Bountiful, UT -- (ReleaseWire) -- 12/19/2019 --Those considering taking a travel nursing assignment during the holidays - While staff nurses often view the holidays as a difficult and undesirable time to work, if one is taking assignments as a travel nurse, there are many exciting opportunities to advance a person's nursing career that come with handsome perks this time of the year.

Join us as we review some of the different benefits a person might consider if they are considering taking a travel nursing assignment over the holidays.

1. Holidays Bring Tons of Travel Nursing Assignments
There are several reasons why the amount of travel nursing jobs available is on the rise during the holiday season.

Hospital patient census numbers are higher during the winter months. Automatically one might be thinking this trend only applies to the states that experience cold temperatures during the winter, but this phenomenon is pretty consistent nationwide.

It's true that people get sick more often in the winter, but also in states such as Florida where the temperatures do not drop very low, there are still more patients in the hospitals during these months because of the influx of seasonal residents, often called "snowbirds". Because most of these people who travel during the winter months of the year are senior-aged, they are more likely than younger people to end up hospitalized.

There are people who plan elective surgeries during their time off work during the holidays.
Many staff nurses take time off work during the holidays, which means the hospitals have greater staffing needs to cover the holes in the schedule. This also means that there are more opportunities to pick up short-term assignments that last anywhere from four to eight weeks in length. One can secure these types of short-term assignments through a trusted travel nursing agency, such as Elite Specialty Staffing. If a person is a bit unsure about travel nursing but wants to give it a try, then a short-term assignment might be right for them.

2. Travel Nurses can Earn More Money During the Holidays
If a person is Looking for the highest-paying travel nursing jobs, sign-on bonuses, Completion bonuses or other benefits the most lucrative opportunities as a travel nurse, they will find that because of the increased demand for travel nurses during the holidays, there may be additional incentives offered, such as bonuses or even higher rates of pay.

Another financial point to consider when thinking about travel nursing over the holidays is that sweet holiday pay. This is an important point that a person should discuss with a recruiter beforehand because each assignment is unique and one might be required to work all holidays, some holidays, or no holidays.

Depending on the nursing position the nurse is allowed to pick up some extra shifts on the holidays and what pay rates will be. Also, one might consider having the specific days defined, as many hospitals and healthcare facilities offer time and a half for days such as Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve, and then double time on Christmas Day or New Year's Day. Knowing exactly what are and aren't entitled to so that there are no disappointments later is an important thought. If one plans on working through those dates, one will want to consider making available to work as many of those shifts as possible to earn that killer holiday pay. A travel nurses' willingness to work on those days is also a great selling point to a potential healthcare facility or hospital that is interested in hiring a nurse.

3. Those Looking for The Nursing Job Before the New Year
Tons of travel nurses enter the job pool during the first month of the year. Because of the flexibility that comes with being a travel nurse, many of them will take the entire holiday season off and then be ready to hit the floor after the new year. This makes for a ton of competition during the month of January.

If one takes a travel nursing assignment during the months of November or December, one will have an advantage because one will be already working. Then, when January rolls around, one will already have recent experience and possibly be given the opportunity to extend the current assignment. When I took a travel nursing assignment that started the first week of December when the January nurses showed up the census did not rise as the hospital expected and a lot of them were sent back home because there was no longer a need. I stayed until March and was given the opportunity to extend for as long as I wanted.

4. A Travel Nurse Can Bring Joy to Patients During the Holidays
Nobody wants to be sick or stuck in the hospital during the holidays. Nobody. It's easy to feel down or depressed when they are not well and away from they're family in a strange environment as a patient. When a travel nurse is working during this time of the year, they have the opportunity to uplift the spirits of their patients and bring them some joy.

5. Healthcare Facilities Let the Good Stuff Roll During the Holidays
If a travel nurse is working the holidays at a hospital or other healthcare facility, chances are they will be well fed. From the different boxes of cookies and goodies brought to the nurses from the physicians' practices to the unit potlucks and dinners hosted by the nurses to the staff dinners provided by management – there is a very good chance that one will be eating well even though they are stuck working.

6. Use the Season to Knock One Off the Bucket List
Some might have always dreamt of spending a winter away from the cold and laying out on the beach? Conversely, a person might be from a warmer climate and want to indulge in a snowy winter wonderland? Perhaps there is an event they have always wanted to go to, such as the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Maybe they have been working as a travel nurse all year and want to land an assignment near home for the holidays. If there is anything like that a person looking to be a traveling nurse would like to do this time of the year, search the many open travel nursing assignments to see if there are opportunities to make one's dreams reality.

If someone looking for the right travel nursing job this holiday season, we want to hear from them! Give us a call today at 208-378-1338.