As we enter the new year of 2022 — and the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic with no clear end in sight — we’d like to look back on a trend we’ve been seeing in travel nursing over the past two years.

    First and foremost, we want to emphasize that our Freedom Healthcare traveling nurses are the best in the business and the elite of their profession. To a person, our nurses have demonstrated the highest level of professionalism, integrity, compassion, and commitment in the travel nursing industry, and we take great pride in knowing and working with every one of you. We know we can trust you to carry out every assignment not only to satisfy our hospital partners, but also to elevate your profession and achieve your own personal high standards.

    At the same time, we’ve become aware that the pandemic has created a surge in nurses at all phases of their professional careers suffering burnout, many to the point of leaving the profession altogether. Many of those departing staff nurses have chosen to enter the traveling arena to take advantage of pay rates far in excess of what they earned as a staff nurse.

    Unfortunately, not all those nurses entered the field with the same level of commitment, ethics, and professionalism as our Freedom Healthcare travelers. Many of these “great resignation” nurses may view traveling as a temporary escape from COVID-19 care fatigue, not a lifetime career of personally rewarding service. As a result, they may lack the required professional decorum and even display a sense of entitlement or special status on their assignments.

    For example, we’ve heard of (but thankfully never experienced at Freedom) travel nurses failing to show their hospital colleagues the respect they’re due as front-line soldiers who toil day in and day out in environments that provide little time for appreciation or acknowledgement. Some newly minted travel nurses have failed to be sympathetic and supportive to those colleagues, adding to a hospital staff’s distress by criticizing how things are done or acting superior or more privileged. Such disrespect adds insult to injury and creates an unfavorable image of travel nurses as a whole.

    We’ve even heard of travel nurses walking out on their contracts, leaving hospitals in even deeper distress than before. That would be unthinkable to a Freedom nurse, who knows to call their recruiter when a situation becomes untenable. We are here to fight your battles; you’re there to provide excellent care for patients and support and relief for overburdened hospital staff, working as an equal member of a team committed to their patients.

    We know that you as a Freedom Healthcare nurse have a desire both to serve others and establish a personal reputation as an exemplary travel nurse. So if you should find yourself in a place where you fear you might lose your temper or act unprofessionally, please remember that we’re always here to help you defuse, offer a shoulder to cry on, or find a solution to a problem. Just contact us or 866-463-0385 any time, 24/7.

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