At Cariant Health Partners we work with a lot of amazing travel nurses. This month we interviewed travel nurse Lisa P., currently enjoying life with her husband around Nashville.
When did you catch the travel bug?
Back in August 2015, my husband and I had discussed travel nursing to make our five-year plan attainable. The night of that conversation we were involved in a bad motorcycle accident. By the grace of God, we survived—though with some pretty bad injuries. But we are alive to talk about it.
I was off work for about 12 weeks, and during that time we once again talked about travel nursing. With no kids at home, we said, “Why not?”
You only get one life to live. We decided we had been given a second chance, and we are going to live it to the fullest and see places we never thought we would ever have the chance to see. So I filled out those forms online and of course was bombarded with calls (not even joking). I found Becky and the rest is history.
What fun things are you trying or places exploring to make the most of your assignment?
In the early part of this first assignment, I spent a lot of time going back home to Dallas to see my husband, or he would fly out to see me. In December, we made the decision for him to “retire early” and just come with me. It’s been amazing sharing all of this with him. We say everyday how blessed we are as a couple to be able to share this experience together. Not many couples have this opportunity.
We are in a small town just an hour south of Nashville. We literally spend almost every weekend in Nashville, trying new restaurants, seeing new things and taking in live music (we’re live music junkies). We live 20 minutes from great hiking and waterfalls. Being here has made us venture out more to other areas than we would if we were still in Dallas. In the four months we have been here, we’ve been to Nashville (too many times to count), Chattanooga, Gatlinburg (got snowed in), Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and many wineries and distilleries. This is also an opportunity for my kids to visit and experience these places as well.
What advice do you have for other travel nurses or nurses considering travel?
Just do it. We’re not promised tomorrow and if I die broke, at least I have memories of all that I got to experience and see in this lifetime. I have met some amazing people and have made some friends that I hope to have forever. It is nerve racking, don’t get me wrong. Becky kept me from jumping ship several times.
I’m so glad I did this and will never regret it. Some people travel for the money, some because it’s a working vacation. I’m the latter. I gave up a good-paying job in Dallas to do this. But I wouldn’t change this for the world.