SO I’VE BEEN back and forth about whether or not to write about my travel nursing experiences. The point, I suppose, is to process the world around me as it changes, and to keep all the people I care about informed. That is a good enough reason for me.
Why travel nursing? I’ve been wanting to try travel nursing for about a year. I’ve traveled a bit internationally to Spain, Morocco, and Guatemala and they were the most rewarding experiences of my life. Those experiences made me want to get to know new places here in the US. I like being independent and meeting new people and learning new things about the world. I knew I had to give it a shot, and everyone would always tell me “do it while you can!”
Meanwhile in Pittsburgh, all my excuses had run out. I love my old nursing job in Pittsburgh, but it had begun to feel safe. I knew my unit, after three years there, inside and out. While I’m not sure what my career trajectory will be as a nurse, I know that gaining new perspectives and experiences by interacting with many different health facilities will only help me grow.
Leaving Pittsburgh was much harder than I thought it would be. I don’t get homesick—for me the homesickness came in the anticipation of leaving home. When I told my Dad how hard it was, he said, “Well, I’d be worried what you were doing out there if you had nothing to miss.” My start date for my nursing assignment was pushed back a week last minute, and while that was jarring at first, it gave me another needed week to prepare.
Finally, I hit the road and made the trek to Boston, MA for my first assignment. Why Boston? Really, in January? Bekah, my best friend from my hometown, Canton, OH, lives in Boston, and we haven’t lived in the same city for seven years. It seemed a fitting place to start.
That brings us to now! I’ve been in Boston now for a week and a half. One thing I brought to Boston with me was a cold, the kind of cold that lasts at least two weeks and gets in your sinuses and produces a ton of snot. Most of the exploring I’ve done is trudging through the snow to the various CVS’s to try out different types of cold medicine. I just finished orientation at work, and everybody is extremely kind considering I couldn’t hear or think and was blowing my nose every 10 minutes.
Of course, traveling has never been entirely comfortable, and I expected some bumps in the road. Truthfully, I have a lot to be thankful for. I’m excited to live in the same city as Bekah, I am feeling a bit healthier again, I feel good about my assignment, and I am very happy with the housing I found. So, while this first week has had its definite struggles, I am still excited to see how this all unfolds. Stay turned for some actual explorations of the city—here are a couple snowy pictures I took within walking distance from my place in Brookline, a suburb of Boston.
1.) Dressing for cold commutes 2. & 3.) Views from the front door featuring my snowed-in car 4. & 5.) Pictures from snowy walks to CVS/ the grocery store
Holly & Travel Nursing 