I’m Kylee, the creative behind Passports and Preemies. I created this website and social channels with the goal is to reach nurses everywhere and advocate for the prevention of nurse burnout by traveling. I act as a resource for nurses who are looking to spend time away from the bedside and experience the thrill of traveling to both near and far destinations. Whether you have one day or 8, I encourage you to take advantage of our unique career, one that offers an abundance of time off from work.
How Passports and Preemies Got Started…
Only one year into my career as a nurse I began to feel burned out. Still loving my job and not wanting to quit, I would oftentimes dread going to work. Wondering how some nurses stayed in the profession for 30+ years, I realized that there HAS to be more.
Two years after I became a NICU nurse I quit my permanent staff job in Kansas City and took my first assignment as a travel nurse in Omaha, NE. While I was feeling less burned out, I still knew that there was something else out there. Finally, in 2017 I took a break from travel nursing as I had landed a volunteer position with Project Hope working in the NICU in Skopje, North Macedonia. That’s when Passports and Preemies was born.
I spent 8weeks in North Macedonia working alongside bedside nurses, educating them on best practices for taking care of sick and premature babies. On the weekends I traversed across Europe, solo, visiting a total of five new countries. What I found most interesting is that while I was working more hours at the hospital I felt less burned out. I realized that by traveling and taking care of myself outside of work… I began to thrive at work.
My passion for travel took off in 2017 and I haven’t looked back since! I’ve been a travel nurse off and on for 5+ years, using each new assignment to see different parts of the United States. I’m a true believer that to travel doesn’t mean you have to cross oceans… it just means you have to be willing to explore your own back yard, a neighboring state, or a nearby city. But don’t let that fool you! I’m also passionate and focused on seeing the rest of the world. Since my journey began I’ve had the privilege of visiting 41/195 countries, 3/7 continents, 31/50 states, I’ve lived in 12 cities, and have taken 15 travel nurse assignments from coast to coast across the USA. I even spent some time in Saudi Arabia working as a nurse!
From the bedside and beyond, I’m here to share real experiences of travel and nursing.
What’s Unique About Passports and Preemies?
As I stated earlier, my biggest passion is to travel and inspire others to travel! I aim to give nurses the appropriate tools to get out of the hospital, away from the bedside, and see the world. Unique to my website, I offer the “8 Day Vacay“. The “8 Day Vacay” is an 8-day itinerary written specifically for nurses so that he/she doesn’t need to use any PTO to travel. The expectation is that you will work the first three days of week one and the last three days of week two, thus giving you 8days off in between.
I am also passionate about ensuring staff nurses who want to become travel nurses, know the ins and outs of the profession before making the leap from staff nurse to travel nurse. I created The Ultimate Travel Nurse Bundle – a complete 60+ page guide to travel nursing. It’s everything I know after 5+ years of working as a travel nurse, all wrapped into one guide!
Are you a brand or business? Contact me at passportsandpreemies@gmail.com and I’ll happily send you my media kit.
