Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to celebrate with the special someone in your life (not to mention your kids or parents, maybe even some treasured friends and neighbors). Deliver a card, a cake, a bouquet … or plan a romantic night out.

February 14th is a great day to acknowledge the people you love. And it’s also a good time to reconnect with something else that you should love: your nursing job. It’s said that some people live to work, but that the lucky ones work to live.

Ideally, an RN job should be challenging and exciting, and it should also provide the flexibility that you need to do the ‘other’ things that you love. Like spend time with those special someones mentioned earlier.

This is the perfect time to ask yourself some questions about that all-important work/life balance:

  • Are your relationships fulfilling?
  • Are your stress levels manageable?
  • Is your nursing salary where it should be?
  • Are you challenged intellectually? Are you trying new things? Are you meeting new people?
  • Do you have time for hobbies, fitness, travel?
  • Do you feel like you have enough control over the balance between your work and your life?

Many RN’s have discovered that travel nursing jobs can reinvigorate their careers — and their personal lives — giving them the control and flexibility they seek in their work. For those of you who like a structured approach to personal planning, you might enjoy this “Wheel of Life” exercise, a favorite of professional life coaches — or this simple work stress quiz from WebMD.

And for those RN’s among you who have decided that it couldn’t hurt to investigate some nursing career improvements, check out this travel nursing video  from a practicing traveler. For some folks, everything changes when they change their locale. In the spirit of this romantic holiday, how about looking into San Francisco nursing jobs or Hawaii travel nursing, just for starters.

More reasons for RN’s to love the month of February (It’s National Heart Month!), here »