Summer as a travel nurse

It’s hard to believe it’s already the middle of September. Summer flew by. My most recent travel nursing contract did, as well. My contract ended September 1st but instead of saying goodbye and moving on to a new assignment and location, I decided to extend for an additional 7 weeks, at minimum. Travel nurse contracts are almost always 13 weeks but in some cases, there are opportunities to extend a contract if the facility still needs help. While in Modesto I was offered an extension and asked to stay longer than 13 weeks but I hated every single shift at that hospital so I turned it down and said, good riddance! I couldn’t wait to get out of there.

This time when the opportunity to extend came around I was thrilled to sign an additional 7 week contract and stick around. My current manager even worked with my schedule and extended me right up until I leave for Africa. Yep! I’m going to Africa. More on that in the next post 🙂  Night shift has been a huge challenge for me after working days for over a year– but I’ve got into a routine and I catch up on the lack of sleep on my off days when I’m not wandering around the mountains with Ben and the dogs.

So here I am, working the night shift at a rural hospital in eastern Colorado for another several weeks. It’s a critical access hospital which means we are small, but mighty, and serve the local population to the best of our ability with such a small hospital.

I enjoy my job here. In fact, it’s the first time in many years I’ve been truly happy as a nurse and this is the first time I’ve enjoyed a travel nurse contract. Hard work, and sticking it out, has paid off. Truly. I love this place. I’m only 90 miles from home outside of Boulder so close enough to commute sometimes, stay in housing here the other and close enough to still enjoy my normal life to the fullest ❤  This has been a great travel nursing contract and I’ll be sad when it’s finally complete for good.

When I went back into travel nursing 1 year ago, I promised myself I’d complete 3 contracts over the next year.  I have officially completed 3 and with this 7 week extension I’ll have met my goal and exceeded it. Travel nursing is hard. But the benefits far outweigh the difficulty and stress that accompanies being a contract worker.  I miss having paid time off, and benefits in general, and stability.  But I enjoy the changes and the freedom to take time off in between contracts and of course, the pay.

I don’t know what’s next after this contract. I’m hoping to continue travel nursing for a bit longer until Ben and I have a firm idea of where we’ll settle down.  Montana has been calling us lately.  But, we have no plans to move just yet so until then, I’ll just see what opportunities comes my way…

The 18th marks 9 years in this beautiful state of Colorado. It’s so hard to believe it’s been that long since I packed up my Corolla and headed east with Copper and my mom who came along for the ride. I was a completely different person when I moved here all those years ago. It’s hard to believe my life has changed so much. But I love where I am and I am continually in awe of life’s surprises…