Newell man travels country as nurse, online content creator

Contributed
ON THE GO — One of the stops this summer for Justin Shaw, also known as the Hillbilly Travel Nurse, was Mount Rushmore. Shaw, a Newell resident who is a licensed practical nurse, has made a living traveling across the continental United States.

NEWELL — Nurse, first responder and family man as well as online content creator — Justin Shaw is a busy guy.

Better known in Facebook and YouTube circles as Hillbilly Travel Nurse, Shaw is ready to hit the road from his Newell home to travel back to Maryland, wrapping up his current nursing gig, before heading off west again to Billings, Montana. He said he enjoyed his stint there in mid-February, so he is looking forward to the return trip.

Shaw has more than three decades in the nursing field, 15 of them with the Orchards of Foxcrest in Chester. At one time, he served as their personal care coordinator.

He became a travel nurse three years ago and does acknowledge the money is good; however, mostly it was his love of travel that convinced him to hit the road.

“Facilities don’t pay nurses enough,” he said, adding that travel nurses, who fill in at locations when there are openings, tend to be better compensated.

Shaw currently works under Rock Medical Group out of Nebraska and Grapetree of Iowa as well as some independent contract assignments. Most of his contracts are with long-term skilled nursing facilities.

“The challenge is getting to know your patients and the (geographic) area,” Shaw said.

His first contract trip was in Iowa, where the flat terrain amazed this West Virginia guy. It also was a bit of culture shock being without his family, which includes wife Lisa, whom he has been married to for two decades, and his daughters Michaela, 18, and Alexa, 17.

Shaw also has done stints in Wisconsin and South Dakota, chronicling his travels on his Facebook page since creating it a few months ago with still photographs and stories. Just recently he added a YouTube channel to the mix, where he can upload videos from his locations.

“I started Hillbilly Travel Nurse, so I could showcase the beautiful areas I’m traveling or staying as well as share tips regarding travel or nursing,” Shaw explained. Although he has had the Facebook presence since February, the video content on YouTube is a much more recent endeavor. “I have got to visit Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone National Park and even Devil’s Tower (in Wyoming).”

There are differences in what various states allow an LPN to do; however, that isn’t much of a challenge for him as he can do IVs as they allow. He also is extremely competent in wound care.

Shaw is a multi-state licensed LPN, meaning he can work in 36 different states where his West Virginia credentials are recognized.

He likes that he can tell one of his two employment agencies where he would like his next assignment to be geographically as well as for how long and for how much.

Many times this is gauged around his family. For example, his youngest daughter is in marching band at Oak Glen High School, and Shaw doesn’t want to miss her performances during football games in her senior year. Therefore, he outlined parameters to his agency that allows him to return home for those games within the contract.

Wife Lisa, who teaches preschool at Little Blessings in New Cumberland, periodically gets away to visit him on the road. Shaw hopes eventually to get some assignments in Alaska and Hawaii that they both can enjoy.

Shaw does prefer to drive his camper when able to get a longer time lease at a campground in his assignment location over plane travel. But sometimes he cannot bring the camper, so he elects to go the AirBNB route as they provide the comfort of a home away from home for him and Lisa, when she gets out of Hancock County for a brief visit.

“This has been really a cool experience, and I have made quite a few friends along the way, he said, this has been beneficial as a lot of these agencies use talent from different backgrounds, which allows him to learn about additional approaches to health care. “I also like that I can work out a contract and take a month break at home before heading out to my next assignment.”

Shaw, who also is an amateur radio operator, said that he sometimes takes his system along on the road. “I am part of Parks On The Air, and they set up in national parks and I have successfully made thousands of contracts for them from there,” he said.

Although his life on the road does keep him busy, Shaw does answer some fire and medical calls if they have them when he is home as part of Newell Volunteer Fire Department. Although he retired as a captain years ago, the department still is trying to lure him back on a more consistent basis.

Shaw is trying to grow his Hillbilly Travel Nurse presence and has found some success through his engagement approach. Followers were the ones who told him earlier this summer, they would like him to return to Wyoming in an onsite poll and, ultimately, he agreed to follow their recommendation.

Shaw plans on continuing to build on that engagement especially since he has plenty of time on the Road. “It can get boring, so I started Hillbilly Travel Nurse to find something productive to do when away from home. I hope during this Montana contract, I can find some time to explore the area more for the page.”

(Ujhelyi can be contacted at sujhelyi@mojonews.com)