Didn't see a name on your profile, so I'll simply say, Hello Bugg :-)
While your experience doesn't define you specifically, a recruiter might be able to sell you as either a med-surg nurse or possibly a tele nurse. The hospitals have gotten pickier about what they want in a traveler, but that is not to say that you wouldn’t be able to find a position. However, the possible problem I foresee is in finding a recruiter that is willing to put in the time that it would take to find you that position.
Let’s say you were a recruiter and had three travelers looking for assignments. Two travelers looked good on paper (meaning they had enough of the experience for which hospitals are looking) and one of the travelers had experience time wise, but in varied specialties. Who would you spend more time working with to place on an assignment? Travel companies certainly want to attract any nurses they can, but the cold truth could be that some recruiters might not want to spend the added time trying to find you an assignment, over more qualified applicant.
BUT, that is also only one way to look at it (and the optimist in me prefers to think of another possibility). What if you were a newly hired recruiter just starting work at a travel company? Maybe you only have a nurse or two assigned to you. Wouldn’t you go to the ends of the earth to get those nurses placed? For you, I think it may be all about finding the right recruiter to put in that extra effort to get you placed.
I have recruiters I work with at a few companies that I recommend as good companies with which to travel. If you’d like, send me an email (
david@travelnursesbible.com) and I’ll be happy to put you in contact. I don’t know what they will tell you regarding your experience, but I trust their judgment in whether or not they feel a hospital would be willing to hire you as a traveler.
If you prefer to go at it on your own, just be sure you are traveling with a solid company. There are certainly companies that will promise to "make it work" with your background, but I'm leery of any company that has to fudge things too much to get you in the door.
To find solid companies, read up in the forums on here to see if you can find companies that others recommend. You can also try the forum on ultimatenurse.com or the travel nursing forum on Delphi (go to Delphiforums.com, type travel nurse in the search box, and it is called something like "Traveling nurses and therapist"). I believe both sites are free to become a member and then you can also post questions asking if anyone has traveled with a specific company.
As far as traveling during the summer months, you have no long term commitment with most companies as far as taking so many assignments each year. I had several years where I would work all winters in warm climates and then return home and do per diem work in the summer. Once I was ready to travel again, all I did was pick up the phone and let my recruiter know. Join a few companies and then when you want a summer contract, just contact them and tell them where you want to go.
I hope this helps, and again, feel free to email me directly if you’d like to try a few of the recruiters I work with.
David
http://travelnursesbible.com
