What makes us traveler nurses “travel” depends on so many different pain points. Some states don’t pay enough; I know of two RNs from Alabama who frequently pair up, leave their spouse and kids behind, and set out for financially greener pastures. Some of us, like me, are tired of the mundane of our hometown and want to see something new and exciting. I found the cultures of metro Phoenix and Anchorage to be a great contrast to southern Ohio. Others are avid outdoor adventure enthusiasts and seek out great skiing or rock-climbing areas. Or perhaps you still love nursing, but you just can’t stand to be asked to take on committees anymore (corporate commitments that yield no money and rare change), and you need to start anew. Whichever of these apply to you, I find that landing that perfect assignment takes a little personal work outside of what your recruiter provides. Below are steps I take to sort out a good fit for a travel assignment.
Steps for sorting out a good fit for a travel assignment:
1. Read up on the company
Before I get the interview, I try to learn about the hospital or healthcare system that I am applying to. General search engine sleuthing usually yields a decent amount of information, especially with sites like Glassdoor, where one can read up on employee complaints/concerns. Also, I personally go in and review their mission statement to see if it aligns with my personal values or see how vague it is, and measure if publicized behaviors contradict what they proclaim. For instance, if they say “ they are committed to the improvement of human life” but then have also shut down critical access health sites during a takeover, this lends information to the question of what the corporate atmosphere is—not an absolute deal breaker for a short term assignment but will be highly relative to things like social services and continuity of care into the community.
Insider resources are also important. This includes asking my recruiter to talk with other travelers who have worked with that facility. Sometimes, the recruiter will tell you this is their first time working with the facility. Other times, they may be hesitant to discuss things as a “tough assignment, but the pay is good.” Insider resources also include online chat boards—I never completely discount gossip. These things allow me to weigh out whether certain company behaviors are tolerable to achieve my goals and if it will be a good fit for me as a travel assignment.
2. To Thine Own Self Be True
After my longevity in the nursing field, I am aware of my skill set, what it was, and what I can brush up on to be sufficient. For instance, I used to be a high-risk Labor and Delivery nurse with a lactation certification; that was fifteen years ago, and I no longer possess that acumen in relation to the liability of that arena of nursing. I currently am a CVICU nurse, and my skillset is managing complicated heart failure, among other things, but I communicate what machinery and therapies I am familiar with and what is different from the facility that I am applying to. Sometimes, when jumping between two levels of acuity( sometimes you have a mismatch of ideal place and exact area of expertise), I need to refresh my mind on certain steps for procedures. Luckily, we all live in the Age of Information, and there are literally thousands of professionally backed and collegiate-affiliated YouTube videos out there on every medical and nursing topic for free. They also have teaching videos available for every flavor of electronic health record if the assignment seems golden. However, managing the software platform to chart on seems like a herculean task.
3. Things to ask During the Telephone Interview
In times past, I felt awkward asking specifics about the unit’s operations. I don’t know why; maybe I thought it was a corporate secret, or I was violating the boundaries of good hospitality. Whichever it was, I woke up and realized that this is a business relationship, and I needed to know what kind of environment I was doing business in.
I usually start with general questions like how many beds are in the unit and then how many nurses are staffed each shift. I then ask about support staff, such as unit clerks, monitor techs, and nurses’ aides; this gives me a better idea of my full responsibilities, as I might not have been expecting that I would field phone calls from outside the hospital, etc.
This is usually followed by things like what is the staff mix and staff support. If the nurse educator has just been let go and the staff are mainly new grads, the hospital may be looking at me to be a support structure and knowledge base for those staff. This can end up being difficult if staff are resistant to the presence of travelers—so I weigh this into my equation of acceptance. I also like knowing how many other travelers are currently employed with that particular unit. From personal experience, I know that a unit staffed almost exclusively with travelers can be chaotic and sometimes adversarial, as each person has their way of doing things. Still, no one is immersed in the company’s way of doing things.
4. Shift Requirements and Scheduling Policies
If I start an assignment for the adventure potential that the location promised, I am going to be sad if block scheduling isn’t an option. I find it wise to talk out needed time off with my recruiter ahead of time. Usually, I know when a family vacation is coming up or a major milestone like my parent’s wedding anniversary (mom has been planning for months, so missing it is an act of heresy); then I have put it into the written contract so that there aren’t questions later.
When it comes to the question-and-answer portion of the telephone interview, I tend to discuss the required weekends and holidays. Some places are staunch on “every other” policies; other’s pain points are Mondays and Fridays, and they could care less about weekends. Still, others refuse to pay for travelers on holidays, so you can have that all to yourself. Clarity in this area lends itself to greater satisfaction on both sides. Making a potential good fit for a travel assignment.
5. Asking about the Primary Care Providers
This is an interesting area of conversation. Knowing what type of primary providers I am working with, plus the legal and political hierarchy, and how I can easily contact them is very important to how my patient will receive care. I feel this is even more necessary when I take night shift assignments, as there are fewer providers to contact when issues surface. Firstly, I ask if this is a teaching facility and if are there resident physicians who will be practicing in my unit. The presence of first- and second-year residents requires a certain level of personal confidence, negotiation tactics, and strong skills by the nurse. If things ever sound questionable, I run things up the chain to the chief resident because the purpose of doctors’ residency is learning.
Additionally, what is provider overnight coverage in the hospital, as I sometimes work the night shift? I have encountered tough situations in which patients were intubated. Still, the
In summary, taking these steps to sort out a good fit for a travel assignment and addressing these topics has led me to better satisfaction going into a contract. I feel more at peace knowing the potential of the interdependence of staff going into the contract.
We hope you found these steps I take to sort out a good fit for a travel assignment helpful. Are there any steps you take to make sure a travel assignment will be a good fit for you? Are there tell-tale signs that an assignment may not be a good fit that you have found? Tell us about them in the comments below.
And knowing when I can schedule time off to have adventures and see the landscape makes me even happier.
Interested in a travel nursing job? Our job board is a great place to search for assignments, and if housing is an issue, our housing page can help. It’s time to make a difference!
