August 19, 2021

5927 Views

Picking an Agency that Supports You on Your Nationwide Travels

Posted on August 19, 2021January 16, 2023 by TNAA- Travel Nurse Across America

This article was provided by TNAA.

Every travel nurse has a preference on where and how far they want to travel. Some nurses prefer to travel locally, some prefer to stay in the same U.S. region, and others fill a tiny SUV with all their belongings and drive thousands of miles to their next assignment. No matter which traveler you see yourself as you’ll always want to be backed by agency support when you take your life on the road. Here are a few benefits to look for when picking an agency.

Travel Reimbursement

A multi-state trek can be costly. It doesn’t matter if you choose to fly and have your belongings picked up by a professional moving service or you decide to haul your belongings by yourself; the price for traveling adds up quickly. Ask your travel nurse agency if they offer to cover part or all of the bill. Some travel nurse agencies will pay a hefty sum of the moving costs, but others might not reimburse you at all. For those agencies that do cover your travel expenses, ask when you can expect your reimbursement. Some agencies might put it on your first check, but others may wait.

Just be sure to keep your receipts, and if you’re driving, document your mileage at the start and the end of your cross-country trek. This documentation will likely be needed before your agency can send your travel reimbursement.

Traveler Perks

Say you’re trucking along to your next assignment, you’ve put miles on your tires, and suddenly, one goes flat. A vehicle issue is the last thing you have time for before starting your new healthcare job. It would be great if you could fall back on agency support when life’s roadblocks get in the way. See if your agency offers traveler perks, like discounts for rental cars or roadside assistance, so that you know help is available even when you’re in the middle of nowhere.

Housing Assistance

The housing market is tight right now, and last-minute scrambling for housing isn’t going to cut it. When you have everything lined up for your assignment except for a place to stay, you’ll want to see how your agency can help take the guesswork out of travel nurse housing.

You might opt for agency-provided housing or see if your agency has other resources for traveler-friendly housing. If you want to find a place to stay on your own, connect with your agency to see if they offer a housing stipend. Some travel nurse agencies even have a Payment Assistance Program to help with up-front costs, like a security deposit or the first month’s rent.

As a travel nurse, you have a helper’s heart. You’ve signed up to travel miles from home to aid others who need your care. Make sure you choose a travel nurse agency that simplifies the process and makes your job as a healthcare traveler as easy as possible.

We hope you found these tips for picking an agency that supports you on your nationwide travels helpful. Are there any tips you would share with fellow travel nurses when it comes to picking an agency? Comment them below.

Are you looking for your next travel nurse assignment? Click here to view our job board. Do you have your next assignment 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!)

By Janet Warton

August 18, 2021

137815 Views

Things That Every Travel Nurse Should Always Bring With Them

Posted on August 18, 2021August 13, 2021 by Janet Warton

The high number of COVID cases in the country has left many healthcare facilities understaffed. Travel nurses have been filling in the gaps throughout the pandemic, with 40,000 to 50,000 professionals deployed across the country daily. They generally work 13-week contracts, but these are often extended because of the continuing demands.

Every time they’re assigned to a new location, they’re often provided lodging with basic appliances and living essentials. However, there are some things that travel nurses should always pack no matter the scenario, particularly the following:

Important documents

Important travel nursing documents include various paperwork such as proof of vaccinations for certain illnesses, your social security card, and required certifications for your specialty. Of course, you shouldn’t forget your nursing license, credentials, and contract either.

Personal documents like your birth certificate, driver’s license, and insurance will also come in handy in case of emergencies. Aside from having the original copies or photocopies of these documents, you can also consider having digital versions of them in case you need to produce them or send them to offices remotely.

First-aid kit

You may be working in a health facility, but having your own first-aid kit also ensures that you have emergency supplies for when something happens outside of work, like in your lodging. This should be a health essential for you.

Your first-aid kit should have band-aids, bandages, cold compress packs, tape, gloves, thermometer, and a thermal blanket, among others. Vitamins and other over-the-counter medications should also be in the kit. If you have prescription pills, pack a full supply and take a copy of the prescription in case you’d need refills.

Ergonomic accessories

When you’re constantly moving from place to place, ergonomics may be the last thing you think about. But it’s actually especially important in situations like when you’re sleeping in an airport or cramped in a van. Ergonomic accessories help prevent aches and pains by keeping your body in a neutral position.

Ergonomic accessories reduce stress, tension, and pressure on certain body parts, particularly weight-bearing joints. A travel neck pillow provides neck and head support while relieving the pain and discomfort that comes with sleeping in an upright position while traveling. Meanwhile, an ergonomic keyboard supports the wrist, hands, and fingers – perfect for long hours typing up health reports. They’re shaped to relieve pressure and reduce the tension in the wrist tendons.

Clothes

Depending on how long you’ll be staying, you won’t have to take a lot of things from your wardrobe. Aside from the length of your stay, another thing you need to consider is the weather. If you’re being assigned to one of the colder states, like Maine or Wyoming, then bring heavier scrubs, some thermal underwear, and thicker clothing. Your travel wardrobe should contain casual outfits you can mix and match, work clothes, lounge/gym clothes, and one or two pieces of formal ensembles. As for footwear, bring your trusty sneakers, together with slippers and dressy shoes.

Packing the right items can be challenging for new travel nurses, but you’ll be able to form the perfect strategy as you get assigned to more locations. Start with these essentials and go from there.

Are you looking for your next travel nurse job? Click here to search our job board. Do you have your next job secured but need housing? Click here to search 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!)

By Marlon Wesh

August 17, 2021

9960 Views

The Travel Nurse’s Guide to a Money Plan When You’re Starting Out

Posted on August 17, 2021July 26, 2021 by Marlon Wesh

Hey travel nurses. So many conversations I have are with nurses that are 10 years or less from the start of their nursing careers.

They come to me because they know that they should be saving for their future. But for a nurse that has little responsibility towards others, like a partner or children, it can be really difficult to figure out how much to save or what to save for.

So today, I’m going to give you five tips for planning for your future, even if you’ve got no clue where to start.

Travel Nurse Money Plan

Tip #1: Self-Insure with an Emergency Fund

Make a plan to reduce your exposure to financial risk. This step should always begin with having an emergency fund – a pot of money that is cash and is set aside for when life doesn’t go the way you plan.

Things may break in your vehicle; things may break in your home, you may have unforeseen medical expenses. It’s always good to have between three months up to six months of cash – living expenses that you can draw on in times of emergency.

The second part of this piece is taking a look at your money-making machine (yourself) and ensuring that no matter what happens to you, that you’re still able to have an income.

What am I talking about?

I’m talking about Disability Insurance because the likelihood of you getting injured on the job as a nurse is so much higher than someone like myself that works in an office all day. So, having a good disability insurance policy will protect your income in times of injury when you can’t work.

Tip #2: Setup Sinking Funds

We’ve talked about emergency funds, but something even more important in my book is the sinking fund. These are the expenses that don’t happen every month but may happen every year.

When it comes time to pay them, it’s like: “Aww man, now it’s time to do that! I have to put it on the credit card.”

What am I talking about?

I’m talking about birthdays and holiday gifts. I’m talking about your utility bill that may be only billed every quarter instead of every month. I’m talking about your car maintenance – like changing your brakes, changing the oil, changing your tires – which don’t happen every month but may happen every year, every other year… what have you.

Have a plan to meet those expenses when they occur. So again, you don’t have to use your credit card to meet those expenses. That is the magic of a sinking fund.

Tip #3: Eliminate Your Revolving Debt

You’ve got to eliminate your revolving debt. Credit card debt is so debilitating because, unlike your car loan, your mortgage – even your student loans which hover anywhere from 3%,4-5%, credit card interest rate goes anywhere from 17% to 24%. It is extremely hard if you’ve got minimal income to get out of credit card debt. So, be as aggressive as possible in paying off your credit card debt and staying out of credit card debt.

Tip #4: When in Doubt Focus on a Savings Rate

Instead of focusing maybe on goals that you feel like you may not have, focus on a savings rate: anywhere from 10-12% of your gross annual income that you put away for long-term savings.

You should have a target of saving anywhere between 25-40 times your annual spending in order for you to retire comfortably. Most financial experts agree that saving anywhere between 25-40 times your annual spending allows you to have a comfortable rate of withdrawal of 4% every year from your retirement fund.

Tip #5: Plan for Future Opportunities

This is the kicker, right; if you’re a young nurse and you’re still within 5-10 years of the start of your career, and you may have not had some major milestones like purchasing your first home, it’s really important that you create what I call an opportunity fund.

An opportunity fund is what I call long-term savings that are held outside of your retirement account, so you are able to take opportunities as they come, like putting a down payment on a home. Perhaps it means moving across the country to pursue a higher-paying job; it also might mean going back to grad school to get an advanced degree. These are all items that require large cash outlays that if all your savings are tied up in retirement accounts, you won’t be able to access them without penalty.

So, my advice is, again, if you’re between 5 and 10 years from the start of your career and you haven’t quite made it yet to those major life milestones like purchasing a home, maybe getting married, going back to grad school if that’s your intention. Keep 25% of your total annual savings – liquid – in a taxable investment account.

Nurses, these tips are just broad concepts to help you to start formulating a plan for your money when you don’t know where to start. Of course, I always stress that working with an expert to help you meet your financial objectives will ultimately be what’s best for you. But if you take these 5 tips, you will be well on your way to healthy finances.

We hope you found these tips for setting up your money plan as a travel nurse. Have you created your own money plan? Comment those below.

Are you a travel nurse looking for your next travel nurse assignment? Click here to view our job board. Have you secured your assignment 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!)

By AB Staffing Solutions

August 16, 2021

6734 Views

Changing Travel Nurse Specialties

Posted on August 16, 2021January 14, 2022 by AB Staffing Solutions

This article was provided by AB Staffing.

Have you ever considered changing travel nurse specialties? If you have, you are not alone. COVID has made us all adapt in ways we never dreamed of. From how we travel or communicate with loved ones to thinking about our careers. Many nurses have been inspired to continue giving back. We’ve had staff nurses move to travel so they can serve in hard-hit areas of the country like New York City at the height of the pandemic or move to a new specialty to serve where they are most needed. Before you make the change, consider the following:

What are your strengths? As a travel nurse, there are different skills that are needed, and some required, that may be different from what you experience as a staff nurse or even a traveler. If you like to stay busy and are fast on your feet as a Med/Surg or Tele nurse, then maybe the emergency room would be great for you. If you enjoy working with the older population, you may also have the patience to work with younger patients in the NICU or PICU. When it comes to changing your nursing specialty, it is important to think about your strengths and where they can be translated into a different area.

What specialties are you considering? Research areas in which you are interested to see how your skills, experience, and certifications would transfer. While you may want to move to a particular area, it may require additional credentialing that could take more time than you desire, while another may require minimal re-education and training. The Johnson & Johnson Discover Nursing site is a great resource to learn about more than 100 different nursing specialties. Reviewing job postings and job descriptions will also help you decide where – or if – you will want to move to a new specialty.

What experience is needed to switch? Most positions require that you have experience in an area before becoming a traveler in that specialty. That may mean remaining a staff nurse in order to gain that experience. If you’re looking to become a traveler sooner rather than later, you may need to stick to where you already have the experience.

Have you talked to your Recruiter? Before changing travel nurse specialties, talk to your Recruiter and ask questions about hours, day-to-day tasks, type of patients, and skill requirements. It is rare, but you may find you can build your resume with skills that translate to the desired position while in your current contract.

Who do you know? The four words you need in a job search are – who do you know? What we really mean is to network with travel nurses who are working in the specialty you desire. Asking questions and learning more about their experience is a great way to learn whether or not it is right for you. You may learn that working with geriatric patients can be rewarding because they offer their stories and experiences or that your original excitement for ICU goes away when you think about dealing with trauma patients and death. It’s worth a few conversations to figure it out.

Have you told your Agency? In the process of exploring options with your Recruiter, be sure to update your information and let them know you’re open to opportunities in the top nursing specialties. That way, they can be researching a new contract for you while you’re completing your current one.

As a travel nurse, you will likely find the opportunity to move within your contracted facility challenging. This is because they’ve hired you for a certain job to fulfill a need they had at the time they hired you. While talking to your manager may be a good idea if you have a good relationship with them, it may be better to talk to your Recruiter. They will know more about upcoming contracts at the facility and/or needs in area hospitals that would fit your desire to change specialties.

If you’re meant to be a travel nurse, AB Staffing can help you find or change travel specialties to meet your needs and goals. Contact us today to learn more!

Are you looking for your next travel nurse assignment? Click here to view our job board. Are you looking for housing for your next assignment? 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!)

By AMN Healthcare

August 13, 2021

5012 Views

How Mindfulness Can Improve Nurses’ Mental and Physical Health

Posted on August 13, 2021January 16, 2023 by AMN Healthcare

This article was provided by AMN Healthcare.

Mindfulness interventions are helping nurses relieve stress during trying times.

Every afternoon at 3 p.m., three chimes ring out in the hallways of Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital in Oceanside, New York.

The chimes are repeated at 10 p.m. each evening. They’re a gentle reminder to all who hear them to stop what they’re doing and breathe, to notice how they’re feeling in that moment. Then they can be ready to refocus.

“It has been really well received,” said Eileen Hinrichs, BSN, RN, NC-BC, chair of the holistic council at Mount Sinai South Nassau.

Perhaps that’s because everyone is feeling extra stressed these days—whether from COVID cases or just general patient care—and can benefit from a few moments to focus on the present and recenter themselves. This is the hallmark of mindfulness, and a growing number of people, including many healthcare professionals, find that embracing mindfulness can help improve their health.

In fact, mindfulness is a key technique to aid in self-care for nurses, which is the emphasis for the first week of Nurses Month 2021.

What the research says

Mindfulness is staying present in the moment, paying attention to how you feel and what’s going on around you. It’s not letting your mind race ahead of you into the future or agonizing over something that happened in the past.

“If you want to boil it down to one thing, it’s noticing where your attention is at any given moment,” says John Shepard, RN, a critical care nurse at Indiana University Health.

If that sounds like it might help you, that’s for good reason. A growing body of research confirms the benefits of mindfulness meditation and mindfulness-based interventions.

For example, a 2018 systematic review of more than 140 randomized clinical trials published in Clinical Psychology Review found that mindfulness interventions effectively addressed clinical symptoms of psychiatric disorders like depression and addiction. In fact, the researchers found that they were more effective than evidence-based treatments in some situations.

When you are able to reduce your stress levels, it has a positive impact on your body, too. For example, a 2013 study published in Psychosomatic Medicine suggested that incorporating some mindfulness techniques into your life may help you lower your blood pressure. And a 2017 study in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that mindfulness meditation could be useful in conjunction with other strategies to reduce a person’s risk of cardiovascular disease.

How healthcare organizations embrace mindfulness

In recognition of the benefits, a growing number of healthcare organizations are finding ways to embrace mindfulness and make it part of their organizational culture.

Shepard began his own mindfulness practice about seven years ago. He used a guided meditation app with a smartphone in a small open area just off the ICU before beginning his shifts.

“Slowly, people started joining me. That was kind of cool,” he remembers. Eventually, leadership took notice and asked him to coordinate a mindfulness program for the organization. Today, a big part of his job is encouraging fellow nurses and others to learn how to use mindfulness in their daily lives.

Shepard can tell others how mindfulness has personally helped him. The ICU is a very stressful place, where people can and often do get pushed to their limits, and he remembers getting anxious and tense.

“These practices helped me notice that a little bit earlier, so I could actually practice bringing some awareness to it,” he said.

Mount Sinai South Nassau also deliberately incorporates opportunities for staff to learn stress reduction techniques, including mindfulness, and practice self-care. One recent example is a 15-minute reflective spring meditation workshop to help participants learn how to use simple stress-management tools to feel calmer and more balanced.

These techniques can be especially useful today, in a time when people are so connected via technology that it can be hard to really remove yourself enough to decompress. “There’s never downtime,” noted Hinrichs. ‘We are connected continuously and bombarded by technology.”

Over this past year of the pandemic, making space to be silent and reset has become even more crucial. And that’s what learning and using a few simple mindfulness strategies can help people accomplish.

Try these mindfulness apps and techniques.

If your organization offers mindfulness practice sessions or other stress reduction opportunities, be sure to check them out. Or on your own time, you can try a few of these simple activities:

Listen to guided meditation. Try a free mindfulness app like Smiling Mind or UCLA Mindful or a subscription app like Headspace or Calm.

Breathe deeply. Taking a few long, slow, deep breaths from your belly can do wonders when it comes to helping you calm down and feel a little less frenzied. While you inhale and exhale, concentrate on how it feels.

Observe mindfully. Choose a nearby object, perhaps something visible through a window, to look at. Look at it carefully and try to notice as much as you can about it: its size, color, shape, whether or not it’s moving, etc. Don’t label or judge what you see. Just observe.

Whenever you’re engaging in a mindfulness activity, if you feel your mind starting to wander, notice that, too. Then deliberately bring your attention back to the moment, to the present. Don’t feel guilty about it or fret about it. It often takes some time and practice to stay focused.

Experts note that when you consistently practice mindfulness, it will shift your perception. You may be more likely to default to a positive attitude rather than a negative outlook.

“When you practice mindfulness, it’s a lot easier to do that,” said Hinrichs.

Are you looking for your next travel nurse job? Click here to search our job board. Do you have your next job secured but need housing? Click here to search 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!)

By Kevin Devoto

August 12, 2021

5768 Views

3 Ways to Get High-Quality Sleep as a Travel Nurse

Posted on August 12, 2021July 26, 2021 by Kevin Devoto

Being a nurse can be an incredibly difficult yet rewarding profession. Nurses are credited for being instrumental in providing good care for patients in hospitals, nursing facilities, and more. There are many perks to this profession, one of them being that they can be very flexible. Nurses are needed seven days a week, 24 hours a day, so nurses can choose to work night shifts or weekends if that is better for their schedule. Nurses are also needed in all areas, so they can move to a desired location and likely find a nursing position wherever. Some nurses choose to be travel nurses, which is when they take short-term contracts in various parts of the country.

Travel nursing is a great opportunity for you to explore different parts of the country for shorter amounts of time. Most assignments are only a few months long, so if you don’t like where you are, you know you can move in just a few months. With constant moving and getting adjusted to new environments, you may find that getting quality sleep is difficult. There are a few things you can do to get high-quality sleep no matter where your travel nursing contract takes you.

Tips for getting high-quality sleep

1. Purchase Good Bedding

Your living accommodations while being a travel nurse may include fully-furnished homes, but you may want to be pickier with your bed than with your kitchen table. It can be advantageous to purchase your own travel mattress, pillows and sheets so you can have peace of mind knowing that your bedding is not only clean but comfortable. Different people like different types of bedding, but some mattress shopping tips are to have a budget in mind before you start shopping and test out a variety, so you are less likely to have to return it in the future. This is the same with pillows: know how much you are willing to spend on them and test out a few different kinds so that you are happy and comfortable when sleeping. You can also research different sheets and decide if you like cotton sheets, jersey sheets, or flannel sheets, among other options.

2. Maintain a Sleep Routine

One of the best things to do to get high-quality sleep, along with having a comfortable bed, is having a regular sleep schedule. This means that you go to bed and wake up around the same time every day. This can be difficult when you have to wake up early for work every day and love sleeping in, but it can throw off your body’s routine and make you feel more tired and not sleep as well if you don’t abide somewhat by the schedule. It can also be difficult if you work the night shift, but if you can go to sleep and wake up within a few hours on days you are working or not working, it can help you sleep better throughout the week. It is also beneficial to try to keep your night shift work regular, meaning that you do not frequently change from working days to nights.

3. Take Care of Your Body

What you eat, drink and do during the day can have a big impact on your sleep. Trying to sleep when you are too hungry or too full can impact your sleep quality. Additionally, drinking caffeine or alcohol close to when you are going to sleep can negatively impact your sleep. Though you probably walk around and move a lot while working, engaging in physical activity on your days off is important too. While you probably work long days indoors, spending some time outside every day can help your body feel better as well. If you have any breaks during the day, consider spending 15-20 minutes outside. Taking good care of your body can not only help you perform better at work but also help you get high-quality sleep each and every night.

We hope you found these tips for getting high-quality sleep helpful. Are you a travel nurse who has found ways to get high-quality sleep, even on nights? Have some tips to share with fellow travel nurses? Comment them below.

Are you a travel nurse looking for your next assignment? Click here to visit our job board. Do you have your 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!)

By Favorite Healthcare Staffing

August 11, 2021

5144 Views

Healthy Tips to Support a Travel Nurse Lifestyle!

Posted on August 11, 2021July 20, 2021 by Favorite Healthcare Staffing

This article was provided by Favorite Healthcare.

Travel Nurses are always on the go during their assignments, making it sometimes difficult to stay on top of mental and physical health. Whether you are hitting the road for the first time or are looking to adopt new healthy habits, here are some helpful tips to keep you healthy while on your travel nursing assignment!

Maintain Your Physical Health

Living the travel nurse lifestyle, it can be difficult to make your physical health a priority. You come home from a long and exhausting shift, and the last thing you want to do is fit in a workout. Here are some simple ways to stay healthy:

Join a local gym that you can attend on your days off or when you just need to relieve the stresses of work. Make sure to do your research to find the best fit for you.
Don’t want to join a gym? No problem! Order a few resistance bands to do body workouts wherever you are!
Go on walks or hikes. There is nothing better than a long walk while enjoying the beauty of nature wherever you are.
Even the simplest forms of physical activity can be good for you! Whether that is walking to the local coffee shop you discovered or taking a morning stroll on the beach, keep your body moving.
Always stay hydrated! Water is vital for the human body to function properly throughout the day so make sure you have a good water bottle on hand. You can even find a 64-ounce water bottle to make sure you get your full water intake throughout the day.

Sleep Makes Everything Better

Working long shifts every day can be extremely stressful and draining. Sleep is important to help you maintain your physical and mental wellbeing, but catching some Z’s isn’t always as easy as it sounds for a nurse. Here are some ways to keep a regular sleep schedule:

Make your space your own. Bringing cozy items with you while you’re on assignment like your pillow, favorite blanket or slippers can help you stay relaxed.
When it’s time to sleep, keep your room cool, dark, and even find a comfortable sleep mask to block out any extra light.
Sound machines are great to bring with you on a travel assignment. If you don’t have one you can even play white noise straight from your phone. A variety of music apps have different playlists that can help you fall asleep and stay asleep.
Ensure that you have a regular bedtime routine in place. Whether you enjoy reading a book or prefer to limit screen time before bed, having a consistent routine every day will help your body prepare itself for a good night’s sleep.

Don’t Neglect Your Mental Health

The travel nurse lifestyle can sometimes mean that you will have time alone or that you might be far away from your friends, family, and loved ones. This could put a strain on your mental health. Here are some tips for supporting good mental health:

Make sure to research the location you are heading to. If you are traveling alone, you can fill up your schedule with activities and adventures to keep your mind and body active.
Have nothing to do in a new city? Working extra shifts is always a good option and a terrific way to make extra money!
Add yoga, breathing exercises, or a form of meditation to your workouts for a particularly good stress reliever. It’s also the perfect way to stretch and heal your body after working a long shift.
Remember that it’s always okay to ask for help. There are many online resources you can use if you are feeling down or just need someone to talk to, and here’s a great place to start. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. It takes tremendous strength and shows that you care about your body and wellbeing.

Happy Healthy Wallet

While traveling from place to place, the cost of food and travel can add up quickly, and expenses may be higher than you expect. As a travel nurse, healthy eating habits are important to improve and maintain your energy throughout shifts. Going out to eat may be quick and convenient, but overspending on eating out is not the healthiest way to live. There are many easy ways to save money while also keeping your body healthy! Here are some tips on how to keep a happy, healthy wallet:

If you are staying in an Air BnB or a location where you can cook, it could help save you money. Meal prepping is such an easy way to have food ready to go throughout the week, making life easier when you work 12 hours a day.
Eat your fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Eating these higher-quality foods will help keep your energy up. It is also cheaper than buying snacks from a vending machine.
Limit your eating out to one or two times a week. The costs of eating out can add up quickly and often a restaurant’s portions are much bigger than what you would eat at home.

The travel nurse lifestyle can be tiring at times but is overall so rewarding! Not only do you help and heal others, but you also get to visit some breathtaking places and experience amazing adventures across the country. Just don’t forget to also take care of yourself during your travels. Practice each of these tips, and you’ll be on your way to creating a healthy lifestyle as a travel nurse!

Are you looking for your next travel nurse assignment? Click here to view our job board. Do you have your assignment lined up 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!)

By Furnished Finder

August 10, 2021

8272 Views

Tips for Surviving the Travel Nursing Housing Crunch

Posted on August 10, 2021January 3, 2024 by Furnished Finder

There is currently a housing crunch for travel nurses. Lack of available housing inventory and high prices have made finding housing difficult for many travel RNs across the US. The problem is expected to continue for the next several months. In this Gypsy Nurse Live session, we interview two travel nurse housing experts, Ashley Graham, Director of Housing for Travel Nurse Across America, and Brian Payne, CEO of Furnished Finder, to not only find out what is causing the crunch but, more importantly how to survive it in your next travel nursing assignment. In addition, this short video will provide tips that travel nurses can use when working with their agencies to find housing or seeking housing on their own.

Tips for Surviving the Travel Nursing Housing Crunch

About TNAA:

Travel Nurse Across America Setting the Standard in Service! At Travel Nurse Across America, we take pride in doing things differently. We place our nurses on high-paying jobs in exciting locations across the country, but it’s our service before, during, and after your assignment that sets us apart. Our dedicated, supportive staff understands how stressful preparing for a travel nursing job can be, and that’s why we put our experience to work for you to remove the headaches and send you smoothly on your way. Across our recruiting, clinical, quality assurance, payroll, and housing teams, we promise to go out of our way to offer you an exceptional customer service experience. Let Us Show You the Difference Our Service Can Make!

About Furnished Finder:

Furnished Finder is a short-term housing provider for travel nurses and other business travelers who need furnished housing. We boast a 92-day average stay and are major data providers for corporate housing coordinators and medical staffing companies across the US. Additionally, property owners list their available short-term apartments on Furnished Finder, as healthcare travelers command a consistent appetite for traditional corporate housing and alternative housing types alike.

By Mike Khorev

August 9, 2021

4390 Views

Supporting Family and Friends When Dealing With A Loved One’s Traumatic Brain Injury

Posted on August 9, 2021July 19, 2021 by Mike Khorev

An injury to the brain can alter the way an individual experiences physical stimuli and emotions. They could suffer mild or significant changes in how they experience emotions and how they behave. This can be extremely difficult for family and friends to cope with, and a highly skilled nurse can do a lot to support them in learning how best to support their loved ones.

In these circumstances, it can be frustrating as a traveling nurse to rarely be in a role for the full duration of a TBI recovery. Not spending adequate time connecting with the victims’ support network can make it harder to effectively support and guide them. However, there are still many ways in which you can provide vital support during what time you do have with them.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) can cause a previously gentle and composed person to lose self-control. It is important to help their family and friends understand that they may witness out-of-character outbursts of anger or aggression or be the subject of insensitive comments that could feel hurtful and confusing.

Equally, the opposite could be the case. A previously vivacious person may become apathetic in what is also known as the flat effect. This can also be deeply concerning and confusing to the victim’s loved ones.

Nurses understand that it is of utmost importance to treat a TBI victim with care and sensitivity. However, since the injury is not physically visible, loved ones can often become frustrated and struggle to cope and may judge them unfairly or treat them inappropriately.

Here are some of the mistakes that family and friends can make and what you can do to help.

Inappropriately expressing frustration over their inability to recall

Most people who suffer from Traumatic Brain Injury also experience challenges in remembering.

Having to repeat oneself several times can be frustrating. Ordinarily, we would ask, “how many times do I have to tell you?”

Such a sarcastic comment may seem suitable to a support person who, in their frustration, secretly hopes that a push in that direction will spur the patient on to remember. However, in the case of a person with TBI, it will only make things worse.

A compassionate nurse can encourage a patient’s loved ones to deepen their understanding and find gentler ways of supporting progress. Suggest the use of a memo board and focus on improving sensitive communication skills. Demonstrate that using kind gestures can help them remember. You could also introduce them to studies showing that Brain Training and Cognitive Therapy techniques can help reverse the situation.

Blunt remarks about their change in behavior

A brain injury could also cause changes in personality or behavior, one of the most common signs being irritability. It could be a direct result of brain injury or an indirect outcome of psychological effects like anxiety, chronic headaches, insomnia, or depression.

While dealing with their own traumatic array of emotions, the patient’s loved ones can struggle to manage their reactions.

It can be hard for them to keep their cool, and it is common to react negatively and critically, which only makes the situation worse.

Give these support people whatever time you can manage to have them feel heard and understood with compassion. Encourage them to seek some support of their own through a counseling service – an online counselor could be more affordable and easier to access. Other simple recommendations for positive change could help exponentially, too. For instance, changing the diet, supplements, or medication can help them cope. Other changes could require more effort, like changes in routines. But ask the questions to help ensure that they are taking care of their own wellbeing and making healthy choices to help them to cope.

Denial about the signs of Traumatic Brain Injury

Although brain injury may be invisible to the eye, the signs are not. It’s hard to turn a blind eye to the behavior changes, challenges in remembering, inability to focus, and other psychological effects.

It is common for some loved ones to make it worse by either being genuinely oblivious to these changes or subconsciously opting for denial as a coping strategy. When they make comments like “you seem fine to me,” it could worsen the situation.

Sometimes, they may not recognize issues like apathy or depression for what they are, and instead, take them to be a form of laziness, and become critical towards the victim.

Help them avoid this downward spiral by gently encouraging them to accept the situation’s reality and seek help from a counseling professional.

traumatic brain injury — Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

How to help

As every nurse knows, every person’s experience with TBI is as unique as their fingerprint. But, inexperienced and traumatized loved ones can struggle to comprehend the changes. Symptoms like difficulties with memory, recurrent chronic headaches, and behavior issues like irritability, depression, and anxiety can prove overwhelming on top of recovering from the initial shock and trauma of the injury itself.

Remind them that they are not helpless. Aside from reaching out to a counselor, you can suggest these adjustments:

Encourage them to breathe deeply and keep calm, especially when the individual has an emotional outburst.
Acknowledge their feelings compassionately and give them a chance to let them out.
Support them in learning how to respond positively and gently provide feedback when the individual regains control.
Introduce the strategy of redirecting the focus to a different topic or activity.
Set up an easily accessible memo board to help with the patient’s recall.

It is also prudent and may help to support the family further to ensure that they have consulted with a lawyer if appropriate. The brain injury could be due to another party’s fault. Perhaps the individual was involved in an automobile accident, operated faulty equipment, fell in a public place, or something went wrong during a medical procedure. In such cases, legal help is crucial. A TBI lawyer can inform patients and family members regarding their rights and guide them in claiming compensation. This can take a huge burden off their shoulders, allowing them more mental energy to cope with the changes.

Final thoughts

As a traveling nurse, your role in a patient’s traumatic brain injury recovery may be fleeting. However, you can still do so much to positively impact their road to recovery and provide them with invaluable support and information that can significantly improve their journey forwards and that of the patients.

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