Reprinted with permission from the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board, “A Day in the Life”

Travel Nurse: Shelley Burke
Shelley Burke, BSN, RN, CPN is a Pediatric Travel Nurse. She is hired to work in a specific location for a limited amount of time to help hospitals during times of nursing staff shortages.

What is your job title?

I am a Pediatric Travel Nurse. A travel nurse works for a contracted period of time at a hospital either in her home state or in another state if she or he chooses to.

What is your favorite thing about your job?

My favorite thing about my job is caring for my patients. I truly enjoy the time spent with my patients and their families. Caring through the acts of teaching, supporting and encouragement are the things that make my day. I also learn a lot from my patients as well, and they help to enrich my experiences as a nurse.

What is your biggest challenge?

My biggest challenge as a travel nurse is being away from my family for an extended period of time, especially if my job assignment is out of state and visits with my family are far and few in between.

Describe a typical day.

My typical day starts at 7:00 am with first receiving shift report from the off going shift nurse(s), then I am off to my twelve hours shift, which ends at 7:30pm and the cycle of hand off shift report is done once again. I typically work three shifts a week with varying work days each week and would pick up extra shifts when there is a need or a request is made by my manager for additional help.

A normal assignment on a pediatric unit in most states is four to five patients; in other places that ratio can be higher. Many hospitals do team rounding. This is where the doctors and the assigned nurses visit each patient and discuss with them the plan of care for the day. In other hospitals the doctors do rounding as a team without nurses present and some doctors visit their patients directly. I prefer rounding with the doctors, which helps to keep each other in the loop as to the care and condition of the patients.

All hospitals have specialized supportive staff that are invaluable to assisting doctors and nurses to take good care of patients. Such staff are respiratory therapists, physical therapists, speech therapists, dieticians, child-life specialists, and volunteers. All of these people are needed on the healthcare team to assist patients in their recovery to good health.

What education or experience did you need to achieve your role?

A travel nurse is a Registered Nurse (RN) of two or more years of nursing experience in either general nursing or in a nursing specialty, such as pediatrics, obstetrics, medical-surgical, labor and delivery or intensive care nursing. She or he has to be competent, flexible, and adaptable, and she or he must be able to function efficiently in a new environment. Orientation for a travel nurse is limited to a few hours or just one day; you are there to get on board with the team and quickly assimilate into your new working environment. This type of mobile nursing is not for everyone, but for those who do it, they grow to love and enjoy the flexibility of choosing when and where they want to work.

What advice would you give to students interested in your role?

Anyone who has an interest and a passion for nursing should do it! It is one of the most rewarding professions one can have. There are so many specialties in the field of nursing which makes one's options limitless. Pediatric travel nursing is the option that I have chosen for over a year and a half now and it has been richly rewarding for me.