This article was provided by Medely.

Check out these essential packing tips for new and long-time Travel Nurses and Allied Healthcare Professionals.

Planning to leave for a new travel nurse contract is exciting—deciding what to pack is not. So, how can you anticipate what you’ll need for the next few months, pack as lightly as possible, and avoid spending extra money on basics when you get to your new location?

Packing well is an art that shapes your particular needs and the things that are important to you. However, there are lessons we’ve learned along the way that can help you get your essential packing list under control. Here are six essential packing tips for travel Nurses and Allied Professionals to help you get ready.

Six Essential Packing Tips For Your Next Travel Nurse Assignment:

1. What to know before you go

Travel assignment benefits can vary, so find out what you’ll need ahead of time. If you’re using company-provided housing, confirm if household items are provided. Furnished accommodations often include basics such as cooking utensils, dish towels, bedding, and small appliances (i.e., hairdryer, iron)—but if yours doesn’t, you won’t want to wait until you arrive to find out. If you’re using the housing stipend to find your accommodation, you may need to bring some household supplies with you.

Hospital uniform requirements can vary, so ask for guidance around details such as scrub color and fabric type if scrubs are not provided. It can also be helpful to ask about the hospital’s typical indoor temperature; you’ll want to make sure the scrubs you bring are warm and breathable enough to keep you comfortable.

Finally, research local weather trends for your entire assignment. Weather and temperatures can vary dramatically over a few months, and you may need to plan a wardrobe with layers so you can adapt.

2. Prioritize any must-have personal items

Some personal items, like a toothbrush or shampoo, can typically be found regardless of your location. But, a quick replacement of specialty pieces is not always possible. Very personal items are one-of-a-kind, so be sure to pack anything that could be difficult (or even impossible) to replace.

These items may include:

Nursing license and professional documents (although if you work through a service like Medely, you’ll have access to your credentials online)
Driver’s license
Passport
Birth certificate
COVID-19 vaccine documentation (or weekly negative COVID tests)
Social security card
Any prescription medications

It can be helpful to create digital copies of important documents so you’ll always have access, but sometimes the originals are necessary.

3. Choose smart clothing items that are color coordinated and flexible

Packing clothes for 12+ weeks can feel daunting—until you realize that you’re going to spend much of your time in scrubs. So don’t feel too anxious about it!

Here are a few pro tips:

Coordinate the colors. This is essentially a small capsule wardrobe: A collection of a few outfits that can be reconfigured into a bunch of varying styles.
Plan for comfort at work. Bring one or two pairs of comfortable work shoes and scrubs.
Prep for the season ahead. It can be a challenge to plan your outfits so far in advance but keep your needs for the coming season in mind—whether you’ll need a swimsuit, a cozy sweater, or a pair of warm winter boots.
Find multipurpose items. Look for articles that can be used in more than one way, like a scarf that can double as a wrap on a breezy day or convertible clothes designed to be worn in multiple styles.

Some seasoned travelers have little room for “just in case” items, but if you’re struggling to leave something behind, consider this: How hard or expensive will it be to buy a new one? Some items can be costly to replace, but others may be easy to find secondhand or as a rental.

4. Keep things organized

Particularly if you’re taking shorter assignments and moving around more often, it can save time and effort if you keep your belongings organized with storage containers or packing cubes.

Consider organizing your stuff by needs, such as:

Things you’ll need as soon as you arrive
Work-related clothing
Kitchen and household items
Dress for later in the season
Sports and exercise-related items
Electronic devices and other tech-related essential items

This packing strategy can help you keep track of where things are and what you may or may not need to unpack right away.

5. Leave some space for the comforts of home

Is there really room for things that will make your space more comfortable? The reality is that, even with the best experiences and adventures, it can be tough to be on the move and away from the familiar constantly.

Consider bringing a few small items that can capture the spirit of the home, such as:

Locally-made condiments, such as syrups, jams, or spices
Scented items, such as soaps, candles, or essential oils
Locally-produced textiles, such as pashminas, sweaters, or socks

If you have the space, some travelers like to bring favorite personal items like pillows. They’re bulky, but if it helps you get a better night’s sleep in a strange bed, it may be worth the tradeoff!

6. Personalize your essential packing list—and keep editing it

Ultimately, the things you bring with you on your next travel nurse assignment are a personal selection that will likely vary as you travel more, gain experience, and figure out what’s essential to you.

Take stock between each travel nursing contract to reassess your essential packing list, then remove items you never use as well as anything you thought would be essential but isn’t.

Want to make sure you haven’t missed anything? Check out The Nomad’s Packing Guide for Travel Nurses for more suggestions.

We hope you found these essential packing tips helpful. If there are any that you have found helpful, comment below. Are you looking for your next travel nurse assignment? Click here to view our job board. Have the assignment secured but need to find housing? Click here to view our housing page.

If you are a new travel nurse or looking into becoming a travel nurse:

START HERE

Travel Nurse Guide: Step-by-Step (now offered in a PDF Downloadable version!)

This article was provided by Medely.

Travel Nursing requires a hands-on and versatile approach to your nursing practice, but even more so, your entire life. To maximize earning potential, you can use your non-taxable stipends to help you make more take-home cash. Chief among these is the housing stipend, meant to help find lodging when traveling and working at a facility away from home.

And, there are several ways to save cash and maximize your housing stipend as a Travel Nurse or Allied Healthcare Professional.

What is a housing stipend?

So what is a housing stipend, and how does it work? Travel Nurses typically have two options when it comes to housing. They can either accept agency-provided housing, if available or a housing stipend and find accommodation independently.

When looking at the housing stipend, there are a few different ways to get paid.

Monthly rate
- If you’re offered a monthly rate, your housing stipend is allotted each week based on the length of your assignment. The only concern with monthly rates is when you’re paying rent for longer than an assignment lasts. For example, if you have a two-week job, you will only be paid for those two weeks, which may not cover the entire month’s worth of rent.
Stipends paid out in bi-weekly paychecks
- It’s essential to have enough money out of pocket to start living through a stipend. Because your stipend is typically paid out bi-weekly, you may be expected to cover the initial deposit and first month of rent before receiving your first paycheck.
Tax-free housing allocation
- One of the most significant ways you can save big on your housing stipend is that it will be entirely tax-free if you have a valid tax home and are far away enough from that tax home when traveling.
Amounts vary
- Stipend amounts vary, and it’s essential to look at the fine print on many of these contracts. Some agencies will pay very high stipends but offer lower hourly rates for your work, and prices will vary, of course, depending on where you’re living and the local housing markets in those regions.

On top of these crucial points, you should look out for perks like included utilities or fully furnished accommodations when assessing a contract.

Tips to maximize your Travel Nursing stipend

There are many different ways to maximize your Travel Nursing housing stipend. Below are several tips to help bolster your earnings and make your nursing housing stipend go the distance.

Short-term housing, utilities included and furnished
- It’s important to remember that some assignments may be as short as a few weeks and as long as three months or more. With this in mind, life will be that much easier if you find fully furnished housing that includes utilities in the rent and doesn’t have exorbitant premiums on short-term leasing.
Rentals/sublets
- If your nursing assignment is for more than six months, you will likely find traditional rentals through apartments, condos, townhomes, and so on. If you have a shorter contract, however, things like Airbnb, HomeAway, and VRBO, among others, have made it easier to find short-term housing.
Extended hotel stays
- Extended hotel stays can be a good option if space isn’t a priority for you. Depending on the area you’re in, finding fully-furnished housing that includes utilities might be challenging. An extended hotel stay could make things a lot easier. Be sure to keep an eye out for hotels that offer special deals for extended stays.
RVs
- While these might not be for everyone, RVs are a very convenient and cheap solution that can be a lot of fun! RV parks and campsites are a lot cheaper than monthly rent, and the convenience of being able to pack and move on at a moment’s notice is a massive appeal to the RV route.
Roommates
- Finding a roommate as you go from place to place is a great way to mitigate many of the challenges that come with travel nursing. Aside from your bedroom, the apartment will already be fully furnished, and utilities will be included in your rent. Living with a roommate is also typically much cheaper than living alone, so you will save costs on that end as well.
Friends/family
- Reach out to your friends and family members across the country. Living with a friend or family member for a short period is a great way to reunite with loved ones and save costs at the same time.
House sitting
- House sitting almost sounds too good to be true. To live and watch over someone’s house and possibly their pets and plants, you may not have to pay a single dime and may even earn a little cash for your efforts. TrustedHousesitters, HouseSittersAmerica, MindMyHouse are just a few options for house sitting apps you could utilize.

Whichever option you choose, know that there are a plethora of ways to maximize your stipend and save on housing costs. While it might require a little bit of research and effort, you could make significant earnings on your housing stipend over time and create your travel nursing experiences as cost-effective as they are liberating.

Medely

With Medely, your next nursing job is only a tap away. Travel nursing opportunities are brought directly to your phone, so you have the control to create your schedule based on your travel needs.

Medley delivers premium pay, maxed out travel stipends, and the ability to book per diem shifts while on an assignment so you can maximize your earnings.

Freedom, flexibility, and support come standard. Be where you want to be when you want to be there with Medely today.

Are you a travel nurse looking for your next travel nurse assignment? Click here to view our job board. Do you have your next assignment secured but need housing? Click here to view our housing page.

If you are a new travel nurse or looking into becoming a travel nurse:

START HERE

Travel Nurse Guide: Step-by-Step (now offered in a PDF Downloadable version!)

This article was provided by Medely.

The amount of information you learn throughout nursing school is truly mind-boggling. From terminology to pharmaceutical interactions, from anatomy to practice policy, Nurses and Allied Health Professionals become walking textbooks of medical knowledge by graduating from their respective programs. And AIDET is more than another important acronym for healthcare workers to learn.

But it takes more than theoretical theory to practice as a Nurse successfully. Some of the essential skills in healthcare are not taught in an academic setting but absorbed through practice and real-world experience. Professionals must develop soft skills, including bedside manner and patient communication on the ground.

Luckily, new Nurses have a set of tools at their disposal, making the intricacies of patient interaction a little easier. One of these tools is known as AIDET.

What is AIDET?

AIDET is a concept of patient communication designed to decrease patient anxiety, increase patient compliance, and improve clinical outcomes. It serves as a guideline for practical, straightforward, and policy-compliant interactions between patient and professional.

AIDET is an acronym illustrating the steps Nurses and other Allied Health Pros should take when speaking with patients or families about care. The letters in AIDET stand for:

Acknowledge.

Greet your patient by name, and recognize any family members who also might be present. You can ask them their names and how they are related to your patient. This step can set the mood for the entire visit, and it’s essential to have a warm attitude and friendly demeanor.

Introduce.

Let the patient know who you are. Include your name, profession, title, and any other pertinent information they may need to know. If you are replacing another Nurse who has gone off-duty, acknowledge the shift change and provide them with a brief explanation.

Duration.

Give your patient an accurate and precise timeline for their treatment that day. Let them know when providers will perform tests, the turnaround time for those tests when the physician will arrive, the next steps in their course of treatment, and any updates on their progress.

Explanation.

After confirming that they understand why they are receiving care, give a detailed step-by-step explanation of their planned course of treatment in your facility. A medical understanding can include prescribed medications, how to prepare for specific tests, any planned operations or procedures, and where they can contact you if they have questions or need support.

Thank you.

Express your gratitude to the patient for their time, understanding, cooperation, and patience. If appropriate, thank the patient for choosing your particular hospital or clinic. It would be best to thank the family for being there to offer their support to your patient.

Benefits

AIDET is more than just a convenient acronym that helps you talk to your patients and their families. It is an evidence-based communication technique that enables you to provide better and more effective care to your patients. Multiple studies have shown that the AIDET technique helps increase patient satisfaction and improve medical outcomes.

One of these studies from Jason Scott of Witham Health Services demonstrates how the use of tools like AIDET helps to facilitate a culture of quality care among medical staff. Better care, in turn, led to better patient outcomes and increased patient satisfaction—patients whose Care Team use AIDET genuinely feel that they receive quality care.

Other benefits gained from the AIDET method include:

Approaching your patient in a friendly and welcoming manner can help put them at ease and foster a sense of trust. It can be scary receiving medical treatment, and it’s easy for patients to feel anxious, defensive, and dehumanized. However, if you are kind and forthcoming with your patient, this will help calm their anxiety and make treatment more accessible. Comfortable patients are more likely to accept treatment, leading to better outcomes for both the patient and the healthcare facility.
The AIDET method helps maintain patient loyalty over the long term. Especially in densely populated areas, patients may switch healthcare providers if they have had an uncomfortable or unpleasant experience. One of the previously mentioned studies shows communicating with patients using the AIDET method has a better perception of the quality of their treatment. And a satisfied patient is more likely to stick with your facility and recommend it to their friends and family.
Implementing the AIDET method at your facility can also help to create a culture of quality care. It’s a great way to ensure that providers deliver consistent measures of empathy, concern, and appreciation for their patients. Patient communication is often considered an intangible value within healthcare facilities, but using AIDET can help formalize and strategize aspects of provider/patient interactions. Using AIDET benefits your patients and gives your facility the tools it needs to improve company culture and organizational outcomes.

This article was provided by Medely.

Her journey to better healthcare staffing

Currently, Medely is honoring Inspirational Women. And, what better way to celebrate than with a woman and mother who made the transition from full-time DON positions at multiple facilities to co-founding a new company.

I enjoyed sitting down with Angie Nasr, former DON and current CNO of the Medely healthcare staffing technology platform and marketplace. She and her team work to build a better way to connect per diem and assignment professionals with ASCs, hospitals, clinics, and facilities in need.

An Interview with Angie Nasr, Medely Co-Founder, and CNO — Angie Nasr, CNO and Medely Co-Founder

Mary Rose Avila: Thank you for meeting with me today, Angie. I appreciate you taking your time to fill us in a little bit on your journey to where you are today and your plans moving forward.

Angie Nasr: Thanks, glad to be here.

MRA: To start, can you tell us a bit about your background and history?

AN: Sure. I am a registered nurse, and I graduated from Loyola University in Chicago with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. I took my first job at UC Irvine, actually in the NICU. After transferring to UCLA, I was soon worn out from working nights, weekends, and holidays and looked for a job that better fit my preferred schedule. I signed with an agency to pick up shifts until I figured out my next move.

I ended up taking a job in an outpatient surgery center, my first time working with adults. I was thrown in the fire, which is a great learning experience, and was soon made the Director of Nursing. The Doctors and facility leaders expressed great confidence in me and my abilities, although I felt somewhat unsure I was prepared to take on this elevated role.

But, it made me learn really fast, and I am a very resourceful person by nature. I knew how to leverage our resources, often using Google. Additionally, I reached out to DONs and other healthcare leaders in my network to draw on their expertise and insights. Over several years, I moved onto larger facilities and really learned the ropes at multiple Outpatient Surgery Centers. But, I always had an issue with adequate staffing for our cases. I continually had to call other nurses that I knew of to work shifts and cases we couldn’t cover for staffing.

Making the Transition

MRA: I can probably imagine that one of the most significant issues with finding staff was your time. Because, as I imagine, every second you’re on the phone or trying to connect is the time taken away from your cases and your patients. As you discovered the need for better methods using technology, how did you help Medely launch? What was it like in the beginning?

NS: It was a transition and labor of love, for sure. My co-founders and I worked for a year to launch Medley. I still had my full-time job and would work nights and weekends setting up the clinical operations infrastructure. I was screening and onboarding Nurses to the tech platform and marketplace during my lunch hour. The work was hard, but it was so rewarding to see the vision become a reality.

I would perform all the in-person interviews [for the healthcare pros] after work to ensure they were competent, experienced nurses. We started with positions in surgical services, primarily Circulating, PACU, and Pre-op RNs, as those were the most in-demand. Soon we expanded to Surgical Techs and several other positions in the ASC setting.

Finding Inspiration

MRA: As you know, Medely is celebrating Inspiring Women. In asking many Medely staff who their personal Inspirational Woman is, several said you inspire them! How do you feel about that?

NS: Well, I’m shocked and honored! I would have thought of a celebrity or someone who won the Nobel Peace Prize or even a more famous person. I feel sort of floored that they would name me!

MRA: Who would you say inspires you?

AN: My personal Inspiring Woman, and I know it sounds cliche’, but I would say, my Mom. She came here from a foreign country and worked my entire childhood. I remember Mom always being such a hard worker, even to this day. No job was too big or too small for her, and she taught me the value of being an independent woman.

Moving to the future

MRA: What’s your favorite thing about Medely? And, finally, where do you see Medely heading into the future?

AN: For me, my favorite thing is just seeing this dream come to fruition and that facilities now have a way to book someone easily. It’s something we never had at our fingertips. Before, I would have loved to sign up for this tech app and dive right in. That’s a huge opportunity to have that on-demand workforce. Of course, I love how to customize it, build a favorites list, and book short or longer-term jobs. It really allows healthcare professionals to come into a facility and bring new ideas, culture, and practices with them.

Our vision for Medely will continue to evolve as a technologically advanced workforce management platform. We will continue to focus on the customer experience and provide a simple way for facilities to book pros. Likewise, pros get to earn more while experiencing the freedom and flexibility they deserve.

MAR: I think that makes a lot of sense. I certainly appreciate your time and have learned a lot myself.

AN: Thanks for the opportunity to share my story!

Angie Nasr had a long journey from an RN looking for a flexible work-life balance to a new DON, quickly learning the ropes to the CNO of one of the largest on-demand healthcare platforms available. Other women can learn from her experience by working on their terms or taking the dive as a leader in a growing company, despite all their other obligations.

We hope you enjoyed reading this interview with Angie about her transition from nurse to CNO. Do you have any questions about the transition that wasn’t answered here? Comment them below.

Six Essential Packing Tips For Your Next Travel Nurse Assignment:

1. What to know before you go

2. Prioritize any must-have personal items

3. Choose smart clothing items that are color coordinated and flexible

4. Keep things organized

5. Leave some space for the comforts of home

6. Personalize your essential packing list—and keep editing it

If you are a new travel nurse or looking into becoming a travel nurse:

Travel Nurse Guide: Step-by-Step (now offered in a PDF Downloadable version!)

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What is AIDET?

Acknowledge.

Introduce.

Duration.

Explanation.

Thank you.

Benefits

Other benefits gained from the AIDET method include:

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