On A New Travel Nursing Assignment? Here’s How To Mesh Well With Your New Team
Travel nursing offers talented RNs the opportunity to visit new and exciting places while earning a great living. However, as is the case with any new job, it can be difficult to connect with your nursing team early on in an assignment. Here are a few of Remede’s top tips for bonding with a new nursing staff on your travel job:
Bond with Colleagues Outside Work
While it’s natural to discuss work-related topics with your colleagues, it’s important to learn what they’re like outside of the hospital as well. What types of activities do your colleagues engage in when they’re not working? Try spending time with your co-workers during lunch, on breaks, and outside of the hospital to form a more personal bond.
Have an Open Mind
As a traveling nurse, you may find yourself working in many different situations and the facility’s policies and procedures may differ from what you are accustomed to. It’s important to keep an open mind. You shouldn’t walk into a new job thinking that the last hospital you worked at was superior or that your experience makes you more qualified than those around you. Instead, look at each job as an opportunity to provide the best care possible, to enhance your skills, and learn something new.
Refrain from Engaging in Gossip
Engaging in gossip can offer a fast track to bonding with your new co-workers, but that doesn’t make it a good idea. Spreading rumors and negativity can adversely impact a workplace and reflect poorly on you and your staffing company. Conversely, if you have something positive to say about your co-workers, say it loud and proud as a way to bond with your colleagues.
Be Friendly
It’s not uncommon for the regular nursing staff at a facility to have a negative view of supplemental nurses. Unfortunately, traveling nurses are seen as a threat to their jobs, rather than a way to ease the workload for everyone. In order to combat this hostility, it’s a good idea to be proactive and make an effort to be friendly with all of your co-workers. Offer your assistance when a coworker needs help and show your appreciation when a coworker lends you a hand. In addition to easing possible resentment, being friendly will help spread positivity throughout the unit as a whole, making it a more pleasant place to work.
Contact Remede Consulting for More Travel Nursing Tips
Joining a new nursing team is always difficult, and the problem can be exasperated for travel nurses who plan to stay just a few months. At Remede, we are not only committed to helping travel nursing candidates find the best job opportunities, but also ensuring their assignments are successful. Call516.616.6807 for more information about travel nursing or contact Remede online for a consultation. We look forward to hearing from you.