Get the Facts About Travel Nursing
December 29, 2008
Get the Facts About Travel Nursing
Travel nursing can present new, exciting and challenging opportunities. If your present job situation is just not satisfying, don’t let yourself be stuck. Stick your neck out and try something new.
The beauty of nursing is that it offers so many different opportunities. Don’t be afraid to try some of them. Here are a few tips to help you get started.
First of all do your homework. Not all travel nursing agencies are created equal and not all facilities that hire travel nurses are among the best employers. Word travels fast, and information is available; you just have to do a little research.
This site offers a large Forum for discussion about all things nursing, and among them, travel nursing experiences. Spend some time reading through the threads and posts. Ask questions and get the information you need.
There are a multitude of books, websites and blogs by travel nurses with much valuable information. Read everything you can to understand the pros and cons of your next adventure.
Talk to travel nurses who work in your current facility. Some of the questions you may want to ask include:
- Which travel agency they currently work for?
- Do they have other agencies they would recommend and why?
- Have they had bad experiences with any agency and which ones?
- What do they like about their current assignment?
- What don’t they like?
- Do they have a favorite place to travel and why?
- Where don’t they like to go and why?
Some of their answers may be more personal especially if they have chosen locations close to family or friends, but their experiences can provide good insight into what to expect in a travel assignment. Even if the assignment was for their own convenience, the job satisfaction factor comes into play somewhere.
Current travel nurses can help to provide valuable information about what to include in your contract, what kind of information you need to know about a location, a facility and specifics about the nursing assignment.
Each and every one of the travel nurses you network with will probably be able to give you at least one new tip or trick to make life on the road more enjoyable and successful. Take notes and keep a file of these handy tips and tricks. As you become a veteran travel nurse, be sure to share your own tips with others.
You may want to start with a short assignment close to home or near to family and friends so that you have your own support system at hand. Any new situation can and will be stressful and having support systems in place will help to reduce some of that stress.
You may also want to consider taking a leave of absence from your permanent employer while you take a short travel assignment. This ensures you have a job, seniority and benefits to fall back on if this isn’t something you want to do.
Remember to give yourself ample time to evaluate any new venture. No job is perfect, and it may take some time to get used to being a travel nurse as compared to a permanent employee.
By Kathy Quan RN BSN. Kathy is the author of The Everything New Nurse Book, and the owner/author of TheNursingSite.com
©2008 by UltimateNurse.com. All Rights Reserved.
Dealing With a Nightmare Nursing Assignment
December 19, 2008
Dealing With a Nightmare Nursing Assignment
What happens when you encounter a nightmare nursing assignment? Whether you are a travel nurse or this is a permanent job, you may not be able to run screaming from the building never to return. So what can you do?
First off, take a deep breath and remember that you are a professional, If possible, leave the building, or at least the unit, for a few minutes to help clear your head. Perhaps the best you can do is retreat to the bathroom. Mentally punch a few walls and then try to decipher what just happened.
The most important thing is to make sure that your own patients are well cared for. If your issue is with another staff member, avoid him/her by spending more time with your patients.
If the issue is with a patient or family member, you can first try killing them with kindness while you make sure their needs are met, and then avoid them by spending more time with your other patients.
Let your nurse manager know what’s going on so that s/he can back you up and isn’t blindsided by complaints. Let him/her know that you’re trying to work this out, but need a little break from the situation. Perhaps s/he can offer some assistance.
Approach the situation using your critical thinking and problem solving skills. Try to step back and not let your emotions take precedence. Use the Nursing Process to assess, diagnose and create a plan to deal with the situation. It may take some time and require small but steady steps to make it work.
Some of the the things you need to consider include:
- Is this something you can fix by yourself?
- Do you need some advice, help or support from others to implement your plan or to make it work?
- Is this a personality conflict?
- Is this an issue of patient safety or quality of care?
- Has there been some misunderstanding? How can you clear up the issue?
- What can you do to avoid this problem in the future?
If this is your permanent job, you should speak to your nurse manager and decide together what can be done to improve the situation. Don’t go to him/her pointing fingers, go seeking assistance in solving a problem.
If you are a travel nurse, you may also need to consider whether the problem stems from being the traveler who “makes the big bucks and has all the perks?” If this is the core of the issue, you need to discuss this with your nurse manager and figure out how to turn this around.
Travel nurses are brought in to help reduce a specific nursing shortage situation and it’s up to the nurse managers in that facility to help permanent staff to understand this and to appreciate the help; not resent it, or to abuse a fellow nurse for accepting this role. Management needs to set the tone.
Travel opportunities are open to all nurses and just because someone does not take that option should not give them reason to resent or mistreat those who do. We all know that that isn’t the way it usually works, but travelers need to stand up for themselves and hold nurse managers and administrators responsible to set a positive tone about using travel nurses in their facilities.
The situation should also be brought to the attention of your recruiter. Hopefully it an be resolved without having to involve the recruiter, but s/he should be aware of the situation and it’s resolution for future reference.
If the situation can’t be resolved, or not to your complete satisfaction, you will just have to complete the assignment and/or make plans to move on as soon as you can. Put your focus on the positive aspects of this and learn something from it.
Understand the situation and look for something where you can avoid this situation in the future. Also count down the days left so you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Remain professional and continue to provide the best possible care for your patients.
By Kathy Quan RN BSN. Kathy is the author of The Everything New Nurse Book and owner/author of TheNursingSite.com
© 2008 by UltimateNurse.com. All Rights Reserved.
The Fifty Mile Rule and Travel Nursing
December 9, 2008
The Fifty Mile Rule and Travel Nursing
Is there really a 50 mile rule for travel nurses or is this just something someone made up to keep the locals from benefiting from travel nurse perks?
The truth is there is no real rule. There are some qualifications that the IRS imposes on travel nurses regarding tax free benefits. Some travel nursing recruiters confuse these IRS rules with the so-called 50 mile rule and sometimes hospitals do impose an imaginary 50 mile rule to keep it’s community nurses happy. It’s really up to the travel nurse to know the difference and to discuss the issue with the recruiter.
In a large metropolitan area such as Los Angeles where the locals are used to driving long distances for everyday events such as shopping, entertainment, sporting events, school and religious worship, driving 50 miles to and from work is not an unusual task. For someone in a more rural area, this might seem to be unusual and taxing.
For a restless nurse living in Los Angeles, the opportunity to take on a traveling nurse assignment 50 miles from home may be just the spark s/he needs to renew the sense of why s/he became a nurse and loves this profession. It could serve the nurse and his/her patents well to bring this renewed sense of caring spirit to work each day.
How this nurse approaches the travel assignment is key to whether s/he qualifies for the tax free benefits of a travel nursing assignment. This is subjective data and will vary with each individual nurse. Assuming our restless nurse has a home in the Los Angeles area, how s/he approaches the IRS Sleep & Rest Test will determine the amount of tax free benefits s/he is entitled to.
If our nurse drives to and from the assignment each day, returning to his/her own home then s/he is not entitled to any tax free reimbursements for meals and housing.
If however, the particular drive takes significant time and the nurse feels that this drive would make him/her unfit to care for patients, s/he can accept the tax free temporary housing/meal package nearby the hospital as long as s/he does not return home during his/her travel assignment.
Another nurse may chose to work the 50 plus miles from home grouping his/her 12 hour shifts together each week. This nurse accepts temporary housing in a hotel for the 3 days each week that s/he works, and returns home for the 4 days s/he has off each week. Because she is staying in a hotel and returns home each week, 4/7ths of this housing and meal allowance is taxable (or must be returned).
If this same nurse took an apartment as part of her package deal, the rent would qualify for tax free status, but his/her meal allowances for the days off spent at his/her own home would not.
The Sleep & Rest Test applies if the individual nurse feels it necessary to stay nearby the assignment in order to be adequately rested to be fit to care for the patients. This is subjective and will vary from nurse to nurse. Some nurses would prefer to drive back and forth and use the time to for such things as to unwind, to listen to books on tape or to talk to family and friends on the cell phone (hands-free in CA of course), etc.
If you’re looking for a travel nursing assignment closer to your own home, and being told about a 50 mile rule, get some clarification from the recruiter. Also have a good understanding of the tax implications if you accept a housing and meals package.
By Kathy Quan RN BSN. Kathy is the author of The Everything New Nurse Book and the owner/author of TheNursingSite.com.
© 2008 by UltimateNurse.com All Rights Reserved
Trustaff Travel Nurses
December 8, 2008
Trustworthy. Dependable. True. As one of the fastest growing names in the travel nursing industry, Trustaff Travel Nurses is dedicated to helping advance the careers of travel nurses and allied healthcare professionals. With travel nurse jobs across the country, trustaff places travel nursing professionals in premier facilities with flexible travel arrangements and schedules. If you are looking to begin a travel nursing or travel allied healthcare career, or if you want to get the most out of your next travel nursing assignment, call or register with us online today!
When you travel with Trustaff, you’ll enjoy:
-Full Benefits Package
-Guaranteed Hours Up to 60 per week
-Loyalty, Extension, and Sign-On Bonuses
-Paid Time Off
-Licensure Reimbursement
-Clinical Liaisons
-Up to $2,200 Net Pay
-Weekly Pay through Direct Deposit
-Nationwide Assignments
-Referral Bonus Up to $1,500
-401K with Company Match
Trustaff prides itself on the integrity, respectability, and dependability of the professionals we place as well as our corporate team. We consistently set a higher standard of quality service for our clients and hire healthcare professionals who are passionate about their work. If you’re ready to start your Trustaff travel adventure call 877.880.0346 or visit www.trustafftravelnurses.com/ today.