Like many, I fell in love with nursing, and it immediately became one of my personality traits. I knew this was a career path that retained high standards while also caring for a precious thing: human life. The most beautiful consideration I ever made when becoming a nurse was realizing that any success of a nurse is directly correlated to the success of their community. Nurses are, indeed, the custodians of humanity. Throughout my travels, I have met many nurses pursuing different and unique nursing career paths that made me realize how diverse and flexible nursing was. That was very appealing to me as a young nurse and created even more excitement for this fulfilling career.
Throughout my career I have always strived to do what I’m passionate about. In a career like nursing there’s no room to hate your job because that can ultimately affect patient care. I started off as a float nurse for my local hospital where I worked in different units like surgical care, the emergency department, and even palliative care. I worked as a COVID-19 nurse during the pandemic because I was floated to units where the staffing was needed the most. Once the pandemic settled, I completed multiple travel contracts internationally in countries like Saudi Arabia where I cared for members of the royal family. I then went to travel nursing in upstate New York, USA. This really solidified my passion for global health and humanitarian work, as it gave me the opportunity to complete humanitarian nursing contracts as well.
What drew me to travel nursing is how I can still utilize my nursing skills, but also work in different cities or new environments. I also love the flexibility of it. With three- to six-month contracts, you ultimately control when you want to take the next one. This has allowed me to spend more time with family and travel to other countries in between contracts. Many people think being a travel nurse is a complex process, but it's quite simple. If you are an American, you just need to apply for a nursing license in the state in which you want to be a travel nurse. This can take two weeks or few months depending on the state. This simple, straightforward article from NurseJournal explains how to become a travel nurse. However, since I am Canadian, I had to get a work visa before accepting a position in the US. Usually, hospitals prefer that you have at least two years of consistent hospital experience, but I have met travel nurses who were new graduates and travel nursing.
I am currently a travel nurse, but I also started a freelance nurse writing business called Rabah Writes. Medical writing is a career path not many nurses know about, but it can be just as satisfying as bedside work! I stumbled upon nurse freelance writing when I was researching something related to medical symptoms. I came across an article that was written by a nurse and I was intrigued. That’s when I started looking into this concept. I’m still rather new to freelance writing and I’m building my portfolio. However, I wanted to build my portfolio on topics that I was passionate about like nursing and medicine. Editors like hiring nurses as writers because they are credible sources of information with real patient interaction. The Google algorithm also favors online material that is written by licensed healthcare professionals, such as a registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, medical doctor, and physician assistant. This helps Google combat misinformation online, and it gives nurses the opportunity to provide accurate information to patients through writing and marketing. Many of the articles you read online, pamphlets you see at medical offices, or even social media posts for health organizations may have been written by nurses.
Writing is an acquired skill and there’s still so much I need to learn about the business side such as finding paying clients, working with magazines, and profiting from my writing. Our experiences and education as nurses give us an advantage over a writer who may not know anything about this specific field. For example, a pharmaceutical company may want to post an article for clients on post-operative pain management. The magazine may prefer to hire a nurse who can write a more nuanced article for their target clients since they have worked with people in pain and with specific types of medication. It also gives more credibility to the article as many editing companies find their readers trust the information more when it comes from a credible source. As nurses, we have extensive practice in recognizing false information and where to get the proper information from.
During my last year of nursing school, I was inducted into the Iota Omicron Chapter of Sigma at Western University, where I had the opportunity to be on my chapter’s Leadership Succession Committee once I graduated. Since then, I have loved the community Sigma has and how vast it spreads to multiple countries. You can find a Sigma chapter in every inch of the world! To me, this means that no matter where I travel as a nurse, Sigma will have a presence there too. It also made me appreciate the beauty of the nursing community and how the core values of nursing transcend borders, languages, and political views. My aspirations for my Sigma involvement are within advancing nursing excellence in my ancestral country. Although born and raised in Canada, I’m originally from the Middle East (a mix of Palestinian and Lebanese). I would love to create a stronger Sigma presence there to collaborate on an international scale and empower nurses in that region.
Huda Rabah, BSN, RN, is a registered nurse at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Ontario, Canada, a travel nurse, and a freelance nurse writer. She is a member of Sigma’s Iota Omicron Chapter.