5 Best Nursing Jobs for Adventurous Nurses

Your license travels. If you want to see more of the world before you settle down, or you just want a change of scenery after years in the same unit, these five roles put your nursing skills to work in places a staff job never will.

1. Travel nurse

Travel nursing moves you around the country on short contracts, usually about 14 weeks, with travel and housing covered. You use the days off to explore wherever you have landed, and you can build breaks between assignments instead of being tied to fixed leave. It is also good for your practice. You see how different hospitals run, and you carry what works from one to the next.

Most assignments want at least one to two years of experience in a specialty such as cath lab, ER, or labor and delivery.

2. Cruise ship nurse

Cruise ship nurses work under the ship's doctor, covering the health needs of hundreds of passengers and crew. You will do things you have never done before, from treating everyday complaints and taking X-rays to running emergency care without the backup of a full hospital. Meals and accommodation are covered, so you can bank some money, and on port days you get to see the stops.

Expect to need basic and advanced life support, plus ER and general practice experience. Cardiac and trauma certifications help.

3. Volunteering with an NGO

If you want to serve people who have little and reach parts of the world most tourists never see, volunteer with a non-governmental organization. Some cover only your basics; others pay a stipend. Doctors Without Borders runs medical and humanitarian work worldwide, from mass vaccination campaigns to caring for refugees and the wounded in conflict zones and disaster areas.

The main requirement is tolerance for very basic conditions. You may live in a tent and wash from a bucket. Bring solid core nursing skills, adaptability, and resourcefulness.

4. Wilderness medicine

This one is for nurses with real experience in extreme outdoor activity. You might cover a group on a backcountry expedition or join an emergency evacuation team. You are responsible for the whole party, sometimes caring for a critical patient when evacuation is measured in days, not hours. Supplies are minimal, and care can extend to building shelter and monitoring the patient across rough terrain.

You will need emergency experience and a strong grasp of the fundamentals so you can improvise. The Wilderness Medical Society publishes practice guidelines for the field, and training is available to prepare for it.

5. Flight nurse

Flight nurses care for patients in the air, either supporting transfers between facilities or running prehospital emergency and critical care during rescues. You need prior trauma or ER experience plus courses built around the demands of in-flight care.

Openings are limited. The military uses flight nurses, as do civilian emergency services. Applying as an Air Force reservist is one route in. If your hospital runs air evacuation, getting on that team is another way to build the experience.

Take the plunge

If one of these appeals to you and you are still free to move, do the research and apply. You may not get another window like this.