When you hear the terms ‘travel’ and ‘nursing’ together you may automatically think of a nursing career as a travel nurse. It’s OK- I do too. And while travel nursing always seemed like a fantasy to me, something I dreamed of doing in my nursing career- I never did.

So while I cannot claim to be a resource in travel nursing, I can lead you to an exceptional one. Or make that two. First, let me introduce you to The Gypsy Nurse. Candy Teft knows travel nursing inside and out and I would recommend her site to anyone. Another colleague comes to mind, one who recently wrote a book review of my latest print book: you can check out Highway Hypodermics by clicking here.

OK- but let’s get back to the point of this post- which, no isn’t about travel nursing.

Last week I got back from an exceptional trip with my husband. We went to Granada, Nicaragua for a wedding. I wasn’t really all that thrilled to go- except that it WAS an international wedding and I DO love to travel.

The country was amazing. The people were super friendly and hospitable. The travel to-and-from was very easy and our hotel was gorgeous. I loved every adventure we took- including renting scooters and driving hours on end through the countryside! (If you are ever thinking of going to Nicaragua, let me know and I have plenty to recommend.)

But- again- this isn’t a blog post about a trip to Nicaragua. This post is about what happens to our nursing career when we do allow ourselves to travel beyond our micro-communities. When we get out and explore. When we see what else is going on in this wonderful world of ours. And how we can relate our experiences to our careers as nurses.

[Tweet “Here are 3 reasons it makes sense to travel during your nursing career.”]

• Presence. When we travel to a new place (especially outside of our home country) we must be aware. We often have to use a map, figure out where we are going and listen to directions. If we are distracted, we can find ourselves lost. Even in trouble! So being mindful of where we are and what surrounds us can keep us safe. This is also true for our nursing careers. Being mindful of our work helps us keep ourselves and our patients out of harms way.
• Connection. Sometimes it’s easy to get so wrapped up in our own complaints and frustrations, we fail to see the bigger picture. Taking a trip and learning about how others are also challenged (and how they succeed), can help us realize that we are not alone in our nursing profession. It may even be safe to say: ‘it’s all relative’.
• Rejuvenation. Oh, as nurses how we know we never get a break. Downtime is a luxury. Lunch is a fantasy land. Yet, allowing ourselves to get away from work and into another space can be so rejuvenating. So much so that when we return to our nursing jobs we feel refreshed and renewed- ready to tackle anything that comes our way. So even if it is for the self-care reason- take a trip to take a break!

I would love to hear from you. What would you add to this list? How does travelling complement your nursing career? In what ways can going on a trip improve your nursing practice?