While many travel healthcare professionals dream of working in bustling destinations like Chicago or Los Angeles, not every person dreams of taking an assignment in a major city. In talking with travelers from all over the country, I’ve loved hearing about what sets small towns apart from their much larger counterparts.
I grew up in rural Nebraska in a town with no stoplights and the number of cows outnumbered humans. Furthermore, I staff many critical access facilities across the Midwest and I’ve loved learning about what makes these hospitals so special. Thus, I believe I fully understand the perks of living and working in a more close-knit community.
Small towns are unique in that it’s extraordinarily easy to meet new people and quickly get to know them. This welcoming environment is perfect for a traveler who is getting out of their comfort zone and moving to a place they’ve never even visited before. These communities offer a safe, family-friendly feeling that evokes memories of simpler times.
Another major benefit of small town life is a short commute to work! To this day, my parents literally walk to work two blocks away. I took that type of commute for granted until I moved to a larger city where road construction and traffic delays test my patience. I always become jealous when I talk to travelers who are able to arrive at work with less than a five minute commute!
Working as a healthcare professional in a small town facility provides opportunities to broaden skillsets. A nurse I work with in Nebraska has completed multiple assignments in small hospitals, and she enjoys helping a combination of Med-Surg, Tele, and ER patients. This variety allows her to sharpen her clinical skills and opens up the doors to future opportunities in multiple clinical areas. This RN also mentioned the fact that the staff at small hospitals work closely together, which makes the hospital feel more like a family than a group of employees. Travelers in critical access hospitals can easily bond with their coworkers and are included in facility celebrations and team-building events.
One of my favorite stories involved a traveler in a small town in South Dakota. On Thanksgiving week, all of the hospital employees put on a potluck dinner. I received numerous photos from everyone having a wonderful time. I remember this traveler telling me how special this dinner was, as she felt like she was celebrating with her family even though home was twenty hours away!
I highly encourage traveling healthcare professionals to consider their next opportunity in a place that lacks shopping malls and possibly stop lights. Small town life may not be for everyone, but it offers a phenomenal, unique way of life that can’t be accurately described until it’s experienced.
Bradley Rediger is an Account Manager for the Midwest team in the Nursing division of Aureus Medical Group.
Great article and I couldn’t agree with you more! I love the rural setting. My last assignment was in one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been, southern Vermont, and very rural. No traffic and no stoplights in the town I lived in.
I could not agree more. I love to take an assignment in a small town and then dig up the treasures there in sights to see and unique people to meet. Often the locals don’t even know about the wonderous stuff that surrounds them.
My name is Latory Jordan I’m an upcoming traveler this just sign on with Aureus Medical and I like the sound of a small country life a new place but something similar that I’m use too.