higher salaries than traveling nurses, with a $8,920 difference per year.traveling nurses and registered nurse in the icus both have job responsibilities that require similar skill sets. These similarities include skills such as "patients," "acute care," and "acls," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a traveling nurse is likely to be skilled in "healthcare," "surgery," "med/surg," and "oncology," while a typical registered nurse in the icu is skilled in "bls," "life support," "cpr," and "rehabilitation."

Registered nurse in the icus earn the best pay in the health care industry, where they command an average salary of $79,394. Traveling nurses earn the highest pay from the professional industry, with an average salary of $98,373.registered nurse in the icus typically earn similar educational levels compared to traveling nurses. Specifically, they're 0.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Traveling nurse vs. Emergency department registered nurse

An emergency registered nurse is first in line for patients who need a response. These nurses are first to respond to emergency cases such as trauma, allergic reactions, and injuries. They assist doctors and other medical staff in emergency medical care. It is their responsibility to always provide high-quality standards for nursing. The skills they should possess include diligence, attention to detail, levelheadedness, and strong communication. They also need to be knowledgeable about emergency care.

Emergency department registered nurses average a lower salary than the annual salary of traveling nurses. The difference is about $2,701 per year.According to resumes from traveling nurses and emergency department registered nurses, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "patients," "acute care," and "acls. "Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. A traveling nurse uses "healthcare," "surgery," "telemetry," and "med/surg." Emergency department registered nurses are more likely to have duties that require skills in "life support," "patient outcomes," "cpr," and "compassion. "The health care industry tends to pay the highest salaries for emergency department registered nurses, with average annual pay of $77,094. Comparatively, the highest traveling nurse annual salary comes from the professional industry.In general, emergency department registered nurses hold similar degree levels compared to traveling nurses. Emergency department registered nurses are 0.5% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of traveling nurse

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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