This month’s State Spotlight takes us to terrific Tennessee! The Volunteer State has many great career opportunities for Travel Nurses as well as majestic mountains, rolling hills, exciting cities, beautiful music, unique history, and so much more. Read on to find out why an assignment in Tennessee is music to so many Travelers’ ears!
Travel Nursing in Tennessee
Demand for nurses is high in Tennessee and that means there are lots of great Travel Nursing jobs to choose from. In addition to great job opportunities at Traveler-friendly hospitals that allow you the chance to build your resume and enhance your skills, The Volunteer State offers all kinds of fun things to do, see, and experience when you’re off the clock. Tennessee has gorgeous natural scenery, a proud tradition of bluegrass and country music, and so many more adventures that await!
Tennessee is home to about 150 hospitals — 8 of which meet high enough standards to be ranked among U.S. News & World Report’s annual Best Hospitals list. That includes their #1-ranked Tennessee hospital, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, which is nationally ranked in 7 adult specialties and 10 pediatric specialties. Rounding out the top five overall best hospitals in Tennessee are: University of Tennessee Medical Center, CHI Memorial Hospital, Methodist Hospitals of Memphis, and St. Thomas West Hospital.
U.S. News & World Report’s 2018 “Best States” list ranked Tennessee #26 overall, as well as #5 for fiscal stability, #13 for economy, and #15 for infrastructure. And, according to Smart Asset, rent in Tennessee is generally below the U.S. average, which is a good trend for Travel Nurses!
As for licensing, Tennessee is not a walk-through state but it is a compact state and a NURSYS state. Click here for more info on licensing in Tennessee.
Tennessee Fast Facts
State Nickname: The Volunteer State
Capital: Nashville
Largest City: Nashville
National Parks: 12
State Parks: 56
National Historic Landmarks: 30
State Motto: “Agriculture and commerce”
State Flower: Iris
State Tree: Tulip Poplar
State Horse: Tennessee Walking Horse
State Bird: Mockingbird
Tennessee was the 16th state.
Cotton candy, typewriter ribbon, tow trucks, miniature golf, Mountain Dew, touchscreen monitors, MoonPies, and GooGoo Clusters, were all invented in Tennessee.
On a clear day, you can see seven states from Lookout Mountain, near Chattanooga.
Bristol, Tennessee is the birthplace of Bluegrass music.
State Capital, Nashville, is affectionately known as Music City. As the country music capital of the world, Nashville is a proper home to the Country music Hall of Fame.
Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry has broadcast every weekend since 1925, making it the world’s longest continuously running live radio program.
Tennessee’s Reelfoot Lake is known as the Turtle Capital of the World.
The catchphrase “good to the last drop” was coined by Teddy Roosevelt while he enjoyed a cup of joe at the Maxwell House Hotel.
Shelby County has more horses per capita than any other U.S. county.
The first woman to become a U.S. Senator, Hattie Caraway was born in Bakersville, Tennessee.
Elvis Presley’s famous home Graceland, located in Memphis, Tennessee is the second most visited house in the United States.
Thirty different species of salamanders live in Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains.
Tennessee’s state nickname “Volunteer State” dates back to the War of 1812 when many volunteer soldiers from Tennessee served honorably at the Battle of New Orleans.
The biggest earthquake in U.S. history, the New Madrid Earthquake, happened in northwestern Tennessee during the winter of 1811-1812.
Due to its high volume of energy research, Oak Ridge, Tennessee is dubbed the Energy Capital of the World.
Knoxville, Tennessee hosted the 1982 World’s Fair.
The National Civil Right Museum is at Memphis’ Lorraine Motel — where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in 1968.
Famous folks from Tennessee include Dolly Parton, Tina Turner, Sequoyah, Justin Timberlake, Kathy Bates, Miley Cyrus, Morgan Freeman, Minnie Pearl, Duane Allman, Young Buck, Megan Fox, Carl Perkins, Roy Acuff, Kid President, Kenny Chesney, Johnny Knoxville, Lisa Marie Presley, Cybil Shepherd, Aretha Franklin, Lester Flatt, Lucy Hale, Quentin Tarantino, Shannon Doherty, Ginnifer Goodwin, Lori Petty, Chris Parnell, Bettie Page, Wilma Rudolph, and Davy Crockett.
Tennessee is bordered by eight states — which ties Missouri for the most bordering states.
The largest artificial skiing surface is in Gatlinburg, Tennessee at the Ober Gatlinburg Ski Resort, which offers 5 acres of all-weather skiing.
Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Creek tribes of Native Americans originally lived in various regions of Tennessee.
Jack Daniels, who created the world-famous whiskey, died after kicking a safe in anger which lead to a fatal blood infection.
It’s illegal to catch a fish with a lasso in Tennessee.
To Do & See in Tennessee
Tennessee has a proud legacy as a music hub as well as some breathtaking scenery in the Great Smoky Mountains and other such natural features. There’s plenty to do and see here — from exciting cities to quaint towns and rural areas. It’s a wonderful backdrop for your next adventure in Travel Nursing!
On the urban tip, Tennessee’s largest cities include Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Gatlinburg, Clarksville, and Murfreesboro — which offer all kinds of magnificent music, scrumptious Southern dining, cool culture, scintillating sports, and so much more.
Nashville is a must-see — make that a must-hear! — for music fans. Tennessee’s capital city earned the nickname “Music City” due to its live music legacy. Explore music of the past at the Country Music Hall of Fame or mosey into famous venues like The Bluebird Café, Grand Ole Opry, Ryman Auditorium, The Station Inn, The Basement, or one of the dozens of other joints Nashville is known for.
A visit to Broadway — aka Honky Tonk Row — on any given night will allow you to wander in and out of bustling venues. Another spot for music lovers to check out is Music Row, just southwest of downtown. Here you can take a casual tour of Nashville music hotspots like the historic RCA Studio B where the likes of Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton, and Roy Orbison recorded hundreds of hits. You’ll also encounter many other record labels, radio stations, recording studios, and other iconic fixtures of Nashville music past and present.
The iconic and delectable Nashville Hot Chicken has a funny backstory: Legend has it that it originated when a scorned lover heavily spiced up Thornton Prince’s fried chicken as an act of revenge. Turns out Prince actually loved the spicy dish and eventually opened his own restaurant serving it. They say revenge is a dish best served cold, but in Prince’s case, HOT was just the ticket!
Tennessee is famous for many other eats, like fried pickles, cornbread, Meat and Three, biscuits and gravy, country ham and red-eye gravy, fried chicken, barbecue nachos, fried catfish, banana pudding, Goo Goo Clusters, and Moon Pies. Wash it all down with a fine glass of Tennessee whiskey or a local craft beer and you’ll be living like a true Tennessean! And don’t let The Volunteer State’s down-home grub fool you, many larger cities in Nashville are home to exquisite farm-to-table restaurants and other eateries that kick it up a notch.
Sports fans will love assignments in Tennessee for the chance to root for the Memphis Grizzlies, Nashville Predators, and Tennessee Titans — in addition to many great semi-pro and college teams. With Tennessee’s abundance of horses, equestrian sports and horseback riding are naturally a big to-do here as well.
No trip to Tennessee would be complete without a visit to Dollywood — the state’s “complete Smoky mountain getaway” which offers rides and entertainment galore! Launched by famous Tennessee native and literal earth angel, Dolly Parton, Dollywood is a fabulous spot for families, couples, and solo adventurers alike.
If you’re into embracing the great outdoors, Tennessee is a fabulous place to do so! From horseback riding in the iconic rolling hills of Tennessee bluegrass to exploring the Great Smoky Mountains, The Volunteer State offers majestic and accessible natural beauty galore. Some stand-out adventures include a trip to Foster Falls, Thunderhead Mountain, the Narrows of Harpeth, Little River Trail, Seven Islands State Birding Park, Baker’s Bluff Trail, Couchville Lake, and, of course, The Appalachian Trail.