Top Strategies for Travel Nurses to Adapt Quickly to New Hospital Environments

Learning how to quickly adapt to new hospital environments is key to your success as a travel nurse.  The quicker you’re able to adapt to your new place of work, the easier your assignment will be (trust me!).  And as a travel nurse with seven years of experience, here are my top tips and strategies for learning how to adapt quickly to new hospital environments.

 

1.  Know the Layout of the Hospital

In my opinion, showing up to your first day of work without knowing where you’re going is one of the most stressful parts of working in a new hospital.  For that reason, I highly suggest knowing the layout of the hospital before your first shift – from walking in the door to getting to your unit.  If possible, I recommend doing a test run of the hospital before you’re scheduled to work.  Know which elevator you’ll be taking, which floor you’re going to, and find out where the front desk is so that if you’re having trouble finding your unit, you know where to go to ask for help.

 

2.  Route Your Drive Ahead of Time

Know how long it will take you to arrive to work depending on whether or not there is traffic.  Take into account time to park, if you have to take a shuttle to the hospital, etc.  It’s also a good idea to drive your route before your first shift; I do this and leave at the same time I would leave as if I were going to work so that I can time my drive and know how long it will take.

 

3.  Arrive Early

I cannot stress enough how important it is to arrive early to your first day of work.  Even if you’ve driven the route before, and have done a test run through the hospital – you will have nervous jitters and you might find yourself lost or confused.  The last thing you want to do before your first shift is to not leave yourself enough time and be stressed about getting to work on time.

 

 

4.  Understand Parking Rules

Hospitals in bigger cities generally have strict rules around employee parking.  Some hospitals have special parking lots for employees.  Some hospitals have different parking rules for nurses working the day shift versus the night shift.  Some hospitals require you to park off campus and take a shuttle to work.  I always like to ask about parking in my interview and then when I accept the job, I ask my recruiter about parking once more before starting.

 

5.  Pack Your Lunch

Personally, I feel less overwhelmed bringing lunch for my first shift so that I’m not running around the hospital trying to locate the cafeteria.  Plus, some units have different rules surrounding lunch (i.e. needing to be available to answer phone calls and call lights, etc) and because you’re not familiar with the process yet, I believe it’s best to plan to stay in your designated lunch room until you get used to things.

This doesn’t mean that you need to bring your lunch every shift, just until you get the lay of the land.

 

6.  Introduce Yourself

Most importantly, when you start at a new hospital always introduce yourself and give a little background about yourself and your experience.  You want people to remember you and you also want people to know that you’re approachable and are there to help.  When I start on a new unit, I like to say, “Hi I’m Kylee, I have 10 years of NICU experience and I’ve been a travel nurse for 7 years.  I’m so excited to be here, please let me know if you need anything”.  By doing this, you’re also setting yourself up for success if you’re the one that happens to need help down the road.

As a bonus, I like to bring in treats on my first day and write a note asking the nurses to come by and say hi!

 

Travel Nurse Essentials

 

There are many aspects of travel nursing that can be stressful, but I hope that these strategies to adapt quickly to new hospital environments helps one aspect of travel nursing be less stressful.  If you have any questions, let me know in a comment below!

 

If you liked this post, don’t miss…

• What to Expect During Travel Nurse Orientation
• How to Deal With the Anxiety of Starting a New Travel Nurse Assignment
• How to Acclimate to Your New City as a Travel Nurse

 

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