Name: Sharon F.
State: North Carolina
Job Title: ICU
 

For Sharon F., nursing seemed like a natural choice...just another way to care and nurture.  Nursing was a second choice career.  Her first choice?  Being a mother.  Now you understand her statement, "another way to care and nurture".  That's Sharon (top row, on the right), flanked by her GRANDCHILDREN, Abigail and Spencer (and don't forget about little Madeline, who's on the way).  It wasn't until her children were older that she returned to school and became an RN.  That was 14 years ago and she's been a travel nurse for 8.5 years now!  Sharon's worked as a traveler in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Minnesota, California, Connecticut, Mississippi, Tennessee and North Carolina.  She's planning on Hawaii, New Mexico, Montana and Alaska sometime in the near future.  She loves the opportunities that being a traveler affords her.  Opportunities such as better compensation, seeing the country, and how hospitals operate differently (yet alike).  The most valuable lesson that she's learned is that there's no particular "right" way to do your job.  It depends on the facility and the culture of the community that you travel to.  Sharon states that she's learned something everywhere she's worked.  She incorporates those skills into her everyday performance and it's made her a better nurse because of it.  On new assignments, Sharon first pays careful attention on the first several shifts and observes how coworkers handle problems, communicate with each other, with families and patients.  This gives her the ability to behave accordingly and to fit in.  Her advice to new travelers:  "Always remember that you're a guest in THEIR house!  As a guest, you wouldn't tell your host how to rearrange their furniture or discipline their children.  Focus on what you're there to do... WORK.  You're there to help them out and not there to teach them how you do things."

Sharon loves to watch TV and finds writing poetry therapeutic!  She also eats/watches/reads/breathes/sleeps/talks decorating!  She states that she likes working for Cirrus because it feels like home.  Everyone  is genuinely concerned about you and helping you.  She states that she loves her recruiter, CJ.  They have struck a balance of give and take and have a mutual trust that's bonding.  We hope we all look as youthful as Sharon when we have grandchildren!

Return to see the rest of our Featured Travelers!