Medical Travelers Tips: Traveling with Children

Travel Jobs

Jul 7

Medical traveling is a great career if you are passionate about seeing the world but also influencing others. However, travel healthcare can become difficult when you start a family.

Luckily, you don’t need to give up medical traveling just because you have kids. With our helpful guide, you can successfully lead a happy family and a happy career.

Read on to find out more!

Medical Traveling Tips

Whether you are a nurse, surgeon, physical therapist, or another medical professional, traveling on the job is an adjustment.

If you don’t plan ahead, medical traveling with kids can be hard and not always go well. But there are ways you can prepare that will make the adjustment much easier for you and your family.

Bring Entertainment

You’ve probably heard the phrase: “Are we there yet?”

If your children have entertainment, they will be less likely to complain on the trip.

Whether you are going on plane rides, car trips, or any other mode of transportation, you will need to plan ways to entertain your kids. This will make the road trip easier for you if you don’t need to worry about entertaining them yourself.

Have a TV installed in your car or call your airline ahead of time to check if they have TVs. This will keep your child entertained for an extended amount of time.

When you want your kids to have a break from screens, you can pack a bag filled with mess-free and simple activities. This can include coloring books, play dough, car games, and more.

If you want your trip to go smoothly, pack activities for them to do.

Choose Spacious Transportation

Your child may get cramped or antsy sitting in your car for a long time. Because of this, it is important to choose something that has enough room for them to stretch out.

Choosing a good-sized van will help. To maximize space, you can even hitch a trailer to the back of your car for your suitcases and other storage items. If you don’t have enough items for a trailer, you can place a rack on your car roof to secure items outside.

Spacious transportation will be a necessity when it comes to traveling with your children.

Find Comfortable and Safe Housing

If you are alone, it can be easy to live out of a hotel for several weeks (or months). With children though, they need more space to run around and have fun.

If you have assigned housing, recommend to your supervisor for a housing placement with enough bedrooms and space for your kids. Make sure they know that this is a dealbreaker because your kids’ happiness comes first.

If you get to choose your housing, do your research to ensure that you are picking a child-friendly area. You should also research the location that the housing is in, so you can know whether or not it is a safe area.

Pack Smart

Packing smart doesn’t necessarily mean you need to pack light. There are packing hacks you can utilize to make the best of your space.

Having kids means you are going to have double the amount of clothes you normally would. Roll your clothes up neatly to fit more of it in your suitcase. If you can choose one big suitcase for you and your children, chances are you can fit all the necessary clothing in there.

While you won’t need to pack light this way, you also shouldn’t be taking unnecessary items with you. Think about the daily essentials that you and your children will need and stick to packing just those.

But don’t forget to let your children choose some of their favorite toys to bring along! These toys are a necessity to keep your children entertained and happy.

Childcare

Unless they are older, you can’t leave your kids alone while you are at work, so childcare is a must. Before you leave, research any open daycares around the area or trustworthy babysitters. Confirm with them ahead of time that your child can attend there.

By doing this, you won’t need to worry about finding someplace once you arrive at your assignment. If you don’t research ahead of time, you may even realize that there are no daycares or babysitters in the area.

Have Fun

While traveling can be stressful, remember to have fun with your kids and make lots of memories. This is an opportunity for them to experience new places, so make the best of your days off to explore the areas. Most places will have parks, museums, play centers, and more.

But also, don’t forget that you deserve rest and self-care too. Balance your days off by spending time with your kids and also investing in yourself. If you don’t, you will experience exhaustion and burnout.

Are You Ready to Become a Medical Traveler?

You know all the hacks and tips to be a successful medical traveler with children. So, jumpstart your journey right now and experience the many opportunities medical traveling has.

Andrew Theis