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Karen Ganci had a great job. Until the bottom fell out. When the economy tanked in 2009, her employer eliminated her job as a premier client manager in the banking industry. Almost overnight, the job she hoped to one day retire from was gone. Other banks recognized her talent and offered her positions with their companies, but Karen wasn’t sure.
She took a time out and used the opportunity to think about what she really wanted to do with her life. A single mother of three grown children, she’d been in the banking industry for years. She knew she wanted a challenging job with a high degree of personal interaction. She wanted to help people and feel like she made a difference. She decided to go into nursing.
From bank pro to travel nurse: changing careers for the better
With no previous college education, Karen jumped in and went to school. She laughs now as she recalls doubling up on coursework so she could complete her bachelor’s degree in nursing in just three years.
With degree in hand, she started her new career on a busy hospital medical/surgical floor. Karen loved the fast pace and variety of cases. She loved the one on one with patients and going home at the end of the day feeling she had made a difference in their lives. But she realized there was one more thing she wanted to do. Travel.
Help finding exactly what she wanted
That’s when she reached out to Rachel Southward at RNnetwork, our travel nursing division. “She is a sweetheart!” Karen says. Rachel helped Karen find temporary nursing positions she could fill at hospitals that still kept her close to her loved ones but also allowed her to see new places and develop new skills. “Rachel was always there for me and took care of me,” Karen says. “RNnetwork is a great company.”
“I just think seeing other places and learning from others is just wonderful,” Karen says. “I love walking into a hospital and thinking, ‘OK, what are you going to throw at me today?’ I love the challenge. Every day is a new experience.”
Trust your gut
Karen’s goal is to offer her patients the best care possible, treating them as though they were family members. She says her career switch from bank pro to travel nurse has been as rewarding as it is challenging. Her advice to others? “There’s no reason not to try something new. Go with your gut and your heart.”
