Ask a Travel Nurse: What type of degree do I need to be a Travel Nurse?

Ask a Travel Nurse Question:

I really want to go to school to become an RN and eventually a Travel Nurse. But, financially, college is going to be hard for me to afford. What type of degree do I need to be a Travel Nurse? Two year or four year?

Ask a Travel Nurse Answer:

As long as you have the initials “RN” behind your name, two, three, or four year program matters not.

Now, I will say that some facilities are now Magnet status and they usually like BSN nurses. However, even some facilities that require a BSN for you to work there, will make an exception for Travel Nurses.

Sure it would be great to have every single nurse in the hospital be a BSN grad (although I’m honestly not sure why), but with the baby boomers aging, and retiring from nursing, AND then needing healthcare themselves, you are looking at a looming nursing shortage that will likely make no mandates other than having your RN (which can be done through a two year program).