How to Find Community as a Travel Nurse
20 years ago, traveling as a healthcare professional was a lot more isolating. Back then you’d hope to meet other awesome travelers through hospital orientation or while working on your unit — if there were any other travelers on your unit. Fast forward to today’s digital day in age, the accessibility to finding everlasting relationships and community is easier now more than ever. Below are seven tips on how to find your “squad” while on a travel assignment.
- Orientation/Hospital Unit: As stated above, this is the most obvious and convenient way to find other travelers. This method is a lot easier at big hospitals, but can be very challenging at small community or rural hospitals where the population is small.
- Facebook: There are several Facebook groups that you can join that are geared towards traveling healthcare professionals. There are even Traveling Facebook Groups that are city specific, but unfortunately not all cities are represented on the FB platform. Besides Facebook Groups geared towards the profession, you could also join other groups that are geared towards the hobbies that you love (i.e. hiking, salsa dancing, sports, etc). Oftentimes Facebook Groups can be overwhelming and negative, but if you get past all of the drama, you can meet some rad people in your area.
- Singles Events/Dating Apps: Where are my single people at? If you are looking to date or find love, apps like Bumble, Hinge, or Tinder could be your winner. Bumble even has a section for “Best Friends,” which could be useful for finding friends in the area.
- Instagram: Instagram has a strong travel nurse presence. While it’s hard to find people in the specific city you are traveling to on Instagram, it’s never too early to start following other travelers and making connections. Oftentimes, you will eventually find yourselves in the same location and they’re just a DM away. A great resource and online community to follow on Instagram is Travel Nurse Takeover. Another way to find travelers on Instagram is to search the hashtags #travelnurse, #travelrn, or #travelnurseadventures.
- Community Events: Most cities host concerts, sporting, clubs, or outdoor events. This is a good opportunity for you to immerse yourself into the culture of your new city while giving yourself a chance to meet other individuals while having a new experience.
- Bars, Beaches, Hikes, Restaurants: A lot of first time travelers are scared to show up to places alone, but this can be an empowering experience to have. When you go to these places alone, people are more intrigued to learn more about you and you’re more likely to put yourself out there to meet others. When you’re with friends, you’re already comfortable and tend to stick within your group. Taking the courage to make friends boosts your self-confidence and helps you learn more about yourself.
- MedVenture App: Okay so we may be biased, but if you haven’t heard about the MedVenture App yet, you are missing out on the future of travel nursing. MedVenture is an app created by travel nurses for all traveling healthcare professionals. We created MedVenture App from our own personal experiences with loneliness and frustration as travelers ourselves. We wanted to create a platform that directly serves the traveling community and provides them with the resources necessary to make the most of their assignment. With the MedVenture App you can meet other travelers in your area based on similar likes and interests. You can attend Meetups/ Events hosted by yourself, other travelers, or sponsored agencies. There is a discussion board about housing, things to do, and food & drinks. Finally, with the MedVenture App you can read facility reviews or rate hospitals so that you know what you are walking into on every assignment and empower other travelers with your experience. All cities in the US and its territories are represented and you can connect with every traveling healthcare professional, not just other nurses. To download the free MedVenture App by clicking here: https://taplink.cc/medventureapp.
The best and most rewarding travel assignments are often because of the people you meet and the relationships that are formed along the way. We hope that this gives you the confidence to pull the trigger and start your new adventure as a travel nurse. If you are already a travel nurse, we hope that this helps you find a greater sense of purpose, community, and connection. If you have any questions about travel nursing or about the MedVenture App, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at hello@medventurefortravelers.com.
Watch Lumify Care and MedVenture’s Instagram live here!
Written By: Ryan Cogdill, BSN, RN & Emily Cheng BSN, RN
