TNAA-Travel Nurse Across America provided this article.
Licenses, screening, and immunizations – oh, my! With each travel nurse assignment comes a mountain of compliance requirements. If you don’t have help through your travel nurse agency, staying compliant for each assignment feels like a chore. However, if your travel nursing agency has a QA department, you have a valuable resource at your service. Your quality assurance team should have the know-how to help you navigate the many compliance aspects of this career seamlessly.
Assignment Compliance
First, let’s give a quick breakdown of what compliance requirements you can expect for each travel nurse assignment.
- Drug screening & background check
- Licensing (if you’re up for renewal or taking an assignment in a non-compact state)
- Up-to-date certifications
- Up-to-date immunizations
Now that you know what to expect, you can see it’s a lot, especially when each agency and healthcare facility requires a little something different. Imagine all the research it will take to find a place that offers what you need for each compliance piece, scheduling the appointments, and filling out, collecting, and keeping up with all the paperwork. It’s easy to see how helpful a quality assurance (QA) department can be.
But, while lots of agencies have a QA component, it’s important to do some digging into it. Some agencies might give you a list of what you need to have but then say you’re on your own. Others might have recruiters pull double duty to handle assignment compliance or outsource to third parties. And some agencies might have a dedicated, in-house department, so you know you have someone you can call at a moment’s notice when you need help with a compliance requirement (especially when hospitals have last-minute requests just days before an assignment begins).
The Role of Quality Assurance
Compliance is an ongoing process, and all travelers have to meet the necessary compliance requirements mandated by healthcare facilities and regulatory bodies in order to take and stay on assignment.
QA specialists can play a crucial role in verifying credentials, licenses, immunizations, certifications, and any other prerequisites necessary for a successful assignment, as well as helping you schedule appointments, keeping track of paperwork, sending timely reminders for renewals, and assisting you with any necessary updates. Some agencies will even help you obtain the licenses and certifications needed and will pay the fees or reimburse you for them. Check with your agency’s QA team to see what they offer.
Beyond the initial compliance requirements, the quality assurance department serves as a consistent support system throughout your travel nurse assignment that can address any concerns or challenges that may arise regarding compliance and help you navigate through them effectively.
How Can You Make Compliance An Easier Process For Yourself?
By leveraging the expertise and support of your travel nursing agency’s quality assurance department, you can simplify the process of a travel nurse career. When embarking on a new travel nurse assignment, if your travel nurse agency has a QA department, establish open lines of communication with them. Promptly providing them with all the necessary documentation will allow them to verify your compliance status efficiently and get you on assignment more easily. This department should allow you to focus on providing exceptional patient care while your compliance needs are expertly managed.
Our job board is a great place to search for your next travel nurse assignment. We have you covered with our housing page if housing is an issue. You can search for what you are looking for.
