Exploring America on Wheels

Recreational vehicles are usually synonymous with camping trips and weekend getaways. However, for a growing number of traveling health care professionals, RVs are a part of their daily lives. Quite simply, they are home.

When John and June Gannon, both travel nurses with American Mobile Healthcare, took their first assignment two years ago, they initially opted for company housing.

"Although the housing was great, we didn’t care too much for all the preparation that goes into moving in and out of an apartment," John Gannon explained. "Packing and unpacking for each assignment just wasn’t our style. That’s when we decided to buy a motor home. Now we just plug in our RV once we get to a campground near our assignment and we’re good to go."

Travel nurse Cyndi MacDonald shares these sentiments. She and her husband converted a 42-seater school bus into a state-of-the-art motor home specifically for the purpose of traveling across the country for Cyndi’s travel nursing assignments.

"We named her ‘Large Marge da Bus’ and have lived in her for three years now, along with our basset hound, Gunther," MacDonald said. "We have everything we need, we can pack up and be gone in less than an hour, and best of all, we sleep in the same bed every night, no matter where we are."

Why do some traveling health care professionals choose to live in a RV, rather than the well-appointed housing provided by their travel nursing company?

The enthusiasts have no shortage of explanations.

"Besides the advantage of not having to pack and unpack constantly, it feels very comfortable to have our home comforts with us wherever we go," MacDonald explained. "It makes me feel more in control."

Terry Evans, RN, who has been traveling to assignments in her motor home for two years, agreed.

"When I leave work at the end of my shift, I truly feel like I am going ‘home,’ where I am surrounded by all my own things—my books, my furniture, my framed pictures and all those little sentimental things that make a home special."

John and June Gannon enjoy the freedom and mobility that their RV provides them.

"We often have days off together," Gannon explained. "This gives us the chance to take our motor home on the road and do side trips in our free time. We don’t have to bother with making hotel reservations or searching for accommodations. We just hit the road and head anywhere we like. Our RV allows us to be spontaneous, and in many ways, makes us feel like we are on a permanent vacation."

In between their assignments, the Gannons often take off a month or two at a time to explore different regions of the country.

Recently, when their San Diego assignment came to an end, they drove their RV all the way to Alaska. After spending a month among the glaciers and mountains, they headed south again, this time in the direction of St. Petersburg, Florida, where their next assignment was waiting for them.

"We traveled 11,000 miles on that trip," said Gannon. "It was an epic journey—two and a half months in total—but what a wonderful way to see this beautiful country."

"One of the biggest misconceptions of RV’ing, is that it’s basically like camping," laughed Gannon. "In fact, nothing could be further from the truth."

The Gannon’s 37-foot diesel motor home is filled with a plethora of modern amenities, including Internet access, a fax machine, air conditioning, two television sets and a variety of state-of-the-art kitchen appliances.

"Wherever possible, we park our motor home as close as we can to the trees," Gannon said. "We hang up birdfeeders, set up an awning and enjoy grilling outdoors while watching the birds and the sunset."

Likewise, Evans and her husband made sure that their motor home didn’t lack anything when they set off from their home base in Alaska, to Evans’ first nursing assignment in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

"Our RV has what’s called a ‘slide-out,’" she explained. "This allows us to extend an area of the motor home once we park it, making it almost double the original width. Many people think that RV living is cramped. We have more than enough space, plus when it comes to amenities, we have everything that you’d find in a regular house."

Another advantage of the RV lifestyle is the financial incentive. In most cases, traveling health care professionals are provided with a housing subsidy if, instead of accepting the company’s free housing, they find their own accommodations. With RV travelers, this housing allowance can be used to cover the cost of the lot rent and amenities such as water and electricity.

For couples who both work as travel nurses, this can be especially lucrative as both RNs will be paid a monthly housing allowance by the travel health care company.

"The extra money that you have at the end of the month can help you to pay off your RV," explained Evans. "Economically, it really makes a lot of sense."

In the RV world, forward planning is essential, especially if you want to find a suitable campground with all the right amenities close to your contract facility.

Evans and her husband use the Internet to help them find the most suitable campgrounds.

"We usually select our campground a few weeks ahead of arriving at our next destination," she said. "The Internet is a great resource and it’s really easy to find out everything you need to know. Some campgrounds even have their own Web sites."

"Another good resource is to ask about campgrounds when you interview for a travel job," Evans said. "The interview coordinators usually know the best campgrounds in the area."

When Evans took an assignment in Chinle, Arizona, she discovered that the hospital at which she was contracted to work had built a RV compound for its employees, complete with utilities, just a block away from the hospital.

"Because the town was so small, there weren’t any campgrounds close by," Evans explained. "The hospital knew that many of its travel nurses lived in their motor homes, so they created the facility to accommodate their RV travelers. This is quite a common thing for hospitals in remote areas, although it was the first one I’d come across."

MacDonald says that she relies on her ‘Trailer Life’ directory and also consults with the Chamber of Commerce before relocating to a new city.

"I don’t even consider taking an assignment without researching the campgrounds in that area first," MacDonald said. "I call up each campground and ask them a variety of questions, such as: can they accommodate a motor home our size, do they welcome dogs, do they have laundry facilities, does the park take pride in its appearance and amenities? You need to ask a lot of questions to make sure you find the place where you’ll be most comfortable."

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