[kinnlee]

I sold every stick of furniture I had, quit a perm job paying $47/hr and only paying $500/mon rent, all for the sake of a travel gig that PPR hooked my up with, for which upon arrival I was not qualified. The facility required more than lethal rhythm recognition and treatment (of which I have significant experience)and required new travelers to pass an advanced cardiology exam without notice or preparation. The facility figured they were paying "big bucks" for the traveler and of course, expected us to "hit the ground running." As I had no time/availability of a class to take quickly. My employment was made contingent upon successfully passing this test---AFTER I GOT TO THE JOB SITE! This info did not come out during the typical telephone interview, as I had no reason to expect anything outside the norm of my previous experiences (which PPR obviously knew my experience level), and for the client company this was standard operating procedure. PPR did not do their homework; they did not know such testing would take place. It's their job to know! I am not an inexperienced Traveler (5 yrs and counting). Never has such testing been more than ACLS protocols, and I would have not known to inquire, as a result. I worked previously for PPR on two different assignments. The first was one which I found independently and stayed for 13 months! All they had to do was put the deal together. Now I had been passed on to another recruiter, as my superb one had moved on to other ventures. Although Bill was a super nice guy, I didn't feel he was in my corner at all in the end. Your recruiter is your lifeline! I've always bragged how PPR was "nurse focused," and that's part of their company slogan. Man, was I wrong! Wrong, wrong, wrong! To those nurses I've referred to PPR---my profound apologies!

So, this gig didn't work out. PPR did look for another gig, but there were no availabilities. I offered to pay $500 for the one bedroom rental until the end of the month (June 15-30th), and they wanted $1300, charging me from the 9th-30th. Come on guys! This was your fault for not knowing the requirements of your client company before you send a nurse out there blindly! You have a moral obligation not to make a person jobless and homeless all at once! (By the way, they did this 3 days before my vacation for which I was flying home to see my kids & new granddaughter, who had a special birthday celebration planned for me. I had to cancel it because I needed to find a place for me and my s.o. to live over the weekend.)

Additionally, they initially sent me to housing which was 50 plus year old, ex-military base housing. The place had water damage in numerous places and the house was falling apart. It smelled moldy from having sat empty for months. If this isn't the epitome of travel nightmares I don't know what is!

Ironically, I decided to interview for two permanent ER Nurse Manager positions. I will take one of them for sure. They use alot of travelers on both. Do you now see the opportunity for PPR to generate a little goodwill now for the sake of good business shortly ahead? Yeah, well, they were not that smart. As you experienced travelers know, ER's are a small community even in a large city; we know alot of people at various facilities don't we?! Hmmmm. Perhaps PPR should have thought this through a little better.