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Despite the uncertainties of the economy and aggressive recruitment and retention by hospitals to capture them as full-timers, most travel nurses do not plan to leave their transitory posts any time soon.

Since 1995, Brian Gallant has needed little else but his Nissan Pathfinder, his RN license and a need for discovery. The 38-year-old surgical registered nurse has served in Seattle, nurtured in New Haven, toiled in Texas and filled four different bills in Florida.

Gallant has called Massachusetts his home, as well as Joplin, Mo., all in the duration of 25 contract assignments with a national travel nurse placement firm that's fittingly called Cross Country Healthcare Inc.

Gallant, a licensed RN in 13 states, is one of about 20,000 similarly nomadic nurses nationwide who take assignments of about 13 weeks before moving on to another post or even opting to re-up for the same gig, if the situation is right.

"A lot of travelers do what we call 'traveling bare,' which means they basically just take their clothes, a microwave and a set of sheets," he said. "I have these huge Rubbermaid bins I take with me, and I tell myself, if it can't fit in there, it can't come along."

On the road again

Travel nursing has been a fast-growing career option for RNs who want the dream of traveling the country or the world. Many are finding they can work indefinitely as temps, as sure of their next assignment as a hospital staff nurse is of a regular paycheck.

Travel nurses even may find additional experience and sources for training and continuing education that weren't available in a permanent position-all while providing a godsend for hospitals that desperately need qualified nurses to fill critical staff shortages.

Many nurses "will travel with us and then take a few months off and take a vacation," said Brian Lee, marketing director for San Diego-based Access Nurses. "They know there will be a demand when they return and that they can be placed anywhere in the States within a few weeks."

Urszula Bednarska, RN, has been on the road since 1992, although she's taken numerous jobs around her home state of New Jersey to be near family and friends. Bednarska, a 35-year-old RN working in Pompano Beach, Fla., has ventured to travel nurse jobs in Hawaii, Chicago, Sacramento, Calif., Los Angeles and Virginia, among others. She also has used lengthy breaks between those jobs to vacation in Australia, Egypt, Greece and Europe.

"In just 13 weeks, you really don't get a chance to know the hospital and the people yet," said Bednarska, who likes to stay six months in a given post. "They'll say, 'So, you're leaving us already.' And you think, well, it was just too quick … But you are a gypsy in this job. And that's one of the drawbacks. But it's also one of the positives."

Gallant, Bednarska and other travel nurses receive free housing benefits, sizable travel allowances and enjoy 401(k) plans and other benefits comparable to full-time hospital posts, with the exception of sick pay. Even in a soft economy, and with at least one firm reporting slightly lower wage offerings from hospitals, many observers see travel nursing as a solid choice for restless nurses whose services remain in peak demand.

About half of American hospitals use travel nurses, said Jennifer Armstrong-Gay, a spokeswoman for the American Hospital Association.

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