How to Start Traveling as an LPN

Licensed practical nurses are an essential part of the healthcare field that help keep patients healthy and ensure that everything is in order. In addition, this job offers ample opportunities for growth, stability, and even travel. LPNs can become travel nurses, expanding their horizons, and living in new places while gaining new experiences and furthering their careers.

Traveling as an LPN is a great opportunity for anyone that wants to gain experience in different work settings and explore other parts of the country in the process. Once you have become an LPN, traveling for work is your next step.

Travel nurses are more in demand than ever, making it a great time to get into travel as an LPN. The increased demand for travel nursing expands the accessibility for LPNs too. With growing needs, many healthcare facilities are looking for travel nurses to join their teams.

The Best Way to Get Started

How to Become a Travel LPN

To join the travel nursing world, there are some general requirements to become a travel nurse. You’ll need an Associate’s Degree in Nursing (ADN) or a degree in Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN). After passing the NCLEX exam and obtaining your license, you’ll need to gain 1-2 years of clinical experience before you start traveling. Once you have that experience under your belt, it’s time to partner with a travel nursing agency that will help connect you to travel nursing opportunities!

Travel LPN Job Responsibilities

Licensed practical nurses are in charge of ensuring a patient is comfortable and is responsible for monitoring their overall condition. They are also typically the ones in charge of assisting patients with basic tasks such as bathing, toileting, and dressing. In addition, they change dressings and insert catheters when needed. LPNs will also monitor vitals to ensure a patient is in a healthy range.

Licensed practical nurses can work in various locations and facilities besides hospitals. Such places would include physician offices, home health care, schools, nursing homes, and more. These nurses are responsible for patient record-keeping, monitoring the patient’s health, as well as consulting with RNs regarding care plans. They are very versatile and help many aspects of the healthcare industry run smoothly.

Best Settings for Travel LPNs

Home Health Care

Home health is one type of healthcare setting that LPNs can work in as travel nurses. Patients around the country need assistance in their homes, opening up a possibility to work in a different healthcare setting than traditional hospitals or nursing homes. Some advantages to working in home health care is that there is more flexibility and control over work hours, opportunities to build relationships with patients, and even better pay. LPNs in these settings will monitor vital signs, give injections, and dress wounds for sick, disabled, or injured patients.

Behavioral Health & Psych

If you have wanted to work in psychiatric nursing or behavioral health as an LPN, becoming a traveling nurse is a great way to do so. These facilities are always looking for travel nurses to help and learn how to treat patients for psychological or behavioral health issues.
As an LPN in mental health settings, you may distribute and administer medications, assist during group counseling sessions, and provide essential emotional support to patients and family members. Working at this type of facility is a great reason to become a traveling nurse as an LPN.

Corrections

Correctional settings are another type of facility that can help you easily learn how to travel as an LPN. This unique setting requires nurses to provide both routine illness and emergency care to incarcerated patients. Working in a correctional facility as a traveling LPN will educate nurses on the sociological and psychological factors of treating imprisoned patients.

If you are open to understanding the factors that influence caring for incarcerated patients, working in a correctional facility may be a great fit for you as an individual. Correctional nursing is an interesting way to expand your knowledge as an LPN to diverse patients.

Skilled Nursing Facilities

Skilled nursing facilities (SNF) are another option for LPNs who become traveling nurses to work at. These facilities offer nursing and rehabilitation services for those who need them due to an injury, disability, or illness.

Many enjoy working in skilled nursing facilities as LPNs due to the variety of treatments and patients they will work with. SNFs offer very fulfilling jobs that vary on a day-to-day basis. Here you can work alongside a team of skilled medical professionals to provide therapeutic care for patients recovering from various illnesses and injuries.

Long Term Care

LPNs working as travel nurses have the opportunity to work in long-term acute care (LTAC/LTC). This type of setting works with patients who are suffering from long-term critical illnesses. In LTACs, travel nurses have the opportunity to work with patients for their entire duration of working in this facility and make an impact on their health and happiness – many travel nurses like these facilities, especially due to the demand for LPNs specifically.

Travel Nursing with Supplemental Health Care

Travel nursing is a popular career path that LPNs may consider going into once they have gained some experience and are ready to travel. This position allows individuals to travel while working, meaning they can see new places and meet new people without missing out on a stable income. If you enjoy meeting new people, trying new cuisines, seeing new destinations, and immersing yourself into new cultures, becoming a travel LPN may be a great route for you to do so.

Supplemental Health Care connects travel nurses with employment options in various healthcare settings, including hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, long-term acute care, corrections, home health care, and much more. With almost 40 years of experience, Supplemental Health Care is sure to match travel LPNs with the ideal setting and destination. Assistance with licensing, housing, benefits, and more can help LPNs become travelers.

Licensed practical nurses are an essential part of any healthcare setting. They provide comfortable and attentive care to patients of all kinds, and assistance to healthcare teams, including RNs and doctors. This position has many benefits, travel opportunities being one of them.

With increasing demand for travel nurses, now is a great time to consider making a career move. If you want to experience working in different types of settings in new places, talk to your recruiter about becoming a travel LPN.