SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — For the past couple of years, we’ve reported on the nursing shortages across the country.

During the pandemic, a lot of nurses left their jobs due to stress, while others hit retirement age.

But now, the nursing industry is adapting to fill open positions.

Angie Vera has been a certified nurse for 19 years. But about a year ago she made a decision that would change her life.

“Mostly for the travel and the variety,” Vera said.

She became a travel nurse.

“I get to do different things get to go different places and meet new people, so I really enjoy that,” Vera said.

In certain programs, some traveling nurses get to see all parts of the country.

Vera signed a contract as a traveling nurse with Avera Health and has been working in Sioux Falls since January.

She works three days a week for a total of 36 hours.

Her length of stay at any one hospital varies.

“It depends, I’ve signed contracts for 13 weeks and I’ve extended as well,” Vera said.

But she says the best part is the pay.

Avera offers travel nurses $160-180k a year, which includes a monthly allowance for work-related expenses.

“The industry has changed quite a bit,” Contingent Workforce Director Kyle Helder said.

Kyle Helder is in charge of the travel nurse program at Avera.

“Demand right now, we have about 200 travelers throughout our organization,” Helder said.

During the pandemic, Helder says many nurses wound up quitting due to stress or burnout.

Others were at or close to retirement age.

Helder says employees like Vera are crucial.

“They absolutely fill an important role, we have to have hands at the bedside and have to be able to care for our patients and our populations, and that comes through multiple venues of support,” Helder said.

Vera says moving from job to job is helpful for her.

“I feel like for me personally, just having a variety will prevent some of that burnout, being able to go do different things keeps it more interesting, and learning continuous learning is always funs too,” Vera said.

Travel nurses make up about 5% of all the nurses at Avera and while the pay is excellent, there are some drawbacks.

“It’s it’s a lifestyle change, you have to be willing and able to uproot yourself for a short period of time and be able to move onto the next position,” Helder said.

Plus, when a nurse signs up with an agency to find different jobs across the country, those agencies like Avera take a 30-35% cut for placement.

Traveling nurses are typically given a stipend to pay for housing arrangements, whether that’s an apartment or hotel.

Vera is staying in an apartment for now. She knows being a travel nurse isn’t for everyone. A lot of them are single and have no kids, but there are other sacrifices.

“A drawback would be being away from friends and family for an extended period of time, but so far that’s it, ha ha ha” Vera said.

Don: How long are you going to keep doing it?

Angie: As long as I can, yeah.

To learn more about travel nurses, click here.