Travel nurses are responsible for filling temporary positions in hospitals and other medical facilities that are experiencing staffing shortages. A travel nursing agency will send nurses to a location when there has been a disaster, higher than usual staff vacancies or higher than usual patient census that has left them unprepared to provide quality patient care. The travel nurses work for an established period of time for a higher rate of pay than a full-time nurse would normally earn in that location, and they receive numerous benefits.

Travel nurse agencies can offer many advantages to professional RNs, including increased pay, sign-on bonuses, referral bonuses, holiday bonuses, full medical benefits, free housing, and transportation stipends. Travel nurses also enjoy the experiences of living in different locations around the country and meeting new people with different cultural backgrounds. When a man or woman decides to work for a travel nursing agency they also get to decide whether they take an assignment or not, and they can request assignments in certain areas of the country if they have a preference.

Travel nurses often get into this career because they want to make some extra money and see the world for a short period of time, but they love it so much that they end up travel nursing for many years. Travel nurse agencies don't only employ free spirits that are happy to wander, though. The average travel nurse agency will also have many people with children, spouses and various responsibilities that may keep them a bit more grounded. Travel nursing agencies are usually willing to work around people's personal obligations so they can keep the best nurses in their employment.

Many types of men and women work for travel nurse agencies. It is a very challenging career, but it also offers many rewards in return.