By Gifted Healthcare

February 13, 2023

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The Importance of Emotional Support in Travel Nursing

Gifted Healthcare provided this article.

Emotional Support For Patients

As a nurse, taking care of patients in the hospital tends to emphasize physical care. Twelve-hour shifts are spent administering medication, monitoring vital signs, conducting physical assessments, administering IVs, and so much more. What is behind all of the physical care nurses provide their patients is the emotional care and support that never falters. 

Emotional support can come in many forms, from simply listening to a patient’s concerns to providing reassurance and encouragement. With Valentine’s Day around the corner, this is a time of year that could be more difficult on your patients, especially for patients who are dealing with illness or the loss of a loved one. Here are a few ideas for how you can support your patients this Valentine’s Day.

Organize a card-making activity.

Encourage patients to make handmade Valentine’s Day cards for their loved ones. You can bring construction paper, stickers, markers, and other craft materials to help patients get creative!

Bake something yummy

Sweet treats such as chocolates or cookies are always enjoyed. Bring in extra for the break room to celebrate your fellow nurses too.

Decorate the hospital for a photo op.

Easy décor such as balloons, streamers, and signs make for an easy background, and you can take turn snapping pictures of patients in front of the décor to send to loved ones as e-cards!

Bring in some games

Organizing a game day for patients can bring energy to the floor, whether it’s board games, a round of bingo, or even charades!

As nurses, you can play a vital role in providing emotional support to your patients during this time. The simple gestures of card-making or game-playing go a long way regarding emotional well-being.

Emotional Support for You

In order to give support, we often need to recharge from our own support systems. As a travel nurse, you might be a plane ride away from your support system back home, so this Valentine’s Day, find other ways to connect with a support system. Here are some ways to find support while on a travel assignment this Valentine’s Day.   

Connect with Home

Set aside time to connect with friends and family back home. Whether it is through regular phone calls, FaceTime, or staying connected through social media, dedicated time to each other will help you feel connected to home.

Lean on your peers

One of the best places to find emotional support is with other travel nurses. Joining a travel nurse association, participating in online forums, or attending travel nurse events can provide a supportive network of peers who understand the unique challenges of this career. These connections can provide a sense of community and a safe place to discuss the ups and downs of travel nursing.

In that light, it is also beneficial to support your own peers in return. Encouraging your colleagues to take breaks when they need them and to talk openly about any stress they may be experiencing can really help both of you.

Find Support in Yourself

In addition to providing emotional support to patients and colleagues, it is crucial that you engage in self-care practices to maintain your own emotional well-being. This can include activities such as meditation, exercise, journaling, or spending time with loved ones. Trust yourself and find balance in your day-to-day, and you will feel a sense of peace with yourself.

Visit a Professional

Lastly, know that you can always seek support in the form of therapy. Talking to a mental health professional can provide a safe and supportive environment to discuss any emotional struggles and will help you develop coping strategies for when the balance in your life feels off.

Show Up For You, Show Up For Patients

This Valentine’s Day, showing up for yourself as well as your patients will go a long way in maintaining emotional support. It is as essential to the healing process just as the physical support you provide is to the process. By providing emotional support to your patients, colleagues, and yourself, you can help create a healing environment that promotes well-being and recovery. So, take the time to make this Valentine’s Day special for everyone in your life, including yourself.

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.

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!)

By Triage Healthcare Staffing

February 8, 2023

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Decoding Scrub Style: What Nurses and CNAs Wear, Scrub Colors Explained

Triage Healthcare Staffing provided this article.

As travelers, it’s not uncommon to have a selection of scrubs, all in a rainbow of colors. And while it’s easy to ask your recruiter what color is required, sometimes they have old or outdated information. For instance, some hospitals or units will tell recruiters that nurses need to wear a specific color, only to find out that the rules don’t apply to travelers.

That’s why we asked travelers to share their experiences. And boy, did they. Nearly 2000 healthcare travelers—most of them nurses—gave us valuable feedback on what color they wore during their assignments.

What We Asked In the Survey

To get the most out of the survey, we asked the following questions:

  • What kind of traveler are you?
  • Hospital/facility name?
  • City, state
  • Department
  • Scrub color
  • Was the department strict on color?
  • What year was this valid?

What Are Safe Scrub Colors to Buy?

Based on the responses, most travelers would do well to have a pair or two of navy blue scrubs—nearly a third of all nurses reported that they wore navy scrubs. Royal blue was the shade for 13% of nurses. Having a set or two of blue scrubs seems like a decent bet when you’re a traveler.

Other well-represented colors were light blue, Caribbean blue, black, gray, and galaxy blue. A few unlucky folks had to wear all-white scrubs—yikes. We’re glad we’re not doing that laundry.

How Strict Are the Units?

Sometimes your recruiter will get information from the facility that a certain color is required, only for the traveler to arrive and see that travelers are exempt. Recruiters can only go off the info they receive, which is why we asked how strict the unit was when it came down to scrub color. About 60% said their units were strict, but that means the other 40% were able to wear any color they already owned.

Let’s Get to the Good Stuff—How to Access the Scrub Color Survey?

What good is this info if you can’t access it? That’s why we’ve taken all the information and put it into an easily accessible database. Check out the what color scrubs nurses wear database and the search by the facility. The information is sorted by alphabetical order by the facility. And because some facilities might even vary scrub color by department or have more than one location, we’ve asked that too.

Using a Scrub Allowance—Yay or Nay?

Some travel companies will write a scrub allowance into your contract if you need a specific color. While there’s nothing wrong with that, here’s the real deal. Scrub and other allowances (and even lavish gifts) seem like a great perk, but the funds are actually taken out of your contract’s bill rate—and you never even realize it’s happening. In most cases, it’s better to forgo these allowances and let your recruiter know that you want that money added to your hourly rate throughout your contract.

Want to Submit Your Facility?

Have a facility or unit that’s not on our list? Fill out our short survey, and we’ll get your facility added. 

Are you looking for a travel nurse agency that’s committed to treating you with respect and integrity? Check out our list of travel nurse jobs, and we’ll connect you with a Triage recruiter.

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.

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!)

By Medical Solutions

February 6, 2023

3894 Views

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Avoiding Loneliness as a Travel Nurse

Medical Solutions provided this article.

Many travel nurses and allied health professionals choose their careers because they enjoy the independence of the travel nursing lifestyle. If you’re a solo traveler, your road is wide open, and you’re fully empowered to choose your own adventure. If you’re traveling with a partner, family, or your pet, you’ve got someone else to share the journey with, but you’re still free from a permanent home, hospital politics, and other such limiting factors of a perm staff role.

Traveling is a fantastically freeing opportunity, but balance is crucial, just like everything in life. Some travelers report the downside of that freedom can be occasional loneliness on assignment. In light of that, we’d like to share some tips to help you avoid loneliness as a travel nurse!

Embrace Flying Solo

Oftentimes, feeling lonely can be linked to feelings of boredom. Don’t be shy about taking yourself on a solo date. Enjoy the benefit of seeing interesting things, people, and places nationwide as part of your travel career. Hit up a movie, linger at a café, explore a museum, or stroll through a local park. Many of our travel nursing jobs are located near incredible natural or human-made attractions. Sign up for an art class or cooking class. Strike up a conversation and remember the power of positive interactions, be they small or large. Research during the COVID-19 pandemic showed that a lot of people were missing those minor, daily interactions with baristas, co-workers, and acquaintances just as much as they missed their close friends and family, whom they were still able to connect with online or via phone. Be open-minded about making new friends or at least sharing some quality time with new acquaintances. If nothing else, you’re a great date, so take yourself out!

Reach Out to Your People

Connecting with others — especially those who know and love you — is a great way to feel less alone. Make time to reach out to your friends and family back home or even new friends you’ve made on assignments throughout the country. Just because you’re not physically in the same place shouldn’t keep you from togetherness. Reach out often to friends and family via phone, Facetime, Zoom, or other similar avenues. We know you’re busy, but being intentional about making the time to reach out will improve your mood and keep you connected in an important way. Remember, even a quick text or IM session can help you feel less alone and allow you to chime in quickly whenever you do have the time. Maybe start a text or IM thread with some fellow travelers who understand where you’re coming from. Being seen and understood always helps us humans feel less alone.

Even your recruiter is a helpful person to connect with if you’re feeling lonely! A good travel nurse recruiter cares about you and is always there to support you personally as well as professionally, so never hesitate to reach out via phone, email, or text if you need someone to connect with.

Tell Someone How You Feel

A lot of life’s problems can be helped by sharing your feelings with another human. They may not be able to solve your predicament, but sometimes it just feels good to get it out. Be thoughtful about who you choose to confide in — you’ll want to share your thoughts and feelings with a good listener and confidant rather than someone who may be reckless with your trust or minimize you.

If you truly don’t have anyone to talk to, try journaling. Sometimes just getting your thoughts and feelings out on paper can help you figure out solutions or provide that important release that allows you to move forward with hope.

Make New Friends

A really positive feature of travel nursing is being able to make new friends and acquaintances. Some of the tips above are actually wonderful avenues to meeting people, but if that didn’t work and you’d like to meet new friends to help you feel less lonely and enjoy life with, you should focus on that specifically. We’ve outlined some great tips for making new friends in this previous article.

Be Mindful of Mental Health

If none of the above eases your loneliness or you’re otherwise struggling, please make sure to reach out to a professional. It’s completely normal to struggle with anxiety, depression, or other mental health concerns. So, first, remember that while you may be lonely, you’re far from alone in this regard! Consider the factors that may be contributing to your mental state. Some travelers feel alone when they first arrive on assignment but end up getting into a great rhythm. It’s a fairly common pattern for travelers who trend toward loneliness. If you know this about yourself, it’s a lot easier to hang on during that early part of current and future assignments. Some travelers get a little homesick around certain holidays or times of the year. For example, seasonal affective disorder hits many of us hard in the colder, darker months of the year. Once again, knowing your patterns can help you make it through with less distress.

To help you persevere through tough times, Medical Solutions supports all current travelers with a 100% free employee assistance program (EAP) that includes up to eight free, confidential sessions per issue per year with licensed therapists. Sessions are available 24/7 via phone or online. Again, these sessions are completely free and available for all our current travelers — you don’t even need to be on our insurance. The EAP also includes many other helpful resources to assist you with a host of concerns, issues, and obstacles.

We’re Always Here for You

Medical Solutions takes a human-first approach to everything we do, so we mean it when we say we’re always here for you, both professionally and personally. Of course, we provide our 24-hour customer care line, but even beyond that, we want to support you in any way possible. Some assignments can have lonely spells, but we’ll always get through them together!

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.

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!)

By Geraldine Mills

February 3, 2023

4470 Views

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7 Simple Steps to Start Your Travel Nursing Journey

Becoming a travel nurse is an exciting and rewarding career path for registered nurses. As a travel nurse, you’ll be able to experience new places and cultures while providing medical care to those in need.

Travel nursing also offers excellent financial benefits and the opportunity to gain valuable experience in different medical settings.

They have the opportunity to work in diverse settings, gain valuable experience, and make an impact on the lives of those they serve. Additionally, they can enjoy the benefits of flexible scheduling, higher pay rates, and more opportunities for career advancement.

If you are interested in taking on this travel nursing journey for yourself, here are a few simple steps that can lead you to that path.

Clarify your needs and wants

To become a travel nurse, you need to connect with a recruiter or an agency. With your chosen recruiter or agency, you should clarify with them what you’re looking to get out of this travel nursing journey.

By clearly defining what you need, you will be able to ensure that the recruiter or agency has the resources and capabilities to meet your requirements. You should also make sure that they understand your expectations so that they can provide you with the best possible service.

Clarifying your needs and wants will help ensure you have a successful experience as a travel nurse. This step will help the recruiter or agency match you with a job that meets your criteria, from the desired location to salary.

Understand how travel nursing will affect your life

Travel nursing is an increasingly popular career choice for nurses, offering the opportunity to travel and gain experience in various healthcare settings. However, it is crucial to understand the implications of this lifestyle on your life before you decide to become a travel nurse.

As a travel nurse, you must make sacrifices and compromises to pursue a career that offers great rewards and opportunities.

One of the most significant changes would be the amount of traveling you’re doing since you’re going to at least travel from place to place four times a year. By mentally preparing for that, you will have a much better experience regarding your travel nursing journey.

Connect with a recruiter

Finding the right recruiter for your travel nursing journey can be daunting. It is essential to take the time to research and compare different recruiters to find the one that best suits your needs.

When selecting a recruiter, it would be best to consider factors such as experience, reputation, and customer service. Additionally, it is beneficial to read reviews from other travel nurses who have worked with the recruiter to understand their service quality.

By taking these steps, you can ensure that you are working with a reliable and experienced recruiter who will help make your travel nursing journey successful.

Figuring out where to go

If you are considering becoming a travel nurse, planning your journey before starting is crucial. Knowing where to go and what to expect will make your travel nursing journey much easier and more enjoyable.

It can also help you save money by getting the best deals on accommodations, transportation, and other essentials.

Planning will also ensure you have a safe and successful experience as a travel nurse. Taking the time to figure out where to go before starting your journey will give you the best chance of having an enjoyable experience as a travel nurse.

Submit an application

Once you’re sure you’re going to pursue this travel nursing gig, don’t hesitate to apply. Many online applications are available, so you can start using them today. There might be times when you’ll have to hop on a call with a recruiter.

If you fit the specialization and have the years of experience they need, then submitting that application shouldn’t be an issue.

Finding a place to live on assignment

Are you a travel nurse looking for the best place to live on assignment? With so many places to choose from, it can take time to figure out where to start. Fortunately, there are some steps you can take to make sure you find the perfect place for your travel nursing journey.

By researching the area’s housing market and amenities, talking with other travel nurses who have been there before, and utilizing online resources like reviews and ratings, you can make sure that you find the best place to live while on assignment. With a little bit of effort and research, you’ll be able to enjoy your travel nursing journey in a comfortable and safe environment.

Get packing!

Since you’re always going to be on the go, it’s a good idea to know how to reduce overpacking when you’re getting ready. It might take some time to get used to not having a lot of items whenever you can travel, but it will be helpful for you as a travel nurse to know how to survive with as minimal baggage as possible.

Conclusion

These steps can help you start your travel nursing journey sooner than later with the help of this article. Thus, if you’re interested in creating it more quickly, consider following the steps in this article to enjoy a new chapter in your career that you will remember for a long time.

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.

By Lirika Hart

January 22, 2023

3452 Views

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Celebrate Daily Wins in Travel Nursing: A Way of Improving Patient Care

With so much on the shoulders of nurses and frontline healthcare professionals in recent years, you and your nursing staff need a firm foundation of strength and support to perform best. Nursing staff shortages, as well as the added stress, have highlighted the importance of continuing to invest in the well-being of nursing personnel.

Given the demanding nature of your job as a nurse, you should always make sure to help yourself, and other staff members stay in the best shape possible. So, if you’re searching for ways to celebrate each other and boost worker morale, here are five practical methods to prolong this acknowledgment and appreciation every hour of your shift.

Celebrate Each Other’ Achievements

In a medical environment among nurses, every small achievement is a big victory worthy of celebrating. When nurses celebrate the achievements of one another at work, they motivate themselves to help patients more, they feel appreciated, and most importantly, they will constantly be reminded that they’re doing a great job in helping society.

Celebrating is more fun when it involves healthy and yummy snacks. All kinds of nuts, protein bars, raisins, fruit, and vegetables, as well as soda, smoothies, or tea, make a great party menu when celebrating each other’s achievements. However, when throwing those little get-togethers, everyone wants to fully enjoy the party without worrying about other things. Therefore, using plastic dinnerware sets will save you from cleaning afterward and allow you to enjoy the moment.

Promote Mental Health

Nurses recognize the critical role that mental health may play in patient healing and rehabilitation, but it’s easy for them to disregard it in their own lives. So, make sure to encourage and remind other members of your team that their mental health is important and should be taken seriously. Since the nursing profession is made up of strong individuals who are committed to caring for others, their own self-care and nurturing become even more crucial.

Therefore, from attending specially designed yoga sessions for nurses to fitness incentives and continuous mental health awareness programs to meditation applications, it’s critical to demonstrate how much you appreciate yourself and each other, both mentally and physically. At the end of the day, the healthy nursing staff will be able to perform at their highest ability and improve patient care.

Recognize Individual and Group Accomplishments

One of the most effective ways to ensure that good work continues in the future is to consistently celebrate nursing achievements. This recognition can take many forms, including a simple and heartfelt “thank you” from leadership at the end of a shift or from other members of the staff.

Or a bulletin board highlighting employee training and education achievements, or institution email notifications that outline and celebrate nursing staff’s hard work and commitment. It’s a little investment in effort, but continuously taking the time to genuinely express gratitude and highlight successes, big or small, can help keep morale high by cultivating an appreciation culture.

Create an Employee-Nominated Rewards Program

One of the best methods to encourage engagement and improve your nursing staff is to create reward systems in which they directly participate. Create a system in which you, as nurses, are encouraged to nominate your coworkers for their hard work, fast thinking, positive attitude, or creative methods.

These types of acknowledgment foster trust and support among nurses while also providing supervisors with the insight they may not have had the opportunity to witness personally. Rewards can vary from an employee of the week or monthly highlights, gift cards, lunches, and other awards that can be selected by the nursing staff.

Exchange Personalized Gifts

With personalized, unique gifts for nurses and your healthcare co-workers, you can put your team’s values front and center. You might use a popular slogan or a value that you live by as your organization’s logo to show appreciation to one another and boost morale.

The best presents for healthcare workers are frequently both practical and meaningful. Coffee mugs, socks, or tumblers are excellent gifts because they can be used frequently and remind healthcare workers that they are respected and appreciated during their lengthy and challenging shifts. These little reminders throughout the day will help nurses stay motivated, resulting in better patient care.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, nurses face a lot of stress, both physically and emotionally, and it might feel like the negative surpasses the positive at times, but it is in their hands to turn that around. The entire nursing staff always gives their best effort, and it is critical for nurses to support one another and stay motivated in order to improve overall patient care!

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.

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!)

By Miles Oliver

January 19, 2023

2765 Views

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Tips for Managing Chronic Illness While Travel Nursing

Travel nurses deserve all the praise in the world. Considering the physically and mentally demanding nature of the work, it’s incredible how they can care for others the way they do.

Those managing a chronic illness while navigating a travel nursing career are even more deserving of praise. Chronic diseases are complicated to deal with on their own. Add a demanding job like nursing and the difficulty multiplies. Still, it’s doable.

First, know what’s available to you through your health insurance. Understand the resources available, how much they’ll cost, and the medical help you can get as you travel to different cities, states, or countries. Then, implement these three tips. 

Create a Physical Health Routine

Travel nurses are always on the go. Because of this, it can be hard to maintain a routine that caters to your physical health. But by neglecting your physical health, your chronic illness can worsen.

Creating and sticking to a physical health routine will help. First, prioritize your nutrition. It’s easy to get sucked into the fast food, junk food diet while on assignment. But a diet like this can exacerbate symptoms if you’re living with Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, or GERD.

Instead, adopt a low-residue diet or one with limited fiber intake to help reduce symptoms.

Whatever diet you decide to embrace, meal prepping can help ensure you stick to it and aren’t enticed by unhealthy food choices.

Next, get some exercise. Exercise not only helps keep your physical body healthy, but it can relieve stress and keep you sharp mentally, both of which are critical in travel nursing. It’s not so much about what you do. It’s how consistent you are with it.

So, whether it’s a 10-minute workout per day, a walk every other day, or the gym twice a week, choose something you enjoy and can remain consistent with, despite your hectic schedule as a travel nurse.

Finally, get on a regular sleep schedule. One of the worst things you can do for a chronic illness is not getting the rest you need. Healing and recovery happen during sleep. Allow your body the opportunity to experience this so that you can better work and live with your chronic illness.

Embrace Mental Health Care

Nurse.org recently prepared a State of Nursing report that revealed: “87% of nurses feel burnt out, and 83% feel their mental health has suffered.” Poor mental health and burnout can make managing a chronic illness even more challenging. It can also make it hard to be consistent with treatment.

So, embrace mental health care as you manage your chronic illness. Take note of how you are mentally throughout your journey with your chronic disease. Get firm diagnoses from a mental health care professional, if you can, to ensure you’re treating symptoms adequately.

If you don’t want to go the therapy or counseling route, you can tend to your mental health in these ways:

  • Take a vacation 
  • Recite daily affirmations
  • Implement a self-care routine
  • Discover new hobbies and passions
  • Take mental breaks whenever needed
  • Read books related to mental health
  • Adopt an inherently positive mindset

Develop a Better Relationship With Yourself

“Listen to your body.” How often have you heard or read this advice when seeking guidance for managing your chronic illness? Better yet, how often have you given this advice in your nursing duties?

As well-intentioned as this suggestion is, it’s not as helpful as one might think for someone managing a chronic illness. This is because aches and pains are often a daily occurrence, and not everyone should be met with worry, panic, or a trip to the emergency room. 

That said, listening to your body is still important to ensure you seek more serious help when warranted. So what do you do? Develop a better relationship with yourself and a more substantial familiarity with your body so that you can trust what you’re “listening” to and your decisions after that.

To help you cope with how hard it can be to “listen to your body” and develop this robust relationship with yourself, try the following:

  • Attend therapy regularly
  • Practice self-compassion and mindfulness activities
  • Join a community of travel nurses navigating a chronic illness
  • Refer to how things have fared in the past when difficult symptoms flare
  • Focus on positive outcomes and what you can control in your day-to-day
  • Journal about your symptoms, what triggers them, how you feel in certain situations, and your overall journey with your chronic illness

Travel nursing is physically and mentally demanding without a chronic illness. But with one, it can be even more taxing. Put the tips above to work to manage your chronic disease healthily and ensure it doesn’t disrupt your duties as a traveling nurse.

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.

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!)

By Kevin Devoto

January 17, 2023

1698 Views

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5 Ways Travel Nurses Can Market Themselves

Travel nursing has become a popular profession in recent years. This job lets you explore the country while helping those in need.

Unfortunately, the increased competition has made it hard for travel nurses to find work. You need to market yourself to employers to secure one of the few available positions in this field. Just as a businessman comes up with a sales plan to help him meet his revenue goals, you must create a strategy for locating and obtaining new assignments. Here are some tips for promoting yourself and your skills.

Travel Nurse Marketing tip:

1. Make Sure Your Resume Is Polished and Accurate

Many potential employers first get to know a traveling nurse by reviewing her resume. Keep your resume up-to-date and highlight any credentials or certifications you have obtained. Have a trusted friend or family member review the resume for any spelling or grammar errors.

If you are fluent in a foreign language, you should mention this on your resume, as well. This skill could be useful for international jobs.

Since hiring managers do not always read entire resumes, you should put your most valuable qualifications at the top of the resume. You may also want to make your own skills checklist. Most agencies require traveling nurses to fill out one of these checklists, so having one ready in advance will demonstrate your preparation.

2. Create a Website

A website is another way to show off your credentials.  Yet it should not just be a carbon copy of your resume. Instead, your website should feature a blog demonstrating your personality and experience as a traveling nurse.

Take advantage of search engine optimization techniques to increase the chances that a hiring manager or agency will locate your blog. If you are not an SEO expert, hire someone who is. You may also want to write guest posts on other websites to promote yourself further.

3. Utilize Social Media

Before making any hiring decisions, potential employers will search your name online. This means they will look at your various social media posts. You should thus delete any inappropriate pictures or comments immediately. You may also want to make your personal Twitter and Facebook accounts private.

However, you should maintain an active LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn allows you to find job listings and connect with others in the industry. Your profile should include a link to your professional website and the latest version of your resume.

4. Find a Recruiter

LinkedIn can also help you find a recruiter who can match you with your ideal job. Try speaking with several recruiters until you find one who best fits your needs. 

Once you have chosen a recruiter, stay in contact with him so you will remain at the top of his mind when a position becomes open. Communicate with the recruiter constantly, so he understands which types of assignments you prefer.

However, do not feel pressured to take every job the recruiter finds for you. If something about the position does not seem right, or if the job does not fit your needs, you should respectfully decline.

5. Interview Well

Your job interview is also a piece of the marketing process. Since it will likely be conducted over the phone, you should make sure your cell’s voicemail message is appropriate and professional.

Once your interview is scheduled, practice answering questions ahead of time. You should also do plenty of research into the company that is pursuing you. Come prepared with questions to show that you have done your homework. Do not forget to send a follow-up thank-you note after the interview, as well.

There are only a limited number of traveling nurse jobs available. By following these travel nurse marketing tips, you can increase your chances of landing one of these coveted gigs.

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.

By AMN Healthcare

January 10, 2023

1498 Views

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Make 2023 Your Healthiest Year Yet: Tips and Advice for Travel Nurses

AMN Healthcare provided this article.

As you ring in the new year, you may make some New Year’s resolutions. This year, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) is embracing a “Start Now” theme to help nurses live healthy lives in 2023.

Learn how to take control of your health and put yourself first this year.

Healthy Habits for Travel Nurses

Maintain a Healthy Diet

As a travel nurse, you probably often remind patients of the importance of a healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, grains, and lean protein. If you’re not taking professional advice, though, now is a great time to recommit to healthier eating habits.

Pressed for time, like many nurses are?

According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, these strategies may help you:

  • Use a meal kit or meal delivery service. These are convenient when you don’t have the time or energy to prepare a meal. All you have to do is follow the instructions.
  • Order lighter fare at restaurants and fast food restaurants. Vegetable-based entrees, as well as grilled chicken or baked or broiled fish, can be good options.
  • Watch your portion sizes. You can still indulge. Just do it in smaller amounts.

Don’t Discount Your Own Needs

If you’re suffering from nurse burnout, you’re not alone. And it may have come from prioritizing everyone else before yourself. Many nurses have internalized a mindset that they must “be a good, nice, acceptable person,” says Ann Becks, MSN, a nurse practitioner who retired so she could spend some time reconnecting with herself and mentoring others.

“When people learn the skills and tools to unhook from this conditioned way of responding and feel the groundedness of their truth, everything changes.”

So, don’t discount your own needs, physical and emotional. You’ll also do a better job caring for others if you’re taking care of yourself.

Even the small stuff counts. “It sounds cliche to say, ‘go take a walk’ or ‘build a Lego tower with your children’ or ‘read something you enjoy’ or ‘find a few minutes to gather with friends,’ but these small things truly make a big difference in your overall well-being,” says Sisk.

Get up and move more

Yes, you are on your feet a lot at work. But it would be best if you made some time to exercise to experience the many benefits that will improve your life. Research suggests that regular exercise will help you lose weight or maintain weight loss, sleep better at night, decrease your risk of cardiovascular disease, build bone and muscle strength, and improve your mood.

The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes of moderately-intense exercise to get your heart pumping per week. And yes, you can break it up into manageable chunks of time to make it fit better into your busy schedule.

Somethings to Try

  • Brisk walking
  • Water aerobics
  • Dancing
  • Gardening
  • Biking

Check with your employer to see if you get any relevant benefits. Sisk noted that Memorial Hermann offers on-site gym facilities and organizes competitive activities, such as weight loss and walking competitions, to motivate employees to incorporate more exercise into their lives.

Be intentional in all you do

Whatever you choose to do to improve your health, be intentional about it. You might even replace your New Year’s resolutions with intentions to help you maintain a positive attitude and make positive changes to your life.

“An intention focuses on your core values rather than some hard-to-attain goal,” says Teri Dreher, RN, founder of NShore Patient Advocates, based in Chicago. “It can be a powerful tool for change because it is forgiving and gives you room to explore and grow.”

2023 can be your healthiest yet! You can set out to make healthier choices. We hope that this list of tips helps get you started. Have you made any changes in your life to be your healthiest? Comment them below.

Are you looking for your next travel nurse assignment? Click here to view our job board. Do you need housing for an upcoming assignment? Click here to search our housing page.

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!)

By Skyler Zinn

January 3, 2023

2878 Views

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Can I Become a Travel Nurse With One Year of Experience?

Is one year of experience enough to become a travel nurse? Technically, yes. Some hospitals will accept new travelers with one year of experience in their chosen specialty. These contracts can be challenging to find, especially in high-acuity specialties, but they do exist. Most contracts require two years of nursing experience and at least one year in the contract’s specialty.

I am frequently asked by newer nurses whether or not they SHOULD choose to travel without two years of experience. That question is more complex than it appears, so here are some aspects of travel nursing to keep in mind.

Aspects of travel nursing to keep in mind:

  1. Do you feel competent in the role you are in?
  2. Travel nurses get minimal orientation at a new facility. Three shifts are typical for an orientation period, but I’ve heard plenty of stories about nurses getting less than two hours of training or being put directly on the unit as soon as they arrive. New travel nurses must feel comfortable with their role and be able to start on the floor with minimal help. When I started my last contract, I had to track down and start an IV medication for my critical ICU patient before I even got my computer login information! If you don’t feel ready for that yet, you might need more experience before becoming a travel nurse.
  3. Do you have good communication skills?
  4. As a traveler, you are expected to step up and seek answers independently. Do you need labs ordered? A medication dosage changed? A bedside commode for your patient? The phone number for the night shift cardiologist? While charge nurses and other staff members may try to help you, a travel nurse must be able to communicate those needs and advocate for their patients. If you can’t do that yet, you might not be prepared to be a travel nurse.
  5. Are you flexible?
  6. We joke about travel nursing being “the wild west,” but it’s true! I’ve shown up to take a patient load and had completely different patients by the end of the shift. We step in and out of different roles and are the first to be floated to other units. Flexibility is the name of the game! The ability to adjust to new situations is crucial as a traveler.
  7. Outside of the hospital setting, travel nurses tend to jump between housing options, drive across the country for assignments, and occasionally get contracts cut short unexpectedly. Are you mentally prepared to step out of your comfort zone? If not, you might still need to prepare to be a travel nurse.

However, if your answer is yes to the above questions, welcome to the show!

Travel nursing has equipped me to follow my professional and personal dreams. I left my staff job to become a travel nurse just a few months after hitting my one-year mark. I worked hard to build my communication skills, put myself in new situations, and purposefully prepared myself to become a travel nurse. 

During my first contracts, I learned how important it was to know my role and perform well in my specialty. I enjoyed my first contract and wished that I could’ve started sooner! 

However, I worked with another nurse who only had one year of experience, and she dreaded coming to work every day. She realized that she had started traveling because the pay was attractive but that she hadn’t given herself enough time to develop her skills properly. She finished her contract but returned to her staff job when she finished her contract. I am grateful that I gave myself the time I deserved to become a good nurse before I started traveling. I’ve seen countless nurses come and go who had the minimum experience required, and it’s honestly a mixed bag. Successfully traveling with one year of experience is possible if you prepare yourself!

If you’re considering becoming a travel nurse and only have one year of experience, I highly recommend you ask yourselves the above three questions. You are the only person who can decide if you’re truly ready to make the leap!

Did you start travel nursing with one year of experience? How has your journey been? Comment below.

To read more from Skyler, you can visit her website: The Zinn Diaries.

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.

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!)