It’s just over a month since the devastating earthquakes struck the island of Haiti and left behind unimaginable destruction. The death toll climbs daily and has reached numbers that parallel the devastation of the Indonesian tsunami in 2004. The day of total recovery may never happen for a country that is as poor as Haiti [...]
Either you care or you don’t… Apple just announced the release of their latest and greatest invention, the Apple iPad. The latest addition to the long line of innovative products from Apple is poised to change the landscape of healthcare delivery as we know it. Doctors and nurses around the world are salivating over this new gadget which can make both of their jobs easier with the swipe of their fingers and a touch of the screen. Are you ready to be “revolutionized” and see healthcare “transformed” right before your very eyes?
Last week I mentioned that this week we would be discussing how to get around while on a travel assignment. However, I wanted to postpone that discussion for another week due to a question that I received a few days ago in regard to Haiti. A traveler contacted and asked if I knew of any [...]
Yes, yes… I’m sure all of you male travel nurses out there have heard all the jokes over and over again. Remember in the movie, ‘Meet the Parents’ the poor character Gaylord Focker played by Ben Stiller was teased repeatedly about being a male nurse and granted the movie and those scenes were quite funny, it is no laughing matter when it comes to men as nurses. While there are a limited number of males in the nursing profession, according to a national registry, women outnumber men by a 16-to-1 ratio, men play a vital role in the day-to-day operations of nurses within a hospital.
Just think, when most of us go to bed at night there are over 2 million Americans just getting started with their days as they head out to their places of employment. There are all kinds of occupations that need staff throughout the night and without them many of the businesses and facilities would fail. Of course hospitals definitely fall into this category and nurses being at the forefront of the jobs needed overnight, 24/7.
Last week I wrote on the state of the travel industry. I had a response from a reader in regard to his views on the industry. I was going to post a response following his, but decided to dedicate this week’s post to it instead.
Last week Jason Lander wrote that from what he was seeing, [...]
Towards the beginning of this year it became apparent that those in healthcare and specifically nursing would be seeing some unwanted changes. It is a known fact that this country is experiencing a major nursing shortage and many in the field would feel the brunt of it this year. The economic state of this country [...]
A reader emailed wanting to hear more about “bully nurses” and “bully nurses in supervisor positions”. Although the image she conjured in my mind was rather sinister, I do have to admit that there are those in nursing that will not always be cheerful and welcoming.
Despite the mostly positive aspects of travel nursing, you will [...]
I had a question from a reader that is a director of an emergency room and wondered if there would be any travel positions for him in this capacity. I wanted to blog on this because from time to time I do hear from people with specialized positions that wish to travel. In reply to [...]
The next step in the Ultimate Travel Nursing Checklist that you will be aware of is the travel nurse interview. Between being submitted and interviewed may be a bit of waiting for you. But at the hospital and the travel nursing company a bit more is going on.
I’m sure those of you who are somewhat computer/internet savvy could find most of this information on your own… Just a simple google search would do. Lucky for you, the searching has already been done for you and Terri Schmitt at Nurse Story has listed all the best user-friendly and informative sites for nurses. She [...]
A recent question involved whether or not a hospital would take someone who is on their first assignment.
I imagine that vacation means the same for anyone who works full time, week in and week out, but for some reason though, I believe vacations can mean a little more to a nurse. All year you work so hard at nursing your patients back to health and with great success, but unfortunately there can [...]
A reader recently contacted me with the question, “Am I required to float as a traveler?” The short answer is: Yes, welcome to the life of a traveler.
In most facilities when the unit census is low, the travelers will be the first nurses to float to other units. However, this is another one of those [...]
That time of year is once again upon us and you know what that means don’t you? Road trippin’! Whether you’re headed to your next travel nursing assignment or simply taking the classic family vacation, there is no better way to get to your destination than winding your way through the infinite miles of interstates, [...]
About six months ago I wrote a post about the “The most important guide for travel nurses ever??” in which I talked about RestroomRatings.com and the Bathroom Finder from Imodium and how they could help save you from having to visit a public restroom that is less than desirable while out taking in the local sites. Well now [...]
Every travel nursing company’s process is a little different, but for the most part the next step in the Ultimate Travel Nursing Checklist is being submitted by your recruiter. There is not a lot of for you as a travel nurse to do at this point. By this stage if you followed all of the guidelines [...]
If you have ever wanted a magazine for nurses that saw you as more than a nurse, then “Scrubs: The nurse’s guide to good living” may be just want you are looking for. If you haven’t seen this online magazine before it is unlike most other nursing magazines out there. It is more like Healthcare Traveler [...]
