In full rebound of the covid pandemic-19, last December, Jenny Peraza and her husband Vladimir Peraza embarked on a work adventure that they hope will help them to pay off their student debt, save money and become a better value as a health professional.
Jenny, a registered nurse became a traveling nurse; and Vladimir, in traveling surgeon’s assistant. Both left the comfort of their home in Las Vegas to work temporarily at a hospital in Portland, Oregon. But her plans are to travel the entire country as traveling health personnel, a profession in which there are few Latinos.
“Being a traveling nurse is an opportunity to shake hands in other hospitals where they need us, learn different hospital experiences and take what you have learned with you wherever you go”, says Jenny, excited about her work as a traveling nurse.
She has been 2013 working as a nurse, and a year and a half ago she became a registered nurse.
A traveling nurse is defined as practicing registered nurses (RNs) who travel to different clinics and hospitals, filling temporary vacancies. They can travel within the country or abroad.
“We apply to companies that manage traveling nurses or health personnel, and they make deals directly with hospitals, then they offer us contracts to work in different parts of the country”, explains Jenny.
“They give us several options of hospitals that need us; and in our case, we were lucky to be accepted at the same hospital.”
He said they wanted to start their journey as traveling health workers on the West Coast, so they chose Portland, Oregon.
“In our first contract, my husband and I are going for 19 weeks”.
About the economic advantages of being a traveling registered nurse, she says that by working outside the state where they live, the salary doubles or triples, but the exact figure depends on the cost of living each place.
“In places like Hawaii you can earn up to $80 per hour, while in states like Idaho and Nevada, wages are low.”
In relation to housing, she says that the company of traveling nurses offers her two options: a place to live, or give them the money to rent a space that they look for themselves”.
In your case, you say that they chose to be given the money to find a place close to the hospital where they work and to which they can walk.
Jenny says that her vocation to be a nurse came from her mother who is an assistant nurse. Although before entering the health field, he was a corrections officer for 6 years. In the end, she decided not to put off her vocational call any longer, and enrolled in nursing school.
Jenny has 28 years, her husband, 39. They don’t have children.
“We want to travel for a few years until we can pay off our student debt and save, but this is also an opportunity for us to get to know other states and other cultures”.
She says that she and her husband consider themselves still young and they really want to get to know other places and hospitable experiences.
“We feel that energy of moving from one place to another, and of learning”.
And comment that weeks before their employment contract ends, the same association of traveling health personnel contacts them to offer them other options.
“What I have seen is that there are not many nurses or other traveling health professionals who are Latinos”.
He thinks it is because perhaps many are a little afraid to leave their comfort zone. “But we would very much like to see our people in these positions. They should try it. Hispanics can do it. We need more Latino representation.”
She pointed out that traveling health personnel are required at any level of nursing, as well as surgical technicians like her husband.
“I am now working in the medical surgery area where recently operated patients arrive, but if covid continues to rise, it will become a Covid Unit”.
One month after working as a traveling nurse, Jenny says that the experience has been excellent .
“I can’t complain about the job or the people. Everyone at the hospital has supported and guided us very well.”
The average annual salary for traveling nurses varies significantly. “On average, they make $54,380 with a salary starting at $54,467, but can reach more than $113,000 for those with more experience”.
Another advantage of being a traveling nurse is that the salary is free of taxes, so that money is used for transportation, meals and other expenses.
In addition, traveling nurses have been in high demand since the covid crisis-19 and the increased need of health care, which has caused many people to leave the profession.