Travel Nursing

Editor’s Note: Today’s post is by a guest RN, if you’d like to write for our blog contact us.

I don’t work in my community.  I drive 25 miles to the northern end of another county to work as a cardiac nurse.  I didn’t think about the location affecting my interaction with patients and other health care staff when I took the position.  I didn’t know it could.

When I first began the job, I struggled a bit with spelling of the doctor’s names and learning their specialties.  After a year I still have to ask ‘what type of doctor are they?’  Patients refer to their doctors and ask if I’ve ever heard of them, or if I think they are a good doctor.  Sometimes they ask me for recommendations of doctors.  I smile and say I’m from a different county and am unsure of the best doctors in the area.  I have come to know a few of them well enough to know whether or not I trust their judgment, but in any professional setting I would not recommend one over another. (more…)

Many nurses seek employment with nurse staffing agencies as they have can more flexibility in how much they work and where they work.  Many healthcare staffing agencies are the providers of choice for long-term care facilities when they are in a pinch during call-offs or as staff members leave their employment.  The nurse functions as an employee of the staffing agency.  The agency may offer full benefits, paid time off and a powerful advocacy for the nurse choosing to work with them.  A major draw for working with an agency is that a nurse may be able to leave an assignment before the completion of an assignment if they find working conditions to be less than desirable.  If a nurse is working in an area with an acute shortage of nurses, the wide availability of open nursing positions gives the nurse more options in choosing the places they work.  If one position is no longer a viable place to work, there are plenty of other options. (more…)