Grad RN, First job...advice

ok, hey all, my name is Brandon, and I will be graduating in May of 2009 as a new RN. I am incredibly excited to be starting this career. I am 22, a male, of course....lol, not married, and no kids. I am wanting a career right now in travel nursing. I mean I have no attachments to West Virginia, so I thought I should see some of the US.... I guess what I am saying is I need advice, where to go to, what to look for, and should I start applying now, or wait til I am through with school... any advice on what companies are good travel companies... what to expect, etc.

Its all so nerve racking, I don't want to get ripped off because I am a new RN, but I don't want to act like a know it all.. I just would like to know what I should be asking, expecting, what I need to know, benefits, salaries, time spent in one place, etc.

Thanks in advance... I figure I will be on here a lot....:D

J. Brandon, ADSN

I know that you are eager to begin a career as a travel nurse right away, but you really need to get at LEAST 1-2 years of solid experience as an RN in your chosen specialty before you can even begin to think about traveling. Hospitals will not even consider a traveler with less than 1 year experience, and most require more (2-3 years).

As a traveler, you are expected to jump into unfamiliar settings with unfamiliar equipment and hit the ground running with only 1-2 days of orientation. Most new grads require 3 months of orientation before they can work independently, and at least 1-2 years before you can feel totally confident in your new role as an RN. You will learn more in your first year or two as a nurse than you did in school, and a travel assignment is not the place for this learning. Hospitals hire travelers because they have an urgent need for an experienced nurse who can work independently with little or no guidance from others.

My advice: take your time, choose your specialty, and get a couple years experience before you think about traveling. During this time, you will want to work on getting any certifications applicable to your specialty. When you are ready to travel, you should start speaking to different companies and looking for assignments a few months ahead of time. In the mean time, do a LOT of research- find out where you might like to go when you do travel, and find out as much as you can about the different companies, benefits, tax laws, etc...

Not to discourage you, but you will be glad you waited when you finally are ready to travel.