When it comes to travel nursing, there are so many specialties to choose from. It can be daunting to find which one fits you the best. If you want to work in a specialty that brings new cases every day and offers a wide range of opportunities, primary care nursing could be a good fit.
We talk all about the ins, outs, and upside downs of primary care nursing and what you can expect if you choose this career.
From what exactly primary care nurses handle to what you need to know and do, it’s all here.
Table of Contents
- What Is a Primary Care Travel Nurse?
- Primary Care Travel Nurse: A Brief Overview
- How Much Do Primary Care Travel Nurses Make?
- Requirements To Become a Primary Care Travel Nurse
- Primary Care Travel Nurse: Pros and Cons of the Job
- Let Trusted Nurse Staffing Help Find You a Career as a Primary Care Travel Nurse
What Is a Primary Care Travel Nurse?
Primary care nurses are versatile and work in a range of areas and facilities. Primary care in general spans multiple categories and ages.
As a primary care travel nurse, you can expect to work in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of various illnesses and diseases. You’re the nurse people see in a regular doctor’s office and you’re going to help your patients with everything from mundane concerns to life-altering diagnoses.
Primary care nurses handle the majority of regular illnesses and common medical conditions. They are the “jack of all trades” of the nursing industry.
Primary Care Travel Nurse: A Brief Overview
If you’re looking into travel nursing, working as a primary care travel nurse is worth the research. You’ll interact with all types of patients and all manner of maladies.
From what it takes to be a good primary care travel nurse to where you could work and what you need to do, find all the details here.
Characteristics of a Great Primary Care Travel Nurse
What makes a great primary care travel nurse?
Basic nursing skills are key. All nurses need to be patient-oriented and caring individuals. They all need to have an excellent bedside manner. However, some skills are extra essential for primary care nurses.
Having a passion for patient advocacy and education is vital. Primary care nurses often find themselves walking with patients through their health journeys more than other nurses and it is essential that they be willing to stand up for their patients and help them navigate and understand their care.
A primary care nurse needs to be quick-thinking and great at problem-solving. Healthcare is always changing, and these types of nurses deal with a wide range of patients and conditions.
Like any good nurse, primary care nurses need to be willing to learn and grow. They can be found in all types of facilities working with a diverse group of patients, so it is important to always be ready to learn new things and new ways of caring for those who trust them with their health.
Duties of Primary Care Travel Nurses
Primary care nurses handle all the general nursing tasks.
They’ll run intake procedures for patients such as:
- Taking vitals
- Noting height and weight
- Asking about symptoms
- Gaining general information
They also follow their patients throughout their health journey, collaborate with other providers, handle assessments, and help patients connect to other resources.
A primary care travel nurse’s goal is to help their patient holistically, so that might look like:
- Offering advice for living a healthy lifestyle
- Education
- Chronic disease management
- Helping patients get the resources and support they need
Where Do Primary Care Travel Nurses Work?
One of the perks of working as a primary care nurse is that you can fit into almost any setting. You have a wide range of skills that are needed just about anywhere medical issues arise. This means you’re much less limited than other specialties and may find that there are a greater number of openings available to you.
Primary care travel nurses can be found in all the usual nursing settings:
- Hospitals
- Health care facilities
- Residential care facilities
- Outpatient centers
- Government facilities
How Much Do Primary Care Travel Nurses Make?
On average, travel nurses can expect to make at least $2,000 a week, but every travel nurse makes a different rate depending on multiple factors such as:
- Location
- Level of training
- Needs of facility
- How good their agency recruiter is
Having a great recruiter can be a game-changer when it comes to salary and benefit negotiations.
At Trusted Nurse Staffing, we love finding the best fits and scenarios for our nurses. When you partner with us, you get incredible benefits. For instance, with Trusted Nurse Staffing, you enjoy housing and food stipends, bonuses, and 24/7 support.
Travel nursing can be a great way to make a substantial income in a short time. Thanks to the housing and meal stipends we offer, our nurses often have a solid discretionary income available for their use. Travel nurses can put their earnings towards student loan repayments, savings for a home, or other financial goals and meet them much faster than they might at another job.
One of our favorite benefits is student loan repayment. We are excited to offer student loan repayment assistance to our nurses, beginning after 30 days of continuous employment. If you had to take out loans to cover your nursing degree, Trusted Nurse Staffing is here to help you kiss up to $5,250 of them goodbye every year you’re employed with us.
Requirements To Become a Primary Care Travel Nurse
Education
Typically, you need a BA in nursing or an RN or LPN certification. You’ll need to be current on both CPR and BCLS. Of course, you will also need to pass the NCLEX and apply for licensure.
Depending on your facility, there may be additional education or certifications required.
Licensure
When it comes to licensing, you’re going to need your RN license and likely at least one to two years of experience. This is true of most specialties.
Because travel nurses are on the move and don’t have much ‘train on the job’ time, many facilities prefer those with some experience.
Certifications
You may need additional certifications as you step into the realm of primary care travel nursing. Some common certifications facilities require include:
- Certificate of completion for post-entry primary healthcare
- Family practice nurse education
- Certification in the administration of immunizations
- Specialty certifications
Experience and Skills
As we’ve mentioned, travel nurses are typically required to have more experience than some other nurses. Often, you’ll find that facilities want an absolute minimum of one year of experience. Some may ask for up to five.
For primary care travel nurses, there may be some other helpful or required skill sets and experience levels. Your facility may want you to have experience in:
- Family practice
- Community care
- Primary healthcare settings
- Working with collaborative interdisciplinary teams
- Clinical areas
Some commonly sought-after skills include:
- Self-directedness
- Independence
- The ability to work well with other professionals
- Effectiveness
- Organizational skills
- Critical thinking
- Problem-solving
- Decisiveness
- Strong communication
Primary Care Travel Nurse: Pros and Cons of the Job
As with any job, especially in the healthcare industry, there are upsides and downsides to primary care travel nursing.
Pros of Primary Care Travel Nursing
When it comes to travel nursing, primary care travel nurses enjoy some pretty incredible pros.
With current demand trends, they can rest assured that they have a positive job outlook. Nurses are in high demand and there is always someone, somewhere looking for the good ones.
For some travel nurses, the pace of life provides just the work-life balance they are looking for. As a travel nurse, you can negotiate a set schedule and build a life that has good equilibrium.
Other pros include:
- Competitive salaries
- Working in a career you love
- Experiencing new places
- Getting paid to travel
Cons of Primary Care Travel Nursing
Of course, there are downsides, too. For instance, depending on your schedule, your work-life balance might be less than desirable.
Additional challenges travel nurses face include:
- Experiencing burnout
- Travel-related stressors
- Homesickness
- Constantly having to adjust to new places and people
- Leaving friends and family behind for long periods of time
At Trusted Nurse Staffing, supporting our nurses is our top priority. We know you have a tough job, and we want to be there for you. Our nurses have access to 24/7 support — a real person who specifically handles their case and ensures that they are placed in facilities that work for them.
We’re here to help you navigate the ups and downs of travel nursing.
Let Trusted Nurse Staffing Help Find You a Career as a Primary Care Travel Nurse
Trusted Nurse Staffing is proud to be an award-winning travel nursing agency serving nurses all over the country. We’re constantly looking for ways to better serve the travel nursing community. With our latest service, the Pronto job search platform, you can search for travel nursing positions and filter your results based on:
- Location
- Salary
- Profession
- Shift
- Specialty
With Trusted Nurse Staffing, you’re never more than a phone call away from the support you need to get started as a travel nurse. Search available jobs and begin your fulfilling career as a primary care travel nurse.