Patrick Fuerstenau here. Born in Kentucky, raised in Germany, landed in Nebraska and still here. I've been involved with Marketing and Advertising for over a decade. It all began with an internship at an ad agency in Omaha, followed by a 9 year stint as a graphic artist at the lone major newspaper in Omaha. A friend of mine told me about an opening at her company and said that it was the best gig she's ever had... So I decided to spread my proverbial wings and see what I could do for them and vice versa. So here I am at Medical Solutions and am going on my 3rd year as a Marketing Specialist for a great travel nursing company. This by far has been a major blessing in my life. I love the work I get to do just as much as I love the people who make up this fabulous company. I can see myself here for a long time... As long as they'll have me. Now that we've got the career timeline out of the way... Let me tell you a little about who I am. I am oh so passionate about the game of futbol! I've been playing soccer since the age of 8 and am still playing today. If I couldn't at least kick the ball around, I don't know what I would do with myself. I fear getting old. I also have a strong love for the arts... Music, Visual arts, Film, Design... pretty much anything and everything arty. I'm happy go lucky and am always looking to have a good time. Just ask my manager!
Recycling is very much like reusing, except with the purpose of creating new stuff out of old stuff instead of wasting time, energy and useable resources like glass, plastic, aluminum, paper, and wood. By recycling we reduce the need for raw materials that make the products and things we can recycle.
Last week I wrote about ways in which you can reduce energy use and other ways in which you can save yourself money and the planet while working your next travel nursing assignment . Today I will expand on ways you can be green by reusing, or repurposing items – taking a once useful item and using it again to suit your new need. It’s a lot easier than it sounds and all it takes is just a little creativity.
Being a travel nurse can really make living easy. Your housing is provided, your utility bills paid and you’re making great money. With all these wonderful benefits of travel nursing it can be easy to get carried away and live a frivolous life. That’s fine as long as you can afford to, but there are some matters in which you should really take a closer look at, more specifically what you waste.
Being a travel nurse affords you the freedom many in the workforce will never get to experience. Typically those who work a permanent position have to stick to a schedule and use paid time off to enjoy time away from the office or wherever it is they are employed. Traveling nurses on the other hand have choices, and many at that. As a travel nurse you have the option to keep working year-round or plan on taking some much needed time off between assignment, it’s all up to you.
Traveling to your next assignment without your pooch (or kitty-were not discriminating!) would seem incomplete. You come home everyday to find them waiting by the door to greet you, that it would seem like something is amiss if they weren’t along for the ride. So there’s no reason you shouldn’t take along your favorite furry friends with you on your travel nursing assignments, just as long as you set it up with the staffing agency you are working with.
And the winner is… The day has finally come and we’re proud to announce the three winners in the ‘Give It a Shot! Nurses Week T-shirt Challenge!’ The contest has concluded as of last Monday but we were unable to decide on the winning designs until Wednesday due to an unforeseen illness, which was welcomed by the judges due to high number (138) of entries! This extra time gave them a better look at all the designs and they were able to choose wisely. Read all about the contest at Fibers.com and see the top three entries, all of which have explanations of why the design was chosen as the winner.
The age old question about travel nursing is how much more can a traveling nurse make versus being a permanent staff nurse where they live? It’s pretty well known that a travel nurse will take home more pay than that of a staff nurse, and that’s just including salary.
Hopefully by now you’ve heard about and better yet, entered the ‘Give It a Shot! Nurses Week T-shirt Challenge’ that Medical Solutions and Fibers.com are co-hosting in celebration of Nurses Week 2010. The month long contest started on April 12th and will conclude at the end of Nurses Week, May 12th and as of today there are over 90 entries, filling 4 pages of various nursing inspired brilliance. All the various designs really have given me great insight to what people think about the nursing profession and what nurses think about themselves. There are some truly wonderful designs. Some more heartfelt, while the others are just plain witty! Good stuff!
If any of the readers here were wondering where I’ve been the last couple of weeks, well let me just tell you. Maybe you’ve heard of this little contest that’s going on right now – and I hope you have, otherwise those two weeks have been wasted. The ‘Give It a Shot! Nurses Week T-shirt Challenge.’ has been my focus as of late and it’s the first contest of any sort that Medical Solutions and Fibers.com has ever hosted, so I’ve been working diligently on trying to get the word out to make it as big a success as possible. So far so good! As of today we have 78 entries and counting.
Travel nursing is a unique profession in nature, one that enables you to take your skills and knowledge on the road for 13 weeks at a time. The nursing shortage allows you to choose from various locations around the country, some great and others, well others that might not be all that. But it is your choice and your decision to make the most out of any assignment you take on. Being a traveling nurse can give you that ability to afford a lifestyle that you may not typically be use to, say if you were a perm nurse. Of course there are pros and cons to both and we won’t get into that now… No, today we will discuss what you can do if you are in a location that might not be so glamorous.
It comes to me as no surprise that nurses may feel a little unappreciated at times… And last years contest, “My Worst Nurse’s Week Gift… Ever” was proof positive. With over 650 submissions, I’d say that nurses being unappreciated is an understatement, at least when it comes to this once a year celebration. You should read a few of them, I mean really, a bar of cellulite soap? Seriously!? I want to meet that person who thought it would be good idea to hand those out!
I can’t imagine the level of attention to detail a traveling nurse must have, day in and day out. With little room for mistakes, a nurse must continually be alert and ready for action at any given notice and this is especially true since they are given little time to adapt to the new facilities during their various traveling assignments. How you prepare and react to any given situation is a direct reflection of the type of nurse you may be. One determining factor on just how prepared a nurse may be is in how a nurse completes their charting and documentation.
The benefits of a travel nurse far out weight that of being a perm nurse, at least in my eyes. Of course it takes a certain personality to be able to carve a successful career out of being a traveling nurse and for some, being stationary is exactly what they want to do. However, if given the opportunity to take my skills on the road for 13 weeks at a time all the while receiving paid housing, insurance, per diems, etc. you can bet your sweet bippy I’d be the first to sign up. There are numerous benefits to a traveling career that one can take advantage of to secure themselves, vocationally and financially.
The day you decide to go forth as a traveling nurse is a monumental one. You’re saying, “Bring it on!” You’re ready to take on the unknown with little or no help, you’re a loner, a rebel. You are a special breed and there are just a few of you who are able to do so. It may be less lonely to travel with friend but it can prove to be a better experience doing it alone. Being content when you’re all by yourself is not about keeping yourself occupied until the next social engagement.
As a traveling nurse you have a greater chance at experiencing fatigue. Besides the normal workload of nurse, you a have the added stress of finding a new assignment every 13 weeks or so and on top of that, getting to your new traveling nurse job. There’s the packing, organizing, traveling and everything in between. Then you work tirelessly for 10-12 hours at a time every week. You’re on your feet constantly and you must be ready at all times to tackle whatever comes your way, no matter how you feel. All these elements can make a traveling nurse’s life seem pretty harried and the one thing that can wipe all that away is sunshine, beaches and a drink with a little umbrella in it – that’s right we’re talking vacation!
