Louisiana: Tips for Travel Nursing
Working as a traveling nurse is a great career path. If you are interested in a rewarding occupation that lets you travel and work all over the country, then travel nursing is the job for you. One interesting place for travel nurses to consider visiting is Louisiana. Louisiana has a growing healthcare industry, and the hospitals there are always in need of healthcare professionals.
Louisiana has a unique culture, people, music, and food. The music and food scene in cities like New Orleans and Baton Rouge are unlike anywhere else in the world. Read on to learn why Louisiana is a great place for travel nursing.
A Travel Guide to Louisiana
Louisiana, also known as The Bayou State, has many wonderful things to do and see. As a traveling nurse, it would be an amazing experience to visit and work there. This guide covers some of the best reasons to visit Louisiana, including the amazing and unique culture, which cities to visit, what things you should see and do, and what foods you should try.
A Rich Culture
Louisiana has a distinct mix of people. Colonial Louisiana was controlled by Spain, then France, then the United States. Many different people settled in Louisiana during colonial times. This has led to a distinctive blend of cultures, music, and food found nowhere else.
A Great Melting Pot
Many different people settled in colonial Louisiana, including French, Canadian, Spanish, Latin American, Anglo, German, and African, not to mention the Native American people that already lived there.
Also unique to Louisiana are the Cajun and Louisiana Creole peoples. Cajuns are descended from the Arcadians that left Canada and settled in Southern Louisiana in the 1700s. Louisiana Creoles are descended from people living in colonial Louisiana and are a mix of French, African American, and Native American. Both Louisiana Creoles and Cajuns have their own languages and cuisines, adding to the rich culture of Louisiana.
Music Scene
Louisiana, and New Orleans in particular, has an amazing live music scene. New Orleans is known as the birthplace of jazz. Jazz music can trace its roots back to Congo Square in New Orleans, which was the only place where Black people could freely gather and make music and dance before the Civil War.
Louisiana also has a history with Blues music. The Baton Rouge Blues Festival is held every Spring and is a huge event. Live jazz and Blues can be found in many places in cities like New Orleans and Baton Rouge.
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge is the capital of Louisiana and is located along the Mississippi River. Baton Rouge, with its rich history, is a great city to visit when in Louisiana. Baton Rouge means “red stick” in French, and the city was so named by French Explorers when they saw a red totem pole, left by local Native Americans, near the Mississippi river. Here are some fun things to see and do when visiting Baton Rouge, LA:
USS Kidd Veterans Memorial
Magnolia Plantation
LSU Rural Life Museum
LSU Museum of Natural History
BlueBonnet Swamp Nature Center
The Old State Capitol building
Baton Rouge Zoo
Baton Rouge Blues Festival is held every Spring
New Orleans
If you could only visit one city in Louisiana, it would have to be New Orleans. Known for jazz music, amazing Creole and Cajun food, and beautiful architecture, the “Big Easy” is one of the most unique cities in the country. New Orleans is a thriving metropolis with fun things to do around the clock. Some fun things to do and places to go in New Orleans are:
The French Quarter
Live music on Bourbon Street
Garden District
Jackson Square
The National WWII Museum
New Orleans Cemetery Tours
The St. Louis Cathedral
New Orleans swamp tours
Food to try in Louisiana
There are many special foods you should try at least once while visiting Louisiana. Due to many different cultural influences, including Cajun and Creole influences, food in Louisiana is some of the most delicious and unique in the world. You can’t go wrong with a Cajun or Creole dish that includes fresh seafood from the Gulf. Here are some foods you should try while visiting Louisiana:
Jambalaya
Gumbo
Beignets
Po’Boys
Blackened Fish
Crawfish Etouffee
Bananas Foster
King Cake
Red Beans and Rice
A Great Place for Nurses
Louisiana is a great place for travel nursing. There are over 200 hospitals in the state. New Orleans has over 30 hospitals, and the Baton Rouge area has 25. Like everywhere else, these hospitals are constantly staffing healthcare professionals, including travel nurses. Due to the pandemic, hospitals are now budgeting to include travel nurses. It is easy to see why Louisiana is a great place for healthcare professionals to live and work.
The work opportunities, the amazing things to see and do, and the cities with unique food and music scenes make Louisiana a perfect destination for traveling nurses.