Travel Intensive Care Unit Jobs

Travel ICU nurses must be ready to act quickly if there’s any change to a patient's status, but they also need to provide routine care. The various tasks they offer include:

• Assisting in intubations, code blues, and bedside procedures
• Monitoring and evaluating patient progress
• Administering medications 
• Responding to health emergencies
• Advocating for patients and their families
• Evaluating patient laboratory data
• Maintaining patient records
• Assessing patient pain levels
• Setting up and monitoring medical equipment

Travel ICU nurses monitor a patient’s entire stay in the ICU. They primarily work in hospitals, and they could have specializations, such as pediatrics or trauma units. 

To become a travel ICU nurse, the first thing you need to do is become a registered nurse. That requires completing an associate or bachelor’s program in nursing and passing the NCLEX. Once you do this, you will need two years of nursing experience in an ICU setting before you can work as a travel ICU nurse. 

Most hospitals require that you obtain some specific certifications if you want to work in pediatric ICUs or other specialized care units. You need to have a certain number of hours as an RN to be able to get certified in any of these areas.

What you make as a travel ICU nurse can vary widely depending on the job you take, the location, and the amount of experience and certifications you have. You could make significantly more than the average when working in neonatal ICUs, for example. 

As a travel ICU nurse with Prolink, you’ll receive industry-standard benefits packages, including:

• Health insurance, with medical coverage from day one
• Life insurance
• Short- and long-term disability coverage
• Retirement planning
• Extension and referral bonuses
• CE and certification reimbursement

You can often expect to get travel and housing stipends as well. These are usually tax-free.