{"id":7262,"date":"2023-09-06T14:00:47","date_gmt":"2023-09-06T14:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/?p=7262"},"modified":"2026-03-31T17:24:59","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T17:24:59","slug":"telemetry-nurse-anthony-swain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/inspiration\/telemetry-nurse-anthony-swain\/","title":{"rendered":"Rx for Success: Telemetry Nurse Anthony Swain Inspires Nurses to Reach Their Financial Potential"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Vivian Health\u2019s ongoing Rx for Success<\/strong> series, we profile a healthcare provider from our platform each week, highlighting critical career moments fueling their renewed passion for healthcare. <\/em><\/p>\n

If Anthony Swain had his way, this travel telemetry nurse would jump in the time machine from <\/span>Back to the Future<\/span><\/i>, travel back to when he was a brand new, 22-year-old nurse, and give his younger self some <\/span>much-needed advice<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAt the start of my travel nursing career and early 20s, I was missing one key piece to the puzzle,\u201d Swain told Vivian Health in a question-and-answer session. \u201cIt was my lack of financial literacy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Like the younger version of Swain, many early-career registered nurses (RNs) share a sense that nursing is a good career choice, with salaries above the national median wage, especially for <\/span>travel nursing positions<\/span><\/a>. But they may share Swain\u2019s early confusion about how to channel their career into a vehicle of personal freedom and financial security.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t brought up in an affluent household, and finances were not a regular topic of discussion,\u201d Swain told us. \u201cIn high school and college, personal finance was never taught either.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

From Just Getting By to Financial Freedom with Travel Nursing<\/b><\/h3>\n

Swain started his nursing career living paycheck-to-paycheck and felt there had to be a better way to reduce his debts, build up some assets and live a financially smarter life. Moreover, as Swain describes his early career as a staff nurse, \u201cI was getting burnt out,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Enter travel nursing, where pay rates are typically higher than staff nurse positions, <\/span>averaging $2,448 per week<\/span><\/a> nationwide in July 2023. Swain moved into travel nursing in 2016, several years before it took off in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, and he feels it set him on a better pathway that improved his financial circumstances.<\/span><\/p>\n

For one thing, travel nursing is all about freedom, according to Swain. \u201cIt gave me freedom with my time to decide when to take contracts and for how long, and the ability to request time off to fit my lifestyle.\u00a0It also offered location freedom with the ability to choose where I wanted to work, including some bucket list locations.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The additional income provided by travel nursing also put Swain and his wife, also a travel nurse, in a position to pay down significant student loan debts and invest in index funds and some larger assets, such as an investment property.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI believe travel nursing is a huge opportunity for clinicians to take advantage of some peak earnings years to set themselves up for the long term,\u201d Swain said. \u201cHowever, healthcare travelers have many other opportunities to accomplish their financial goals. That is why I think it is so important nurses pursue their own entrepreneurial pursuits too.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Pursuing His Entrepreneurial Spirit as a Financial Educator<\/b><\/h3>\n

\"Anthony<\/p>\n

Swain pursued his own interest in entrepreneurship, first focusing on learning about financial literacy so he could save and invest his extra income. Then he focused on sharing his knowledge with others, becoming a Certified Financial Educator to help guide fellow travel nurses. He shares financial planning tips through his Instagram account, <\/span>@financiallyfitnurse<\/span><\/a>, and via his e-book, <\/span>The Travel Nurses\u2019 Guide to Personal Finance.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cMy ultimate goal is to share the financial knowledge I\u2019ve gained throughout my journey with my nursing and healthcare cohorts,\u201d Swain said. \u201cI want my peers to have a greater financial future and set themselves up to achieve<\/span>\u00a0financial freedom, too.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Unlimited Variety of Travel Nursing<\/b><\/h3>\n

Swain\u2019s Instagram is not only a vehicle for communicating financial tips to his fellow nurses but also a gallery of the extensive travels and outdoor adventures possible in the life of a travel nurse. Often taking positions on the West Coast, Swain has had snowboard adventures in the Rocky Mountains and visited lakes in the Pacific Northwest, beaches in Hawaii and deserts in Nevada. He and his wife also did a travel nurse stint in Miami, all while fitting in trips to Europe\u2019s famed cities.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe both came from small rural towns,\u201d Swain explained of his wife and himself, \u201cso getting to live and work in these locations was a big deal for us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Travel nursing has also allowed Swain to work in different hospital units. While he\u2019s recently worked as a telemetry nurse, his career has taken him to various units, including <\/span>progressive care unit<\/span><\/a>,<\/span> med-surg<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>transplant<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>float pool<\/span><\/a> nursing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Perks of Finding Work as a Vivian VIP Elite<\/b><\/h3>\n

\"Anthony<\/p>\n

No matter what kind of work interests Swain at the moment, he and his wife both rely on Vivian to find their next pair of travel nurse positions, including their current posts in Charlotte, North Carolina.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cVivian is my go-to app for finding contracts in a new location,\u201d he explained. \u201cThey make it easy to compare rates, filter your searches and contact agencies about job openings.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Swain has also qualified for <\/span>Vivian\u2019s VIP program<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs a VIP, I get special alerts and early submissions to the best positions, and I get rewarded for taking assignments with Vivian,\u201d said Swain.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Vivian app (<\/span>Apple<\/span><\/a> \/ <\/span>Android<\/span><\/a>) users can join the VIP program by completing at least 90% of their profiles and setting their job preferences. Swain explained that once you\u2019re in the program, you can earn cash rewards when you get placed in a job through Vivian. This step allows you to level up into the VIP Elite program.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cVivian\u2019s VIP Elite program is a great perk,\u201d Swain explained. \u201cBasically, once you become a VIP, you\u2019re eligible to receive a reward for taking an assignment with Vivian.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Vivian VIP Elites can receive up to $1,550 in rewards when they get hired through the platform, with a $50 bonus for the first job and larger rewards for each successive job, up to $1,000 for the fourth job.<\/span><\/p>\n

Swain noted that they get double the perks because he and his wife both use the program when looking for their travel nurse positions together.<\/span><\/p>\n

Skip the Time Machine and Learn from Swain\u2019s Experience<\/b><\/h3>\n

\"Time<\/p>\n

Swain has some advice for today\u2019s young and early-career nurses so they won\u2019t end up wishing for a time machine like he did.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLeverage travel nursing early in your career to better your financial position; travel, create invaluable experiences and pursue other interests, including entrepreneurship,\u201d he advised.<\/span><\/p>\n

And some last words of advice: \u201cDon\u2019t forget to enjoy the process along the way. It goes quick, and you\u2019ll want to have great memories to look back at.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Compare travel nursing salaries<\/span><\/a> in cities and states across the nation to find contracts that make the most financial sense and begin your own travel nursing adventure today.<\/span><\/p>\n

Visa\u00ae prepaid debit cards are issued by Lead Bank, Member FDIC<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Discover how RN Anthony Swain blends a life of adventure travel, entrepreneurship and nursing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":7266,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[18],"class_list":["post-7262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration","tag-allhcp"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/08\/Anthony-Blog-Header2.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/50"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7262"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7262\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}