3 Dos and 3 Don’ts for Travel Nursing Jobs

As we’ve already discussed on this blog, Travel nursing jobs carry with them a lot of benefits. Whether you’re spending the cold winters in South Florida or beautiful falls in New England, travel nursing jobs give you the chance to experience a wealth of new places and the opportunity to meet new people. But for many RNs on their first travel nursing jobs, there can be some anxious feelings. Here are some key things to remember and some crucial things to avoid if you’re about to embark one of your first travel nursing jobs.

DO

• Be sure to introduce yourself to your unit secretary as soon as you can. Most of the time, they’ll be almost as important as your floor manager. The unit secretary will be able to tell you where everything is located.
• Be as helpful as possible. Just about everyone who embarks on travel nursing jobs is naturally helpful, but it couldn’t hurt to be even more helpful than usual. If you have a spare moment, assist a fellow nurse with a task. That will help make you a trusted member of the team.
• Show up with a positive attitude. Anxiety can arise with new experiences, even for those who have held many travel nursing jobs. So remember that you’ll enjoy your new assignment. Travel nursing jobs can be many things, but they’re rarely boring. Enjoy the excitement.

DON’T

• Be withdrawn. You don’t have to make friends with everyone, but keeping yourself open and welcoming will help ensure that your current assignment on travel nursing jobs will be a great one.
• Discard the rules. There are as many different rules as there are hospitals and clinics. And those with travel nursing jobs should try their hardest to learn them all. Remember to act accordingly.
• Take certain things too personally. While on travel nursing jobs, some people on staff may forget your name. Some may even call you by the wrong name. Just remember that many on the staff may see a steady stream of travel nurses come and go. Instead of getting annoyed, try to make a joke and remember that it’s no big deal.

Sleep Tips for Nursing Jobs in Texas, Part 3: Motivation & Sunlight

In two previous posts, we started covering methods that RNs with travel nursing jobs in Texas can use to help them adjust to new sleeping hours. We’ve already covered topics like why it’s important that you sleep when you’re tired, and why you should only reduce your sleep time gradually. In part 3, we’ll discuss how motivation and lighting can help you get that great night’s sleep you require for your shifts on a travel nursing jobs assignment.

Have a good reason to get up

What makes you sleep in on your days off? If you’re like most of us, it’s simply because there’s no reason not to sleep in. If there’s no reason for you to get up early—whether it’s because you have the day off or because you have one of the travel nursing jobs in Texas with shifts that doesn’t start until later in the day, then it will be harder to rise at an early hour. So how can you get up? Easy. Find a good reason. It can be something as simple as a delicious cup of coffee or something as active as an early morning gym class. If you are a coffee drinker, there are coffee machines you can buy that come equipped with a timer. That means you can add the grounds and water before you go to sleep, set the timer to start making coffee in the morning, and you’ll have the smell of freshly brewed coffee to welcome you into the day.

It doesn’t really matter what your reason for getting up early is, so long as it keeps you from hitting the snooze button. But your chances of success are greater if it’s something you look forward.

Let the sun in

Unless you’re worried about people peeping in your window, you should leave your bedroom curtains open so the sun comes in.

Of course, if you’re one of those people with travel nursing jobs in Texas on the late shift, you may want to keep those curtains shut. But if you really want to rise with the sunrise, then there’s no better way than to let natural light into your room.

That’s because your body produces a sleep hormone melatonin. But when your body interacts with daylight, the process is interrupted and you get a natural cue that it’s time to rise. And if you’re one of those travel nurses in Texas who has to rise for a later shift, you don’t have to feel left out. Phillips has an alarm clock and lamp that will gradually increase the amount of light in your room so as to simulate a natural sunrise.

How Those with Travel RN Nursing Jobs can Optimize Sleep Part 2: Knowing the Sleep Cycle & How to Cut Down Effectively

One key method of  making sure you get a full night’s sleep before your next shift is to follow the 90-minute rule.

What’s the 90-minute rule? For one, it’s something that anyone who frequently has to adjust to new travel RN nursing jobs will want to understand. Recent human sleep research has revealed that human sleep cycles occur roughly in 90-minute intervals.

Within each hour-and-a-half cycle are two periods of REM sleep separated by one session of non-REM sleep. That means those with travel RN nursing jobs can stay alert by modifying their sleeping schedules to 90 minute intervals.

Have you ever woken up feeling groggy for your latest travel RN nursing jobs shift after 8 hours of sleep? Chances are your sleep cycle was interrupted in the middle. That could also be why sometimes we wake from just 6 hours of sleep feeling refreshed. 6 hours = 4 hour-and-a-half intervals.

But we wouldn’t recommend switching to sleeping for 6 hours night right away. Another crucial way those with travel RN nursing jobs can achieve maximum rest is by cutting down on sleep time incrementally. It is possible for most with travel RN nursing jobs to get by on less sleep, but only if they take the necessary steps to doing so. Instead of going from 8 hours to 6 hours right away, try cutting down a half hour at a time. Plan on sleeping for 7 ½ hours for a week, then cut that down to 7 for the next week. Going slowly and steadily will ensure a more successful sleep schedule that won’t leave you groggy.