State Spotlight: Florida

Travel Nurse Jobs

Florida Travel NursingAs temps take a dive nationwide, December’s State Spotlight takes us to fabulous Florida! The Sunshine State is a perfect option for Travelers, with its excellent facilities, seasonal need for more healthcare staff, opportunity for professional development, and an amazing assortment of things to do, see, and experience on your days off. Read on to find out why Florida Travel Nursing is one of the hottest tickets around!

Travel Nursing in FloridaFlorida State Postage Stamp Greetings From America Retro Postcard Theme

Florida is a busy, lucrative state for Travel Nurses because of its super high number of hospitals and high population of elderly folks. Because of this, The Sunshine State consistently has lots of really great job opportunities for Travelers where they will learn new skills and have some amazing experiences on their days off. Florida offers a lot of geographic diversity — from big-city flair to quaint, rural communities to state and national parks, plus a famously gorgeous bunch of beaches, to boot.

Florida is home to 315 hospitals — seven of which are nationally ranked in various adult and children’s specialties, according to U.S. News & World Report. That includes Jacksonville’s Mayo Clinic Jacksonville, which U.S. News & World Report ranked the #1 hospital in Florida. Rounding out the top five overall hospitals in Florida are: Tampa’s General Hospital, Gainesville’s UF Health Shands Hospital, Orlando’s Florida Hospital, and the Orlando Regional Medical Center.

In 2017, U.S. News & World Report ranked Florida the #24 overall state on their first-ever “Best States” list, based on criteria including economy, education, government, health care, crime & corrections, infrastructure, and opportunity. The report also ranked Florida #7 among the top states for economy, #9 for government, and #11 for infrastructure.

As for licensing, Florida is not a walk-through state, but it is a NURSYS state, and, effective January 19, 2018, it will be a compact state under the new Enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact! Stay tuned here for more info on the NLC to eNLC transition. Click here for more info on licensing in Florida.

Florida Fast Facts

State Nickname: The Sunshine State

Capital: Tallahassee

Largest City: Jacksonville

National Parks: 11

State Parks, Trails, and Historic Sites: 175

West Indian Manatees
Manatees rule!

National Historic Landmarks: 46

State Motto: “In God We Trust”

State Flower: Orange Blossom

State Tree: Sabal Palm

State Marine Mammal: Manatee

State Beverage: Orange Juice

State Pie: Key Lime Pie

State Gem: Moonstone

Florida was the 27th state.

Key lime pie, sunscreen, Famous Amos Cookies, Gatorade, frozen concentrated orange juice, the IBM personal computer, personal luxury submarines, bondo, air conditioning, Hooters, Red Lobster, and Rum Runner cocktails were all invented in Florida.

Saint Augustine, Florida is the oldest continuing European settlement in the North America.

Aerial view of Fort Lauderdale's skyline
Fort Lauderdale is known as “The Venice of Florida” for its many canals!

Orlando is the United States’ most-visited amusement park destination.

Niceville, Florida is home to the annual Boggy Bayou Mullet Festival — an important celebration of business in the front, party in the back!

Because necessity is the mother of invention, pharmacist Benjamin Greene invented the first suntan cream in 1944 in Miami Beach.

Key West, Florida is home to the highest average temperature in the United States.

Miami was the first city to install an ATM especially for rollerbladers.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida is dubbed “The Venice of America” due to its 185 miles of local waterway canals.

From any point in Florida, you are never more than 60 miles from the ocean!

Islamorado is the Sports Fishing Capital of the World.

TP
RIP to Florida native and rock legend Tom Petty!

Key Largo is known as the Dive Capital of the World.

Florida is the only U.S. state that has two separate rivers with the same name — Withlacoochee in north Florida and Withlacoochee in central Florida.

Greater Miami is the only U.S. metro area that’s borders encompass two national parks — Everglades National Park and Biscayne National Park.

Famous folks from Florida include Tom Petty (RIP!), Ariana Grande, Jason Derulo, Debbie Harry, Sidney Poitier, Rick Ross, Bob Ross, Wesley Snipes, Pitbull, Faye Dunaway, Marco Rubio, Norman Reedus, Jim Morrison, Eva Mendes, Maya Rudolph, Sarah Paulson, and, of course, Flor Rida!

Key West, Florida has the most bars per capita in the nation.

Florida has more golf courses than any other state in the U.S.

The Florida Everglades is the only place in the world where crocs and alligators coexist.

Florida’s St. Johns River is the state’s largest river and one of only a few major rivers that flows south to north.

Ocean Drive night scene at South Beach, Miami, USA
Sunset at Ocean Drive in South Beach, Miami!

To Do & See in Florida

Florida is well-known as a paradise destination. There’s so much to do and see, and The Sunshine State is the perfect place to escape the deep freeze of winter!

On the urban tip, Florida’s largest cities include Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Hialeah, Tallahassee, Port St. Lucia, Cape Coral, and Fort Lauderdale. The region is home to all kinds of beaches, history, sports, theme parks, natural beauty, arts, and culture.

Popular destinations in Florida include Walt Disney World, Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Universal Studios Orlando, Islands of Adventure, the Florida Keys, Everglades National Park, Miami’s South Beach, Kennedy Space Center, Dry Tortugas National Park, Jungle Island, Daytona International Speedway, and so much more!

Arts and culture enthusiasts will want to check out Key West’s Ernest Hemingway House and St. Petersburg’s Salvador Dali Museum.

Vegan Key Lime Pie Slice and KeyLimes
Mmmmm, Key Lime Pie!

Sports fan will delight in the many awesome college teams as well as pro sporting events with teams like the Florida Marlins, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Florida Panthers, and Tamps Bat Lightning. Additionally, if you’re into NASCAR and/or golf — Florida is your jam!

A day at the beach can really work up an appetite and Florida delivers good eats! Some iconic Florida cuisine includes Stone Crab claws, Florida Rock Shrimp, fresh oranges and kumquats, Apalachicola oysters, gator bites, conch fritters, fish tacos, Cubano sandwiches — and all other kinds of Cuban delights, spiny lobster, and more. Key Lime Pie is what’s for dessert, of course, and you can wash it all down with a marvelous Mojito!

For the outdoorsy, Florida obviously offers and amazing array of beautiful beaches, but that’s not all. Adventurers can also take an Everglades airboat ride, swim with manatees, snorkel, kayak, scuba dive, go boating, ziplining, fishing, and so much more.

Ready for your adventure to The Sunshine State?!

Search now to find your dream Travel Nurse job in Florida!

oung woman lying on the beach
Escape to Florida this winter for an amazing adventure!