Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Travel Nursing

 
    Do you use travel nurses at your hospital?  We used to use them all the time and they were great to fill in the gaps.  We got some great travel nurses in--some that I am still friends with in fact.   With our new senior leadership we hardly get travel nurses anymore which is hard on us and unfortunate for them.  What a great way to start out your career and see where you may want to settle down or way to end your career by touring the country while working those last few years. 

    I have never been a travel nurse and due to being married and having 3 wonderful kiddos it won't be an option for me in the near future. If you are a travel nurse or have thought of being one here is a company  (www.nurse.tv)  you should consider checking out and what has been said about them:


    

Let’s be honest about a fact here. As a travel nurse, you are one of the few professionals who are in demand in America today. Not only are you in demand, you are paid the best salaries and benefits that are on par with the ones offered in similar professions. Now it is also a known fact that you are not in this profession just for the money. You want adventure and exposure too. You know one way of getting the adventure and the exposure you seek is by traveling. As a travel nurse, you can travel the length and breadth of the United States and sometimes overseas too. This is the profession you always wanted and now that you are in it, are you actually happy working in the profession that you dreamed of pursuing?


There are many travel nurses who would say that they made a mistake of taking this up as a profession, and that they don’t earn enough or don’t get to travel that much. The truth is, the problem is not with the profession, it is how you’ve chosen to pursue your career. It all starts with the travel nursing companies. Selecting the right one is paramount to your happiness. Actually, many travel nursing companies give negative signs right at the time of your applying for a job. They can torture you with very cumbersome paperwork when applying, and annoying phone calls or mailers after you sign up. It’s like you are on their watch list for all the wrong reasons. Good professional nursing companies don’t do that. They will hire you without any needless paperwork, provided you are qualified for the job. They will assist you in information regarding licenses and give you a choice of three destinations to choose from. Most travel nursing companies don’t do this.


The better nursing companies work for the benefit of both the hospital and you. Even the interview process is quite simple and they can set up an interview (mostly telephonic) with the hospital that in most cases last only 5 minutes. The hospitals are the final authority on your recruitment, but the job is as good as got because the good travel nursing companies know where to present your profile to your maximum advantage. Their job doesn’t end there. They see to that your accommodation needs are met and can even help you with stuffs like cable, telephone etc. Good travel nursing companies can get you wages between $22 and $50 per hour and they will deposit a direct check into a bank account of your choice at the end of the month. They will send you W-2 at the end of the year and your 401k plan starts the very first day you join the job. Compare this with travel nurse companies that don’t pay their staff even their salaries for months together.


The benefits of joining a professional travel nursing company are endless. Lots of things like travel reimbursement (flight, rail or road), insurance, bonuses and incentives, general housing subsidiaries- the list could go on! Good salaries, minimum work hours guarantee and choice of destinations, what more could a travel nurse want?  And they just don’t stop at that, they offer you support -24/7 support, 365 days a year! That’s what the best travel nursing companies do, they look out for you!


Is your travel nursing company giving you all this? If the answer is no, then don’t you think it’s time you looked at better options now?


 

 

Friday, July 10, 2009

Happy Birthday CoS!!!


Change of Shift has completed 3 successful years and will now be starting year 4!!  Hard to believe.  I don't get into it too often because I tend to forget to submit my posts........oops!  Not intentional just too busy to remember.  Anyway I'm in this one so check it out.  You can find it at:   http://www.emergiblog.com/2009/07/change-of-shift-begins-fourth-year-volume-four-number-one.html

 

Thanks Kim for creating and continuing such a great thing!!

Monday, July 6, 2009

Lifesaver


     A few years ago I took care of a patient with pneumonia.  She also had a history of aggressive breast cancer.  She quickly went downhill and ended up intubated.  She was at death's door for well over a week.  Her husband spent everyday there and was so devoted to her.  In making small talk with him many of us nurses commented to him multiple times on her toenail polish color and how unique and pretty of a color it was.  It is hard to describe the color but it is a shade of coralish orange.


    When she finally got better she didn't remember any of her intubated period or realize how sick and near death she was.  Her husband told her several times how sick she had been and how us nurses had saved her life.  She kept saying that she couldn't have been....


    In doing her care we mostly did small talk or talked about how devoted her hubby was or her breast cancer etc.  But at least once a day someone mentioned her toenail polish to her.  She would just laugh and say that it was her favorite color but that she desperately needed a pedicure!


    She finally after several weeks made it out of our unit, went to the respiratory floor and got better enough to go home.  Several weeks later I came in at 7pm for my shift and there was a basket sitting on the counter with a note attached.  It was from her and her husband thanking us for our efforts in saving her and getting her well again.  The card stated that she had gotten her pedicure and that she felt that all of us nurses deserved one too so she had sent us all bottles of her favorite nail polish.  Sure enough it was the color she had had on her toes!  The most touching part of the entire thing was that the card went on to say that she had never really noted what the exact name of the color was until she was preparing the basket.  She had turned over one of the bottles to look and smiled when she saw the name.................................................LIFESAVER!!!!


    


Sunday, July 5, 2009

One of those people who had an impact


 

      A few nights ago I was doing rounds and in talking with a nurse about her assignment saw a name on a chart.  I laughed and said "that was the name of the principle of my middle school, what a coincidence!"  She stated "she is a retired principle so maybe that's her".  Being 3 am I didn't think it was a great idea to check and figured I'd go back first thing in the morning.  As usual though I forgot in the excitement of getting off work and my bed calling me!!


 


    I was then off for 3 nights so figured I missed my opportunity to check and see if it was the same person.  But hoping I hadn't I head up to that floor last night to check.  Sure enough, she is no longer in the census.  Still hoping I check and sure enough she had been moved to another floor.  I head down there and poke my head in. 


 


    I politely say her name "hello Mrs. Johnson"  (because you would never think of calling her by her first name) "Were you by chance the principle of Tyler Middle School?  "Why yes I was.  What is your name?" She asks.  I tell her my maiden name.  "Oh yes, I remember you."  She says.  In my head I'm thinking yeah right she remembers me since I was a kid who never got in trouble, but then after talking for a few she asks about how my brother is doing....guess she does remember me since I hadn't mentioned him at that point!!!


 


    Then I tell her what an impact she has had on my life.  Many of the life's lessons that I learned at Tyler I still remember to this day.  Walk on the right side of the hall, don't walk by a piece of trash without picking it up, be respectful & courteous, don't chew gum in school.  These were the major rules there.  I still walk on the right side and you know when I'm at the mall etc it makes it so much easier and when people don't it is so hard to get around and I'm worried my small children will get trampled especially around the holidays.  I still pick up trash around the hospital.  It makes for such a cleaner place to work and therefor more enjoyable.  Plus it's just good for the environment.  Being respectful and courteous..........do I really need to explain that one???  :-) 


 


    As to the gum chewing....I never understood that one.  And actually that was the only detention I ever got in all my days of school.  Darn it I was going to chew gum!!!  So, I asked her about it.  And she explained that it was her little war that helped us learn about bigger wars.  Basically that in life there will always be a war to fight and that we needed to learn that there will always be someone higher up than you telling you what to do so you might as well get used to it early in life.  You can either fight it or learn to give up on the smaller stuff and get along.  Not a bad lesson in my opinion! 


 


    I told her what an impact she still has on me all these years later and she was blown away.  She was so happy to hear it.  We talked about my job and all the teaching etc I do now.  She told me that even though I had never directly taken care of her she could tell by my actions in our conversation what a good nurse and a good person I am.  It was nice to hear.  Maybe I'll stop in an see her again tonite!


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