By: Mike Vietti

Serving as a traveling healthcare worker means embracing a hectic and nomadic lifestyle – that just comes with the territory.

But, imagine being a travel nurse working 40+ hours per week hundreds of miles away from your family and going through the process of buying the first home in your life.

That’s another level of chaos.

That’s what Jennifer Davis did – even if it meant spending most of the first few months after buying her first home NOT living in that home.

And in Davis’ case, that means a largely unfurnished house.

“My husband was like, ‘I’m not touching anything if you’re not here.’”

Such is life for a travel nurse. But, it’s a life that Davis loves. Originally an LPN, during the COVID pandemic Davis went back to school to earn her RN degree. During that time – helping people in the midst of the worst disease outbreak in 100+ years – she discovered her passion for travel nursing.

“I’m a travel nurse and so I love to travel. Love it.”

After securing her RN degree, Davis worked for about a year in Nashville. She previously engaged with several staffing organizations and had always maintained contact with Krucial, but the timing had never synced up.

That changed in late 2024 when a new youth behavioral facility opened in the Kansas City area. Finally, an opportunity for Davis materialized. What began as a 13-week contract developed into another contract. And another. And another. And another.

The reason is simple: Davis understands the importance of her role and how much of a difference she makes in the lives of children from the ages of 6 to 18.

“Some of these kids… they’ve lived through so much,” Davis said. “Some are so angry, but they just want to know that you care. They want to be understood. And loved. But, sometimes, they don’t know how to be loved because they’ve come from horrible backgrounds. A lot of the time, they just need someone to spend time with them and get to know them. Once you do that, you can really help them and when that happens, it’s amazing.”

That desire to help youth facing very difficult situations helped offset the challenges of being a travel nurse as part of a staff opening a brand new facility.

“It’s been tough, but it’s been good too,” Davis said. “I’ve been here since it started and I’ve seen it all. We’ve come such a long way and we have such a good staff here – I know that these will be my friends for a long time. How many travelers can say that?”

Davis was so adept in her position that she transitioned to a Charge RN role, something that she certainly didn’t imagine happening upon accepting her initial contract. In fact, Davis was asked if she would accept the role, but initially declined several times.

Part of the hesitation was the fact that, in many cases, travel nurses are only in the same place for 13 weeks at a time. But after serving in the same facility for nearly a year, Davis felt the time was right to tackle the new role. She credits the Krucial team for being supportive – no matter the circumstances of her declining/accepting the role.

“The people at Krucial – they always have my back,” Davis said. “When I kept declining the charge position, they were so cool about it. It was funny because when I told them I actually did want the position, everyone fell to the ground. It was like the heavens opened up.

“I’ve worked with other agencies, but I always tell people to go to Krucial,” Davis said. “Krucial is by far the best agency I’ve worked with. Krucial always has the best jobs and they’re different. They check up on me, they always fight for me and I can get in touch anytime if I have a question. They’re always there. And, they trust you and put their faith in you. That means everything to me and it’s a big reason why I’m still here a year later. I love my recruiter and I really appreciate everything Krucial does for me.”

Davis has already agreed to another contract in 2026, but she’s taking a month off between her contracts. One of many things Davis loves about travel nursing is that things always change. But, she’s going to need to get comfortable with something that won’t change anytime soon: being a homeowner.

“I haven’t even been in that house for a week yet!” Davis said. “I’ve got a whole lot of plans when I get down there…”

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