4 Tips for Reducing Stress as a Travel Nurse or Allied Health Clinician

Burnout is a real issue facing healthcare workers across the United States—in fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 46% of health workers reported often feeling burnt out in 2022, up from 32% in 2018. If you’re a travel registered nurse (RN) or allied health clinician and you’ve been taking assignments over the past few years, there’s a good chance you’ve felt burnt out yourself, with the many stressors of your job taking a toll on your mental well-being. In this blog, we’re outlining five tips for reducing stress as a travel nurse or allied health clinician—read on to learn some strategies that will help you boost your emotional health. 

1. Exercise When You Can

One of the best ways to center yourself and reduce stress is to take some time out of your week to get in some physical activity. According to the Mayo Clinic, exercise is a surefire way to reduce the negative effects of stress, as it imitates how you feel when you’re under stress and strengthens your body’s systems in dealing with those feelings. In addition, exercise increases your body’s natural endorphins, which helps to improve your overall mood and lower symptoms of anxiety or depression. 

Exercise can look different from person to person—while you may immediately think of going for a run, you could also get your body moving by taking a walk every so often, going on a hike, or even practicing yoga in the safety of your home. As long as you’re getting your body moving, you’re doing a service to yourself by helping to reduce the effects of the stress your feel in your job. 

2. Eat Balanced Meals

Exercise is certainly one component of reducing stress, but the positive effects of exercise can be compounded by eating healthy, balanced meals. While your instinct might be to grab that bag of chips when you’re feeling under water, instituting a nutritious diet into your routine will give you more energy throughout the day and make you feel better overall. Not only that, but eating good food will make exercise even more enjoyable and easier!

Start by planning out your meals for an entire week, making sure that you are eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner every single day. Incorporate healthy recipes, such as salads or meals that have a heavy veggie component. Also limit your caffeine intake, because too much of this could make you crash earlier in the day, decreasing your energy. By eating healthy, you’ll give your body the energy it needs to deal with some of the stressful situations you might come across during the day. 

3. Practice Self-Care

Self-care is a term that’s thrown around a lot these days, but that’s for a good reason! Doing things that make you happy, such as participating in a hobby like arts and crafts, taking some time to watch your favorite TV show, or playing your favorite game will help you center your mind and relieve stress. Self-care is not just about treating yourself—it’s also about taking stock of your life and understanding your worth, so also consider meditation or journaling as some activities.

This tip can be combined with the previous two, as both of them are forms of self-care, but this tip is to get you thinking about the other activities in your daily life that bring you joy. It’s easy to put the blinders on and only focus on work, but you need some time for yourself too—so choose some pastimes that brighten your day and do those when you can!

4. Connect with Friends and Family

Feeling stressed at work and don’t know how else to relieve some of those negative feelings? In addition to following some of the earlier tips on this list, another great way to reduce stress is to keep in contact with friends and family who you know have your back. 

Give your best friend or a family member a call every so often, and chat! Don’t only focus on the things that are stressing you out, use it as an opportunity to listen to the person on the other end of the line and ask them questions about what’s going on in their life. By keeping these lines of communication open, you’ll be building your support network and have more people to lean on in times of need. 

Find Your Next Travel Healthcare Job with BHS

Looking to travel the country and provide healthcare services to patients who need it the most? We have many travel nurse and allied health job opportunities open on our website. Check out our job board and apply today to get started!