Travel Nurse Stories

Sam started out as a Med-Surg nurse but quickly realized that environment didn’t suit her. She wanted something that would use her rapid assessment skills, which she found in the emergency room. “There’s nothing else like it,” she says. After working for a while in a Level I Trauma hospital in her hometown of Allentown, she was ready for her next big change.

Sam has always dreamed of exploring the West Coast. Cue travel nursing and her Aya recruiter, Harrison. A lover of all things outdoors, Sam wanted to work in places where she could snowboard and hike or run with her two best friends — her pups, Kira and Lexi.

“Harrison and I have similar interests and he truly understands what I’m looking for in an assignment,” Sam says. “He tailors his offers to make sure they match everything I want.”

Harrison helped Sam get her first travel assignment in Seattle, which she loved. “Washington was so perfect for my dogs and I. There’s so much to explore,” she explains. Unfortunately, after a few months in the Pacific Northwest, Sam’s assignment was cancelled due to low census. (Don’t worry, this story has a happy ending!).

After a short lull in the availability of travel nursing assignments, new positions opened up all over the country with the second wave of the COVID-19 crisis. Thankfully, hospitals have a better understanding of the number of travelers they need to help combat the virus now, so Sam felt confident taking a new contract. She’s now on her way to a Level I Trauma Center in Southern California.  Appropriately, she says she’s “stoked.”

“I’m so lucky to have Harrison as my recruiter. I feel like he really fought for me in this situation,” she explains. “With all the uncertainty right now, it’s been great to have a recruiter who has my back no matter what.”

“My experience with Aya has been amazing,” Sam continues. “Travel nursing has been everything I’ve wanted and needed. It’s one of the coolest things you can do.”