A patient attacked ICU nurse Lois Twum and put her in the hospital. Two weeks later, her employer asked if she was ready to come back to work. That moment changed the path of her career.
She later took a strike nurse travel assignment that paid her $30,000 in 10 days. Here is her story.
Nurses get attacked more than most people know
More than 5,200 nurses were assaulted in the second quarter of 2022. That works out to about 57 assaults a day, or about two every hour. Most of the attackers were patients.
Lois is one of those nurses.
Her dream was the ICU
Lois grew up in the South. Her mother raised her, and her mom is still a nurse today. Lois always wanted to work in the ICU.
Her first ICU job was in St. Louis. The hospital paid for her flight and her hotel, and gave her a sign-on bonus. After that kind of welcome, she pictured a place where she would work for years and retire with a good pension.
It did not go that way. She left after one year, even though she had signed a 2-year contract. Then she took one travel assignment after another. She even went to New York City with her mom at the peak of COVID.
The attack that changed everything
Lois was working in a neuro ICU when a patient in her care attacked her. She ended up in the hospital.
Her employer showed her very little care. Just two weeks after the attack, they asked her if she was ready to come back to work.
That pushed her to look for other ways to make money as a nurse.
$30,000 in 10 days
Lois fell into a strike nurse travel assignment almost by accident. She made $30,000 in 10 days.
It opened her eyes. Nurses have a lot of ways to earn money, and most of us never use them. Read about other ways nurses build income in the most profitable nursing businesses.
If you feel stuck where you are, read why I think nurses are underpaid, not burnt out.
Watch her full story
Watch the full episode to hear how it all played out. You can also follow Lois on Instagram.
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Written by Jason, RN. I went from $37 an hour in New York to $143 an hour in California and paid off $128K of debt in under a year. I share our numbers in the Nurses to Riches newsletter and on YouTube.