Tulsa Woman Shares Experience As Travel Nurse Near Arctic Circle

Travel nursing is fairly common among nurses, and one Tulsa nurse is currently on an assignment in Alaska, not far from the Arctic Circle. 

From seeing polar bears to the northern lights, Mel Hoehner says it's been quite the experience. 

"Travel nursing lifestyle is more about the experiences, it's more about where can I go, something I've never seen, or where can I go where I can do something I've never done," she said.

She's done contracts near and far--from Tahlequah to Arizona, but her most recent location in Barrow, Alaska, might just be her favorite. 

"It's the people, it's the culture, it's the friendliness and the family-like feeling, it's just so genuine here," she said.

Mel works in a small community hospital and then goes to villages to see patients.

"Any given week, I'm usually getting on a small little biplane and jumping to another village that may only have 200 people that live there," she said.

She says they are able to give basic medical care to people in the villages, who wouldn't be able to get what they need if it wasn't for the visits. 

"If we don't go, nobody else does; somebody has to take care of these people and bring the healthcare to them, and that's us," Mel said.

When she has time off, she's experiencing all Alaksa has to offer. 

From seeing the northern lights to coming face to face with polar bears. 

"We're not feeling threatened at all, and we certainly don't want to scare the babies because that would make mom upset, but they just hung out," she said.

She says this is her best adventure yet, and she couldn't do it without the support back home from her family and friends. 

While she's thinking about her next adventure, she wants to encourage others to give it a try. 

"If you have an opportunity, you should go, you should take it, you should try it out, and if you don't like it, you don't have to stay, but if you love it, where's your next adventure going to take you," she said.