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A Real Nurse Story: Peggy Van Fleet

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The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, but some paths to nursing careers aren't quite so direct. Take Peggy Van Fleet, for instance. To achieve her dream job of nursing, her path meandered through raising a family, a lengthy sales career, and a double dose of nursing school.

Fresh out of high school, Van Fleet entered and completed nursing school, only to realize she wasn't mature enough for the career. She went into medical supply sales, but later, after her children graduated from college, she returned to her first love. The San Antonio, Texas, resident conquered another four years of nursing school, this time with a greater respect for the field. Finally, in 1995, the med/surg RN began working full-time with oncological and orthopedic patients.

Then Van Fleet's parents died within 10 months of each other. That turned her world on its ear. "I felt displaced and needed a change in life," she says. "I knew I needed to be a nurse, but I wasn't prepared to commit long-term somewhere."

Travel nursing answered Van Fleet's dilemma. Today, after three years and nine assignments with Cross Country TravCorps, the 55-year-old couldn't be more fulfilled. "The sense of adventure, the opportunities to learn… The time just seems to fly at each assignment," she says.

While her complaints are few, Van Fleet does find the preparation of traveling a bit tedious. Such as? "Having your mail forwarded when you leave home and again when you leave your assignment," she explains. "There's also the matter of licensing. You have to get a nursing license in most states and know what a particular state requires for one."

The pluses of travel nursing, however, far outweigh any minor annoyances for her. "When you're staff," Van Fleet notes, "you have to consider how much you're going to lose in your 401(k) and seniority if you leave a position. Plus, you concern yourself with staff politics and union issues. I don't have to deal with those things as a traveler. Plus, there are retention bonuses for staying in one place."

Van Fleet says she loves the flexibility of her traveler's schedule, which allows her up to 35 days off between assignments. She earns more in nine to ten months as a travel nurse than she'd make as a staff nurse in that length of time. And due to a shortage of nurses, Van Fleet gets no shortage of appreciation.

Then, of course, there's the obvious traveler's perk—traveling. Van Fleet has skiied while in Colorado, and overseen the remodeling of her parents' home while in North Carolina. During the next scorching summer in her native Texas, she plans to enjoy nature's air-conditioning while on an Alaskan assignment. She and her husband, Mike, who is retired and travels with her, are seeing the country without an RV or a Good Sam Club membership.

Naturally, Van Fleet is quick to endorse travel nursing. She advises newcomers: "You can't ask your recruiter too many questions. Even though you'll have an orientation packet for each assignment, call the hospital ahead of time to verify where and when you're going to show up. Make sure you take all your documents to your assignment—your traveler contract, your CPR card, your nursing license, any credentials you'll need."

Van Fleet remembers that at age 5 she bragged she'd be a nurse when she grew up. She laughs. "It just took a while for me to get there!"