Travel Nurse Stories

Everyone knows nurses are tough. Not many people are asked to deal with life and death on a daily basis while remaining cool under pressure. It is not a job for the faint of heart, and Hannah is a nurse of even greater than usual tenacity. Last year her determined nature led to a dramatic turn of events when she attempted to work with a nasty case of appendicitis. She took quite a bit of convincing but finally, when she could barely stand, friends in her critical care unit persuaded her to head to the ED. It was a good thing too, as her condition required emergency surgery. Hannah’s take on the whole incident? “I ruined my boyfriend’s birthday!” With characteristic altruism she continued “He had a pretty good birthday this year. I made up for it.”

Surprise surgery hasn’t been the only setback Hannah has overcome. She is a type 1 diabetic and Aya has been there to help with the cost of medication and missed work. Among the first questions Hannah usually gets asked about travel nursing is “how are the benefits?” and she is always quick to sing Aya’s praises. After the surgery Hannah “knew I was going to be out of work for quite a long time and Aya helped out financially no questions asked.”

Hannah hasn’t let health issues or anything else slow her down. She is a voracious traveler and in just four and a half short years as a nurse has booked assignments in San Antonio, Houston, Chandler, Portland and is looking next to go back home to Ohio. She also hasn’t let her nomadic life deprive her of pleasures enjoyed by the more sedentary. In joining local masters swimming clubs she has swum under palm tree lined cerulean skies in Arizona and cool tall firs in Oregon and she has been able to meet friends who are refreshingly uninvolved in the medical field. Traveling hasn’t dampened her romantic life either. Her very understanding boyfriend, Bryan, not only tolerates her periods away from home but encourages her wanderlust. He is an accountant and very busy seasonally which has proven to be the perfect time for Hannah to book assignments far and wide. Although Bryan is a native of the Lone Star State and sees, as Hannah puts it, “the geography of the U.S. as Texas and everything else” he has been happy to visit her on each assignment. He was especially enthusiastic when Hannah pointed out that by choosing positions on the West Coast she was able to pay off student loans. After that it wasn’t hard to convince a guy who “crunches the numbers and sees the benefits.”

From her tiny college town, or more accurately, “village with three traffic lights” in Ohio to exploring Arizona’s hiking trails, turning the famous 4T Trail of Portland into “the 5T Trail by adding tacos” and finding a home in warm, laid back Texas, Hannah has made the most of every minute of travel nursing. Her adventures are far from over. After returning back home to Ohio to spend some time with her parents and brothers she has her sights set on learning to surf in Hawaii. With her supportive boyfriend, and accompanied by the trusty Cleveland Browns garden gnome her mother gave her as a travel companion, the sky is the limit and an assignment near the sea is on the horizon.