What is a Travel Nurse?

Travel nurses are licensed medical professionals, such as Registered Nurses (RNs), Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs), or Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVNs), who take on temporary nursing jobs away from their home base. To be considered a travel nurse, they typically need to work at least 50 miles from their permanent residence. This distance requirement sets them apart from local nurses who live closer to the healthcare facility. Many travel nursing agencies use this rule to define who qualifies as a travel nurse. 

Unlike permanent staff at hospitals or clinics, travel nurses are employed by staffing agencies rather than directly by the healthcare facility. Since the pandemic, some hospitals have also offered internal travel nurse programs to help address staffing shortages. 

Travel nursing assignments are generally short-term, ranging from 4 to 6 weeks, but some can last as long as 13 to 52 weeks. Most contracts, however, fall between 8 and 26 weeks. Travel nurses often move to different cities and healthcare facilities to take on new roles. To succeed in this field, they must adapt quickly to new environments, work well under pressure, and effectively collaborate with different healthcare teams.