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Travel Nurse Loneliness

How to Combat Feelings of Loneliness on your Travel Assignments

With each new travel, an assignment brings a whole new world of possibilities. You get the opportunity to meet new people, work in new hospitals or facilities, and get to have new adventures and new cultures to experience! But despite all of this, it can easily get lonely as a travel nurse. The average travel assignment is usually around 13 weeks, but it flies by! Since you are moving from place to place for short amounts of time, it can seem difficult to make connections and feel like a part of the team or community. Those feelings are quite normal and don’t necessarily mean that you shouldn’t keep pursuing your career as a travel nurse. Here are some ways to help combat these feelings of loneliness and disconnection as a travel nurse (or medical professional).

Make your housing feel like a home

This is a great way to help make your temporary housing feel like home. Try to arrive a few days before your assignment to explore your new area and get settled in a bit before your first week. Some sentimental items from your home like pictures, favorite books, and comfortable bedding will help decorate your new place a bit. Having your new temporary housing have a peaceful and homey vibe will help you after a long day at work.

Plan adventures

Many of our travelers don’t only travel for the income but also the adventure. Try seeking out opportunities to try new things. Many places have experiences that you normally wouldn’t see back in your hometown. Get out and explore your new city, you might make some new friends! You can even try to plan your adventures with staff and other travelers in your area, they are most likely in the same situation as you and would love the opportunity to tag along! We encourage you to live in the moment and push yourself outside your comfort zone!

Pursue hobbies and passions

During your new travel assignment is the perfect situation to set some time aside for a hobby that you love or if you don’t have one, find a new one! Try visiting places that encourage social interaction. Places like a gym, hiking group, church, book club, and many more! There are plenty of places to meet like-minded people to hang out. Not sure what is available in your area? Try looking at Facebook events or groups to find new things that may interest you in your new area. Depending on the city, you might be able to try new things that you normally wouldn’t find in your hometown. Don’t be afraid to try new things solo. You may have to do the first few alone before you meet new friends!

Make time for family & friends

This may not come as a surprise but not every family member will be onboard with travel nursing. Not everyone understands it and that’s ok! One thing to help those family members understand is inviting them to your new location for vacation. Not only will they get a vacation every time you move to your travel assignment, but they will get to see how truly happy you are! You can also try to make time between assignments to visit family and friends back in your hometown. Since while you are on assignment you might be busy with work setting some time aside will help make more quality time that won’t get taken for granted. If all of that doesn’t work we live in a digital world where FaceTime, Skype, and other video call services are easily available to chat with family and friends as often as you’d like.

Take time off to renew yourself

This is an important one! Make sure to take care of yourself, not just physically but mentally as well! One f the biggest perks of being a travel nurse is that you can build your schedule to give yourself time off in between your contracts. Giving yourself small rewards and self-love every week or so is another great way to take care of yourself. Plan a massage or Mani/Pedi, or even spend the whole day in your PJs and order some food.

Like always our recruiters are always here to help. Once you are a traveler with Alegiant you are a part of the family! We hope you have found this article helpful! If you are interested in starting your travel med career, reach out to one of our recruiters or visit our jobs board today!

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