Is nursing transferable and portable : the experiences of travel nurses

This study was designed to help us better understand the question of portability and transferability of the Nursing profession by examining the experiences of six travel nurses. The travel nurses described ways in which they believed their skills and practice standards transferred between countries supporting portability and transferability. This study was conducted in the United States Southwest during the period between October 2013 and March 2014. The interviews were recorded with English speaking travel nurses who had international work experience within the countries of Australia, Canada, England and the United States of America. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed following the interpretive descriptive qualitative design methodology by Thorne (2008). The findings revealed the following five themes: (1) ability to transfer skills; (2) navigating policy differences; (3) overcoming English language differences; (4) acculturation, transitioning into new locations; and, (5) becoming aware of healthcare costs.