RN JOE
4 years in the Philippines + 6 years in NZ + 2 years in AU
When and why did you decide to do agency nursing in Australia?
Travelling has always been my passion.
I also want to explore the world using my nursing profession. Last July (2018), an opportunity came to combine my passion to travel and my nursing so I decided to move to Australia from New Zealand to be a travel nurse. It was supposed to be an experiment at first if this kind of nursing is for me but after more than 2 years, I’m still enjoying this lifestyle.
How has your time been at Hobart?
Hobart is treating me very well. I requested to be assigned here because I wanted to explore Hobart and its surrounds even more.
Hobart has a lot to offer, from its hiking adventures to its food/coffee culture.
What have you got up to in Tasmania?
My first contract as a travel nurse was in Tasmania. After the contract, I drove around the state for 2 weeks starting from the Cradle Coast, to the wild West Coast then to Hobart and the Tasman Peninsula, to the lovely beaches on the East Coast, culminating in Launceston.
I had multiple contracts here in Tasmania but I’ve still got a lot of places to explore in this beautiful island state. Conquering the Overland Track is on the top of the list.
What do you enjoy most about the travel nurse lifestyle?
Meeting new people and exploring different places and also the flexibility of the job are the reasons why I enjoy the travel nurse lifestyle. It suits my priorities in life as of this moment.
In between contracts, I travel overseas, go back to the Philippines/New Zealand or explore Australia.
What has been the highlight of working with Affinity so far?
Sharing my adventures to the people I met and discovering more about my self has been the highlight of working with Affinity.
Travel nurse lifestyle thrives on challenges may it be on isolation, on new nursing skill set or ever changing organisational systems and workflows. These challenges kept me going. It helps me to be resilient.
For the past 2 years, I have been living a minimalist lifestyle. This journey also made me realise that you don’t need a lot of stuff to be happy. You just need to know your priorities, to know what’s important to live a meaningful life.
What advice would you tell other Nurses who want to do travel nursing?
As with any nursing career, there are positive and challenging aspects to working as a travel nurse. Focus on the positive things.
Enjoy the flexibility and the freedom of where and when to work, appreciate possibilities of creating new friends and new experiences, rejoice in the new opportunities to step up and enhance nursing skills and inspire people to make a difference one nursing contract at a time.
If you’re inspired by RN Joe’s story, sign up with Affinity now!
sign up now