Travel Nurse Stories

Jasmine worked as an endocrinology nurse in her home state of Ohio for seven years when she came across an intriguing ad.

It was for something called “travel nursing.” She’d never heard of travel nursing before and immediately needed to know more. So, she and her spouse, Ruben, started researching and kept researching … for an entire year! Jasmine felt she was ready to travel, but was terrified. She had a job she loved and was good at. Add in a husband, two young children, a cat and a dog? She felt crazy for wanting to leave.

“It wasn’t just a leap of faith,” Jasmine explains with a laugh. “It was more like bungee jumping.” She explained that with travel nursing, you jump and the freefall is exciting. You get through one assignment and then with support, you bounce back and are excited to do it all over again.

Jasmine has taken that jump over and over and is now a travel nursing pro. After three years of working across the country with family in tow, she’s never looking back.

The whole family gets to spend winters in the snow AND on the beach. Her kids are growing up in giant metropolis like New York City and small towns in North Dakota. How does Jasmine do it? With the support of her loving husband and her Aya team members, Anne and Emily.

“Ruben is so supportive and takes great care of the kids,” Jasmine says. He also picks up part-time jobs wherever he goes. Her Aya team helps with all things travel, from finding kid and pet-friendly housing, to securing assignments with great pay. Jasmine and her family are currently on assignment in Los Angeles where they’re loving the Southern California weather. “We experienced a Midwestern winter last year. It was fun — but way too cold. We’re staying on the West Coast this year,” she said with conviction.

Exploring the country isn’t the only positive. Traveling has a lot of benefits. Although Jasmine worked staff in endocrinology, she’s able to work PACU on her travel assignments. When asked how she enjoys the transition Jasmine replied, “I absolutely love the versatility of PACU. I get to see so many different procedures and interact with a variety of other specialties.” All the new techniques, technologies and specialties she’s encountered have expanded Jasmine’s clinical skills exponentially.

Not only has she become a better nurse, Jasmine believes traveling has made her better person. “I’m so appreciative of traveling because I’ve been able to experience other cultures, beliefs and places,” she explains. “I’m more open-minded now. My children, my family, we’re all more open now. When you stay in one place forever, you don’t get that kind of experience.”