Winter can be a tricky season for travel nurses — especially in regions where inclement weather is a factor. If you’re on assignment in one of these areas, finding housing can be particularly troublesome to navigate. Between preserving your housing stipend and finding available rentals in desirable areas, there’s an art to getting a room during the winter months. These resources can help.

Every travel nurse has a recruiter that they work with to find assignments and secure contracts. Many travel nurses work with several at a time. More than just your link to the next assignment, it’s important to understand your recruiter’s role as a resource. They’re not just there to help you manage contracts; a recruiter’s job is to make sure your career as a travel nurse is a successful, lucrative, stress-free, and enjoyable one!

Have trouble standing up for yourself? You’re not alone. Many professionals are great at their jobs, but not necessarily at advocating for themselves. Learning to advocate for yourself is an important skill to develop — especially for travel nurses. Becoming your own biggest supporter can help you develop your career in powerful, positive ways.

Fall and early winter are known for an increase in respiratory illness. Though it is traditionally known as cold and flu season, we can now add COVID-19 to the list. Since it’s impossible to predict how many cases nurses will see this season, healthcare professionals must brace for an unpredictable patient influx — and prepare to protect their own health and well-being.

The right care is crucial to a positive patient outcome, but it’s not the only critical factor. A nurse’s care delivery is equally vital to the patient experience, and delivery is where soft skills come into play.

With fears of recession rising, many professionals are rethinking their career choices. Why aren’t nurses more concerned about job security? There’s no such thing as a recession-proof industry, but healthcare comes close.

Women have traditionally dominated the nursing field. But current data shows men are increasingly choosing this healthcare field. As attrition rates see women leaving the profession, the nursing industry is entering a period of gender equilibrium.

There’s an increasing lag between application for nursing licenses and approval. With approval times exceeding 100 days in some states, the logjam is exacerbating staff shortages across the country.

Vitamin deficiency can lead to serious problems, especially when healthcare professionals lack essential vitamin D. This is an all-too-common problem among nurses, but there are diet and lifestyle choices nurses can use to fight deficiency and ensure they’re getting enough of this essential vitamin.

Meet HPC’s next honoree for National Nurses Week 2022! Tara Miller is from Drummond Island, Michigan. She’s been an RN for 22 years and just recently became a nurse practitioner as well. Tara’s specialties include critical care, open heart, and intensive care, and she holds PALS and CCRN certifications.