HealthcareTraveler.com

Transcription

Healthcare
Traveler
Information for Healthcare Professionals on the Move
facebook.com/HealthcareTraveler
twitter.com/HealthTraveler
August 2013 Vol. 21 No. 2
Overtime
mandate
can benefit
travel
nurses
aveling
children
page16
page10
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ES286255_hct0813_cv1.pgs 07.23.2013 21:04
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Travel Nursing
Weekend excursions.
Signtseeing.
Backcountry camping. Live. Roller coasters.
Enjoy.
Sunshine. Deep-sea fishing.
Fun.
Hot-air balloon rides. Reconnect with friends.
Walks in Central Park. Surf in South Beach.
Beachside hotel.
Hike through the Ozarks. Invigorate.
Love.
Breathe. Relax.
Road trip.
Unpack your dreams
Learn more about the best
recruiters in the industry
Experience your own perfect version of summer by
choosing an assignment from our vast array of fun
opportunities. Our friendly recruiters will create a
custom travel package for you with great pay and
benefits. Ready to make some memories? Contact
us today!
866.515.1018
or visit us at www.RNnetwork.com
Samantha, RNnetwork recruiter
RNnetwork has earned
The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval.
© 2013 RNnetwork HT13
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ES284478_HCT0813_CV2_FP.pgs 07.18.2013 23:39
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Healthcare
Traveler
YOUR VOICE
❯❯Perspectives
4 Your World
Start a prosperous career
5 Agency Insights
Choosing the right travel
assignment
6 Your Career
Beef up your resume to ensure
results
32 Your shift
Presenting a
positve image
AUGUST 2013 | Vol. 21 No. 2
❯❯Traveler Resources
Tips & Techniques
to Enhance Life on the Road
24 In the Bag
Items travelers take on assignment
26 Tech Support
Useful apps, sites, software, and
more
7 Your News
Seeking work opportunities
without a BSN?
®
COVER STORY
❯❯Expanding Horizons
Professional Development
Tools for Travelers
10
page
28 Starter's Kit
Pay is just part of the picture
31 Going the Distance
Going online at UT Tyler
❯❯Travelogue
Snapshots from Across
Town & Across the Country
21 On Assignment
Making a lasting impression
Articles in Healthcare Traveler are indexed in the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied
Health Literature (CINAHL).
Healthcare Traveler (ISSN 1077-5676 (print), ISSN 1946-1100 (online)) is published monthly
by Advanstar Communications, Inc., 131 West 1st Street, Duluth, MN 55802-2065. Periodicals
postage paid at Duluth, MN and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address
changes to Healthcare Traveler, PO Box 6000, Duluth, MN 55806-6000. Printed in the U.S.A.
Canadian G.S.T. Number: # R-124213133RT001, PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40612608.
Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: IMEX Global Solutions, P.O. Box 25542, London,
ON N6C 6B2 CANADA.
Healthcare Traveler is distributed free of charge in the United States and Canada to nurses
and allied healthcare providers who travel, or would consider travel as a career opportunity.
Single copies (prepaid only): $12.00 in the United States; $14.00 Canada/Mexico; $16.00 all
other countries. Healthcare Traveler is available on a paid subscription basis to nonqualified
readers at the rate of: U.S. and Possessions: 1 year, $39.00; 2 years, $78.00; Canada/Mexico: 1
year, $54.00; 2 years, $108.00; All other countries: 1 year, $54.00; 2 years, $108.00. Back issues,
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❯❯Career Service Center
Matching Travelers
with Job Opportunities
16
page
25 Ad Index
if available: $23.00 in the U.S.; $25.00 Canada/Mexico; $26.00 all other countries. Include $6.50
per order plus $2.00 per additional copy for U.S. postage and handling. If shipping outside the
U.S., include an additional $10.00 per order plus $2.00 per additional copy.
©2013 Advanstar Communications Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication
may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical
including by photocopy, recording, or information storage and retrieval without permission
in writing from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal/educational or
personal use, or the internal/educational or personal use of specific clients is granted by
Advanstar Communications Inc. for libraries and other users registered with the Copyright
Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Dr. Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400 fax 978-646-8700 or
visit http://www.copyright.com online. For uses beyond those listed above, please direct your
written request to Permission Dept. fax 440-756-5255 or email: mcannon@advanstar.com.
Advanstar Communications Inc. provides certain customer contact data (such as customer's
name, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses) to third parties who wish to promote
relevant products, services, and other opportunities that may be of interest to you. If you do not
want Advanstar Communications Inc. to make your contact information available to third parties
for marketing purposes, simply call toll-free 866-529-2922 between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and
5 p.m. CST and a customer service representative will assist you in removing your name from
Advanstar’s lists. Outside the U.S., please phone 218-740-6477.
Healthcare Traveler does not verify any claims or other information appearing in any of the
advertisements contained in the publication, and cannot take any responsibility for any losses
or other damages incurred by readers in reliance on such content.
Healthcare Traveler welcomes unsolicited articles, manuscripts, photographs, illustrations, and
other materials but cannot be held responsible for their safekeeping or return.
Library Access Libraries offer online access to current and back issues of Healthcare Traveler
through the EBSCO host databases.
To subscribe, call toll-free 888-527-7008. Outside the U.S. call 218-740-6477.
August 2013 Healthcare Traveler
ES286711_hct0813_001.pgs 07.24.2013 01:53
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1
ADV
We want to hear from YOU
YOUR VOICE
Tell us what you think of Healthcare Traveler.
Email us at dbennett@advanstar.com
7.13 Question
of the
com
Month
Have you ever encountered
a violent patient ?
MARY KAY RUSSELL
Yes, waking up after
surgery and started swinging.
June 25 at 12:30pm · Like
JENEICE PARR WASCHLE
Thank god for restraints
June 25 at 3:40pm via mobile · Like
JANE ELIZABETH LAMPMAN
I just recently suffered rib contusions, which put me on reduced
duty due to a violent patient
kicking me across the room!
June 27 at 1:29pm · Edited · Like
MIKE DURIO
I don’t know anyone in healthcare
working with direct patient contact
who hasn’t encountered a violent
patient. The question shouldn’t
be “if” anyone has encountered
violent patients; it should be
“how many?” I can’t even count
how many violent patients I’ve
encountered in my fifteen years
as an RN.
June 27 at 11:18am · Like
MICHELLE MCDOWELL
How does one handle an abusive patient when management
refuses to curtail the behavior?
Top
states
for traveling
TOP 10 STATES TO TRAVEL
Some travlers like the big attitude of
Texas. Otheres like the pristine beaches
of Hawaii. We published our own top
10 states to travel. You may have your
your own.
Have a favorite state for an
assignment? Let us know at:
HealthcareTraveler.com/TopStates
July 5 at 10:45pm · Like
TERESA BELLER
Yes - and my manager told
me, “We failed that patient.”
She wasn’t the one being
threatened!
Vote
Soon!
July 17 at 12:25pm · Like
TRAVELERS OF THE YEAR
DIGITAL EDITIONS
8.13
Question
In August, nominate your choice
for Traveler or Recruiter of the Year.
Nomination forms will be available
online at
HealthcareTraveler com
of the
Month
YOUR HEALTH
Do you think
travelers should
have to work
overtime? Why?
iPad and iTunes
Download it for free today at
HealthcareTraveler.com/HealthcareTravelerApp
A recipient of the
prestigious IDEA
Lifetime Achievement
Award, Kathy Smith
has enlightened millions about the virtues
of physical fitness. You
can catch her column
in the next issue of
Healthcare Traveler.
FaceBook
Favorites
Recently, we asked readers
what they looked for in a
staffing agency. Here are
some of the responses.
NICHOLAS DE GUZMAN
Benefits, bonus, good staff
service.good pay
July 1 at 1:01pm via mobile
• Like
KAY EPI SLANE
A great recruiter can make
all the difference in the
world!
July 1 at 1:39pm • Like
DARRYL ROTHERFORTH
Personal contact, a variety
of opportunities, reasonable remuneration, prompt
payroll and resolution of
payroll issues
VALARIE WONDER
Support, a great recruiter,
honesty.
CAROL CHAPPELL
JONES BURREY
I like when they call just
to see how I’m doing
on a new job.
MICHELLE MCDOWELL
Follow through; there’s nothing worse than a recruiter
who says he’ll submit you to
a few places and then never
calls back. Feedback is very
important, too, along with
benefits, and higher pay.
HEALTHCARE TRAVELER NEWSLETTER
Free weekly newletters offer timely
information on nursing.
Answer at
Facebook by going to
HealthcareTraveler.com/TravelerOvertime
Sign up!
Healthcare_Traveler/main.html
Let’s Be Friends
2
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Healthcare Traveler August 2013
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PA R T O F T H E
Healthcare Traveler is part of the
ModernMedicine Network, a Webbased portal for health professionals
offering best-in-class content and
tools in a rewarding and easy-to-use
environment for knowledge-sharing
among members of our community.
ROY MARSHALL BENNETT
Doing what they do well.
No surprises.
www.healthcaretraveler.com
ES287294_hct0813_002.pgs 07.24.2013 19:58
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MEDSTAFF
GETS
ME
MedStaff took the time to get to know me... beyond the job.
My Recruiter knows that on my days off I
always have my camera in hand, looking
for something unexpected to shoot.
Whether IÕm by a state park or a national
monument, she gets that I love nursing
but I love photography too.
This is why I MedStaff.
Call Us! 866.379.2162
medstaffinc.com
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MedStaff is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
ES284480_HCT0813_003_FP.pgs 07.18.2013 23:39
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your
world
Start a prosperous career
B
efore you enjoy a long and prosperous career as a healthcare traveler,
you first have to cobble together enough meaningful assignments.
That’s with any job.
Of course before you score that first assignment, you must convince the
decision makers that you’re the best candidate. That involves possessing the
necessary qualifications and skillsets, creating a resume that will impress
when it’s read.
What to include in your resume — and what not to include — can be an
important key to landing the next opportunity.
To assist you in your long and prosperous working journey, we’ve
launched a new department, Your Career. This month, Chuck Bruscell,
senior account manager at MedSource Travelers, provides information that
traveling candidates should incorporate in their resume.
Some items to include are:
past travel assignments, staff positions, and area(s) of specialty;
list the facility’s name, including the specific campus, if the hospital
has multiple facilities;
the department(s) to which you were assigned.
If there’s one vibe that shines
through in Chuck’s first column,
YOUR VOICE
it’s that the more detailed your resume, the better.
In next month’s issue, we plan
to go a step further with our cover
story by detailing what a traveler
What mistake
encounters when he or she engages
a recruiting firm for the first time.
have you made
We provide readers a first-hand
account on what to expect when
when applying for
a traveler walks in the door, the
documentation he or she should
an assignment
have on hand, and how the process
Answer at Facebook by going to
unwinds as the recruiter assists in
checking all of the boxes.
HealthcareTraveler.com/JobApplication
Like putting together a traveling
bag of necessary items before hitting the road — map, GPS, a solid
pair of sneakers — filling your briefcase with the necessary tools can ensure
a prosperous journey in your professional field. ■
··
·
David Bennett
Content Editor | dbennett@advanstar.com
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GROUP, EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT
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EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT,
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BUSINESS SYSTEMS
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SR VICE-PRESIDENT
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VICE-PRESIDENT, MEDIA OPERATIONS
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VICE-PRESIDENT, LEGAL
VICE-PRESIDENT, ELECTRONIC
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Michael Bernstein
J Vaughn
ES285973_hct0813_004.pgs 07.23.2013 19:10
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Agency Insights
JOEL T R E M BL AY
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
Healthcare Traveler’s Editorial Advisory Board was
established to provide the magazine with input from
industry leaders to help develop editorial content.
Members are chosen by the magazine’s editors to offer
insight into the topics covered by Healthcare Traveler,
and to provide a voice and leadership for the healthcare
traveling industry.
TRAVEL HEALTH MEMBERS
Pam Campbell, RN,
Trustaff
Rose Cousineau, RN,
Medical Express
Barbara A. Craig, RN, director of surgical services,
Blue Mountain Hospital
Karen F. Flaster, RN, COO,
HRN Services Inc.
Tim Groves, RN,
American Mobile Healthcare
Jennifer Hamrick, RN, CNOR,
NovaPro Staffing
Glenda Hardy, RN,
PPR Healthcare Staffing
Lila Johnson, RN,
Choosing the right
travel assignment
O
ne thing that lends greatly to a
traveler’s career satisfaction and
professional development is obtaining
the right assignments. But how do you
know what is the right assignment?
We asked Joel Tremblay, vice president of sales at Medical Solutions, a
travel nurse staffing company based in
Omaha, Neb., to explain how travelers
can better choose the assignment correct for them.
Foundation Medical Staffing
Cynthia Kinnas, president,
Randstad Healthcare
Yvonne Lawson-Thomas, RN,
InteliStaf Travel
Jeff Long, marketing manager,
Medical Solutions Inc.
Jean Magnuson, RN, Soliant Health
Michele M. Sacco, MS, executive director,
Health Care Staffing Services Certification, the Joint Commission
David Whitesell, RN,
board of directors, Professional Association of Nurse Travelers
ALLIED HEALTH MEMBERS
Emily R. Brawner, OT,
American Traveler StaffingProfessionals
Keith Carregal, PT,
Sunbelt Staffing
Marsha Dexter
InteliStaf Travel
Josephine Feldman, RT,
HT: With the increased competition in
nursing fields, how do travelers pick
the right assignment?
Tremblay: It’s a great time to be a
healthcare traveler. Demand is steady
and rising, which means travelers will
continue to have more options in the
future. Choosing the right assignment
is possible only when you know what
you want and have an excellent recruiter as your advocate. To be able to pick
the right job you must have some really
great options come your way, which is
where a solid recruiter is helpful when
assisting you.
TeamStaff Rx
David Garrard, BHS, RRT, RCP, CCEMT-P, PNCCP,
Cirrus Medical Staffing
Debora Janzen, RT (R)(T),
ATC Travelers
Erika Lee, PT,
Supplemental Health Care
Richard Mahnke, PT,
Soliant Health
Dawn Morse, PT,
Trinity Healthcare Staffing Group
Apollone Reid, MPH, PT,
Destination Healthcare Staffing
Joel Sauer, CNMT,
Favorite Healthcare Staffing
Paule Thomas, OT,
PPR Healthcare Staffing
Kurt VanZandt, ASCP, BS,
On Assignment
Patti Witkiewicz, RPT,
Cross Country TravCorps
Jodi Wolfgram, RDMS, RT,
Aureus Medical Group
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HT: What elements can make an
assignment a good choice?
Tremblay: The biggest ones are location,
type of assignment, and type of facility.
You definitely want to pay attention to
these three elements first and foremost
to move in the right direction. Beyond
that there will be different considerations for each traveler. One example
could be seasonal preferences. The
important thing to remember is that
it’s really about finding an assignment
that is compatible with you as a traveler.
Your assignment and contract needs
may change over time, and the “right”
assignment will change along with that.
HT: How can an agency help travelers
in choosing the best assignment?
Tremblay: A good agency and recruiter
will work to really understand each
of their travelers as an individual
and to make a connection with them
that facilitates serving them. A good
recruiter is like a rock for their travelers, before, during, and after each
assignment. A talented recruiter with
an understanding of a traveler’s needs,
skills, and desires is better equipped
to customize assignment suggestions. HT: Are there other consequences to
choosing the wrong assignment?
Tremblay: Of course, embarking on
an ill-fitting assignment can, in the
worst-case scenario, end up damaging
a traveler’s professional reputation. If
you go on an assignment that’s a bad fit
it’s likely you won’t work up to your potential. This isn’t helpful for you or the
facility. You want to make sure that you
are never putting yourself in a position
where your license could be at risk.
HT: So what’s number one when picking
an assignment?
Tremblay: Know what you want and
communicate it clearly with your recruiter. If you’re focused on the elements
that will make an assignment work for
you, you will be much more likely to
find complementary jobs because you
know exactly what to look for, what to
accept, and what to pass on. With good
a recruiter, you’ll find it easier to choose
the right travel assignments. It’s a recruiter’s job to understand your needs
and find you well-matched jobs, and the
more information the recruiter has to go
on the better for you in terms of the jobs
you’ll be offered. ■
ES283680_hct0813_005.pgs 07.17.2013 23:41
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5
ADV
your
career
CHUCK BRUSCELL
Beef up Your Resume
to Ensure Results
A
professional resume or curriculum vitae (CV) is almost always
your first introduction to your recruiter, providing him or her the most
complete snapshot of who you are and
what you can do.
From the perspective of a recruiter,
there simply can’t be enough information on your resume.
The particular nature of the healthcare traveler requires a unique approach to building a resume that is going to grab the potential employer’s attention, while quickly communicating
your qualifications. Also, your resume
must be an accurate representation of
your work history, covering at least the
past seven complete years.
List on your resume all of your employers, particularly for each year you
worked as a healthcare professional. In
our experience, any gap in employment
of more than a couple of weeks is going
to be questioned. Of course, if you are
already actively working as a healthcare
traveler, short gaps in employment are
quite common and easily explained.
Be specific
ON YOUR RESUME YOU SHOULD:
1 List your name, past travel
assignments, staff positions,
and area(s) of specialty;
2 List the facility’s name, including
the specific campus, if the
hospital has multiple facilities;
3 Provide the department to
which you were assigned;
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4 Include any departments that
you floated to, if appropriate;
3 Any and all registries that you
hold;
5 Give the name and contact
information of the person
(supervisor/manager/director)
to whom you reported;
4 Each of your certifications–do
you have ACLS or PALS, for
instance?
6 Identify the agency you were
working for during that
assignment; and
7 Provide the dates that you
worked.
The agency name is important in
the employment verification process
because the hospital at which you
worked will very likely have minimal, if any, information on your tenure. In most cases, the hospital itself
can’t or won’t verify your employment. While the interaction between
agencies can sometimes be awkward,
there’s usually a spirit of cooperation
when it comes to the verification
process.
Also, you should include:
1 A very specific list of the state(s)
in which you hold current (or
even expired) licensure;
2 Your experience with
commonly-encountered
procedures or equipment types
used in your area of specialty
(just as important could be those
procedures/equipment types that
are uncommon);
In almost every case, your resume
will be formatted to fit your agency’s
desired look, so you probably
shouldn’t spend too much time concentrating on formatting. Your recruiter will be much more focused on
the quality of the information itself
rather than the appearance of your
resume.
Update, update, update
It’s important that you update your
resume whenever you change jobs,
add skills, receive an award,
publish a paper, change names
(through a new marriage, for instance), change contact information,
or change jobs.
If you have your resume posted
on a social media site — LinkedIn,
for instance — make sure that you
update it every time that you update
your resume. Recruiters very often
find your resume online before ever
reaching out to you, and giving
them insight as to your skills and
experience in advance can be an
advantage. ■
Chuck Bruscell, senior account manager at MedSource Travelers, a healthcare staffing firm based in Safety
Harbor, Fla.
ES285717_hct0813_006.pgs 07.22.2013 22:53
ADV
your
news
JEREMY ENCK
Seeking work opportunities without a BSN?
H
ave you ever viewed an advertised nursing position that you
felt you were be perfect for? You had
the skill set, the appropriate experience, but then noticed you didn’t
meet the bachelor of nursing (BSN)
educational requirement.
At Fortus Group and Fortus Group
Travel, we often hear about such roadblocks facing the registered nurses
(RNs) we work with.
One of our recruiting account executives, Janet Jones has been working with a candidate who is currently
on an assignment with us in Austin,
Texas, and had this to add, “From my
observation as an RN holding a BSN,
after graduation I wasn’t sought after
for management roles, or staffing roles
for that matter because of my degree.”
In the 1990s, when nursing turnover was high and job vacancies were
flourishing, the world of travel nursing
came to life around the country.
Until the collapse of the U.S.
economy in 2008, it was customary
to place nurses with BSN degrees in
management roles and some staffing
roles like in intensive care units, cardiovascular intensive care units, and more
specialized areas with little problem.
Today, the trend is for nurses to
have a BSN just to get their foot firmly
in the door. And if you’re a seasoned
nurse, you may be thinking, “I’m not
ready to go back to school, there’s not
enough time or money, and I am no
longer in my 20s.”
Before you have an anxiety attack,
consider that many colleges offer online
nursing courses that you’re able to take
right from home. If all of this feels overwhelming, start taking one class per
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semester. This will help you ease into
a routine and get yourself back in the
mindset of continuing your education.
As a bonus, you can use many of
these classes to obtain continuing education units that you can apply toward
current certifications and employer
requirements.This is not to say years
of accumulated knowledge, as well
as hands on experience aren’t valued.
They most certainly are, and will continue to be in healthcare. However, online programs are structured in ways
to help you to continue growing your
profession by gaining more knowledge.
BSN at a minimum
More so now than ever, possessing a BSN
is often the minimum educational requirement for our firm to place a nurse,
particularly in a management position.
In some cases, this can be overcome
but most often, an otherwise exceptional candidate might be passed over
due to the lack of a BSN.
For example, a hiring manager is
considering two travel candidates equal
in every way, and one is working towards her BSN, and the other isn’t, the
manager might choose the former.
Also, if the manager has two nurses
— with every other qualifier being
equal — the decision might go to the
BSN holder, who is also in a position to
earn a higher salary, over the ADN.
It’s a trend that Fortus doesn’t see
changing anytime soon.
Ultimately, it comes down to doing
what is best for the patients in any facility, but possessing similar education
levels as your counterparts will allow
you to better compete for more work
opportunities.
YOUR VOICE
Do you think a BSN
is important to your
nursing career
Answer at
HealthcareTraveler.com/BSNNeeded
With medical advances and more
healthcare environments becoming
complex, hospitals are mindful of progressing in a way that will be beneficial
to what matters most — patient care.
Several studies examined the correlation between higher education
and lower mortality rates. In some of
these studies, nurses polled said they
became stronger patient advocates after receiving their BSN. Again, we are
talking about gaining more professional knowledge and in turn becoming better change agents for patients.
When you’re able to step on the floor
with knowledge other nurses you’re
working with may not have, a patient’s
life could be saved.
If you happen to be in a management role with an associate’s degree,
furthering your education will not only
help your career, but will enhance your
job security, and increase your compensation and growth potential.
Bottom line, earning a BSN is an
investment that will contribute to
your future success in more ways
than one. ■
Jeremy Enck is vice president of sales for
Fortus Group/Fortus Group Travel.
ES283868_hct0813_007.pgs 07.18.2013 20:01
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ADV
News and Notes
Some nursing jobs
earn big bucks
More than half of nurse leaders earn
between $80,000 and $130,000, while
the next largest percentage earns more
than $130,000, according to a new
study.
According to the new report from
the American Organization of Nurse
Executives, annual salaries from responding nurse leaders vary largely,
based on position and longevity. In the
second, largest group of nurse leaders
noted, 34 percent of respondents earn
$130,000 or more, which is broken
down as: 12 percent earn between
$130,000 and $150,000, 13 percent
earn between $150,000 and $200,000,
and nine percent earning $200,000 or
more.
More than 4,300 member nurses
nationwide responded to the annual
survey.
The report also details salary level
as it correlates to years of leadership
experience. The 10–year mark appears to be the tipping point in terms
of higher salaries for nurse leaders.
The majority of respondents with zero
to 10 years of leadership experience,
including 73 percent of those with six
to 10 years, report a salary less than
$120,000 per year.
This leaves 27 percent of respondents with six to 10 years of experience reporting a salary of $120,000 or
greater. Salaries for those with more
than 10 years of leadership experience
demonstrate a significant shift: 52 percent of those with 11 to 20 years and
64 percent of those with more than 20
years report salaries equal to or greater
than $120,000 per year.
Nurse leaders with senior level titles
earn higher incomes than other nurse
leaders. Directors and managers are
most likely to earn between $80,000
and $160,000 annually, with 84 percent and 80 percent falling into that
range, respectively. Of the individuals
polled, only six percent of directors
and 17 percent of managers have annual salaries of less than $80,000.
For non–system chief nursing officers, more than half (61 percent) earn
from $100,000 to $200,000. Nearly
one-fifth (19 percent) earn between
$200,000 and $250,000, while only 12
percent earn higher than $250,000.
Few public health
nurses have BSN
Of the estimated 34,521 full-time
equivalent public health nurses in the
United States, nearly two in five respondents report that their highest nursing
degree is a diploma/associate’s degree.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) recently released findings
of new report which provides the first
comprehensive assessment of the size,
composition, educational background,
experience, retirement intention, job
function and job satisfaction of nurses
who work for state and local health
departments.
The study, produced by the University of Michigan Center of Excellence
in Public Health Workforce Studies
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
13th National Neonatal Nurses
Conference September 8-11, 2013 —
Caesars Palace, Las Vegas
Top experts in neonatal nursing offer
an exceptional educational experience.
Poster presenters add to the program
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with interactive dialog to enhance your
conference experience and enlighten
you to what’s going on in NICUs
across the country and around the
world.
www.academyonline.org
Legislative Corner
ANA supports
patient mobility
safeguards
The American Nurses Association (ANA)
recently attended a press conference
in support of Public Citizen’s report,
“Health Care Workers Unprotected:
Insufficient Inspections and Standards
Leave Safety Risks Unaddressed.”
The report calls for government to
do much more to protect against recognized hazards, such as musculoskeletal
injuries from manual patient handling
and injuries caused by sharp objects.
The report coincides with ANA’s
publication of Safe Patient Handling
and Mobility: Interprofessional National Standards, the introduction of
the Nurse and Health Care Worker
Protection Act of 2013 (H.R. 2480) in
Congress.
Three weeks ago, the ANA, in collaboration with a multi-disciplinary team
of national experts, published interprofessional national standards for creating,
implementing, and managing a safe
patient handling and mobility program.
These standards reach beyond hospitals
to encompass rehab, long-term care,
home care, physical and occupational
therapy, or any other setting where patients need help with mobility.
Research shows that the use of assistive technology reduces injuries to workers
and patients, and lowers costs attributable
to workers’ compensation, lost productivity, and turnover. Far too many healthcare
workers are suffering preventable neck,
shoulder and back injuries from manual
patient handling, the report finds.
Healthcare managers and workers
themselves often don’t realize that
these potentially career-ending injuries,
according to the ANA. The cumulative
effects over years of repetitive strains
result in long-term, debilitating disorders
in workers that often require surgery.
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and funded by RWJF, collected data
from state and local public health departments and surveyed public health
nurses.
Currently only 10 states require public health nurses to have BSN degrees.
Only 4 percent of public health
nurses self-identify as Hispanic/
Latino and 95 percent of those in
leadership positions self-identify as
white; most public health nurses do
not intend to retire within the next
five years; and they report extremely
high job satisfaction, despite reporting high levels of dissatisfaction with
salaries.
The report also includes recommendations created by the project’s advisory committee, including: developing
feasible opportunities for additional
education and training for public
health nurses; and improving the
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pipeline and intensifying recruitment
so public health nurses better reflect
the racial and ethnic composition of
the communities they serve.
Waking patients for
vitals unnecessary
Researchers report that hospital patients’ overall health and wellness
could improve if nurses would cease
waking them to take overnight vital
checks.
In the study published online in the
July issue of JAMA Internal Medicine,
researcher Dana Edelson, MD, MS,
reviewed data on more than 54,000
hospital patients using an early-warning score that assesses patient risk for
cardiac arrest or the need for intensive
care.
Edelson’s team also examined the
data and determined the patients who
ranked low in the assessment and were
not included in a high-risk category.
Her data indicated that approximately
45 percent of hospital patients who
are regularly awakened for vital sign
checks are in the lowest risk category.
The research team reported that although vital signs can be indicative of
impending clinical deterioration, routine, nighttime vital sign monitoring
adds to the already fragmented sleep of
inpatients and can cause slower healing times, elevated blood pressure and
delirium in some patients.
Researchers also suggest that using
a tracking system to evaluate low risk
patients can help nurses to allocate
the time they spend taking vitals to
additional patient care for seriously ill
patients. ■
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Overtime
mandate
can benefit
travel
nurses
H
ospital budget cuts, personnel shortas well during peak seasons,” says Ralph Henages, and increased patient loads are
derson, president of healthcare staffing for AMN
inducing nurses to perform mandatory
Healthcare in San Diego.
overtime, despite growing claims that
longer shifts adversely affect quality patient care and
By the numbers
weaken morale.
Forty-three percent of registered nurses recently reEmploying travel nurses, however, is an effective
ported working extra hours due to staff shortages or
and financially efficient counter to mandatory overbecause of heavy patient cases within their hospital
Ralph Henderson
time because it keeps an adequate number of nurses
unit, according to an American Nurses Association
on the floor while alleviating the negative impacts,
poll of almost 220,000 registered nurses.
some experts claim.
While nurses may be spending more time on the job —
“Utilizing contingent labor improves staff retention and it isn’t always by choice. Many hospitals and healthcare
staff satisfaction, and relieves burnout, creating flexibility systems rely on mandatory overtime policies to maintain
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Photo credit: Thinkstock/ Hemera; Bottom photo courtesy of Ralph Henderson
Jill Sederstrom
ES286627_hct0813_010.pgs 07.24.2013 01:31
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Photo courtesy of American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
adequate numbers of nurses, whether in intensive
care units, emergency departments, or operating
suites. According to the American Association of
Critical Care Nurses (AACN), nurses impacted
by mandatory overtime are not usually in a position to refuse extra hours because of hospital
policy.
Mary Bylone, RN, MSM, CNML, vice president
of patient care services and chief nursing officer
at the William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich,
Conn. and who serves on the AACN board board
of directors, says broad budget cuts have forced
many hospitals to implement mandatory overtime policies versus the option of hiring more
nurses.
“Many organizations have trimmed positions
down to bare bones,” Bylone says. “That leaves
them so vulnerable when they need to cover situations such as high patient census, vacations, or a
large number of sick staff.”
A recent study of 1,706 newly licensed RNs found
that 11.6 percent of full-time nurses worked some
mandatory overtime. Those who did extra duty reported an average of six hours of mandatory overtime during a typical week.
Other industry data indicate that inadequate
nurse staffing levels contribute to adverse surgeryrelated incidents, transfusion problems, and medication errors. Combine that with nurses who are
affected by long hours tied to mandatory overtime,
and a growing number of hospitals are looking at
supplemental nurses as a stopgap to ease fatigue in
nursing units while maintaining quality patient
care levels.
“Hospitals are seeking staffing firms that can
rapidly fill unanticipated needs, and have database
of staff that cover all specialties, as well as a cadre
who are experienced in multiple units,” says Susan
Whitman, senior vice president and chief financial
officer of Freedom Healthcare Staffing in Aurora,
Colo.
Even travel nurses are experiencing the overtime effect, with some starting to see the results
s as well. Jeff Iannotti, vice president of sales and
account services at Cross Country Staffing, says
more hospitals are beginning to contract with the
healthcare staffing firm for travel nurses who are
willing to work overtime to either fill high demand
positions or work during electronic medical record
backfill projects.
“We are seeing and experiencing the desire from
some healthcare facilities to have overtime contracts, per say, at the onset,” Iannotti says. “So they
are looking for nurses who are willing to come in
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and work 48 hours per week as opposed to your
standard 36.”
Iannotti says this newest trend has been limited
to those positions either in high demand and short
supply or those associated with electronic health
record conversions.
Mandatory versus voluntary
Some states have taken efforts to limit mandatory
overtime.
Currently 16 states had regulations in place that
restrict mandatory overtime. State legislators argue
that such policies are necessary to ensure patient
safety. However, observers say that other options
are needed in such states — options that supplemental staffing agencies can provide.
Researchers conducting the study that polled
1,706 newly licensed RNs hoped to learn whether the rules had actually affected the workplace.
The researchers examined the newly licensed
RNs’ self-reported mandatory and voluntary
overtime hours, as well as their total work
hours. They found that in the 16 states with
“Traveling nurses can be a
useful strategy to address
predictable short-term
staffing needs.”
-Mary Bylone
rules governing mandatory overtime, the newly licensed nurses were 59 percent less likely to
work mandatory overtime than their colleagues
in unregulated states. In addition, in the states
regulating overtime, newly licensed nurses
worked an average of 50 fewer minutes per week
than their colleagues in states without overtime
regulations.
Sung-Heui Bae, PhD, MPH, RN, an associate
professor at the University of Texas at Austin who
headed the study, says states can regulate nursing
overtime in two ways. The first way is to allow
nurses to refuse mandatory overtime requested
by hospitals or a healthcare institute. The second
is to regulate nurse hours either by only allowing
nurses to work so many hours in a given period —
such as working no more than 12 hours in a single
continued on page 12
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continued from page 11
day — or by requiring a certain amount of breaks
between shifts.
However, Bae says some of her subsequent research has failed to show a difference between the
amount of overtime a nurse worked and whether
the state had mandatory overtime regulations.
“My argument is that regardless of whether its
mandatory overtime or voluntary overtime, it is
overtime and could affect the nurses health and
their physical and mental condition,” she says.
Bae believes state policies to regulate mandatory
“I believe that the
hospitals will be looking
for a more flexible work
staff and the travelers fit
that bill very nicely.”
-Jeff Iannotti
overtime are a step in the right direction to prevent
adverse events for both nurses and patients, but says
ultimately, nurses themselves are accountable for
making sure they are prepared to provide adequate
patient care.
Turning to travelers
While staff shortages and budget cuts may initially
lead hospitals to adopt mandatory overtime, leaders
in the traveler industry say the financial implications and possible negative effects to staff morale
that decision may bring has led some hospitals to
turn to travelers to fill workload needs, especially
in high traffic units.
“I don’t know that I can speak to the use of mandatory overtime on a macro level as far as core staffing is concerned for our hospital facilities but we do
see...what appears to be hospitals evaluating their
use of premium labor overtime and exploring opportunities to use supplemental staff or contingent
work force to fill some of those gaps that were otherwise filled by mandatory overtime,” Iannotti says.
Henderson says he has seen that more hospitals
are exploring other staffing options as well. “We talked to a client recently and we were told
that nurse satisfaction was really at an all time low
based on their mandatory overtime program causing burnout. They also talked about high attrition
rates of nurses,” Henderson says. “We discussed the
benefits of improved patient satisfaction and nurse
experience when contingent labor becomes a strategic part of their staffing and scheduling plan.”
Travelers can be a good option for healthcare facilities because they not only help hospitals avoid
burnout among their full-time staff, but they can
also be a less costly option and can help improve
overall patient care.
“They are seasoned professionals and they bring
more to the table than just filling shifts,” Henderson
says. “They bring best practices from other facilities, they jump in quickly (and) they can relieve the
stress and the workload on the permanent staff.”
Bylone says staffing in an era of budget cuts
is no easy task. Though she believes mandatory
Caps on manadatory overtime
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➤ Arkansas,
➤ Maryland,
➤ New Hampshire,
➤ Rhode Island,
➤ California,
➤ Minnesota,
➤ New York,
➤ Texas,
➤ Connecticut,
➤ Missouri,
➤ Oregon,
➤ Washington, and
➤ Illinois,
➤ New Jersey,
➤ Pennsylvania,
➤ West Virginia.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Iannotti
The 16 states that regulate mandatory overtime for nurses are:
ES286628_hct0813_012.pgs 07.24.2013 01:30
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overtime should only be utilized in emergency
situations, she says there is no quick fix for staffing in today’s healthcare industry, leaving each
hospital to address the staffing shortages in their
own way.
“Traveling nurses can be a useful strategy to address predictable short-term staffing needs,” Bylone
says. “However, you can’t get a traveling nurse overnight and the typical contract (can) span several
months. If your staffing need goes away, you’ll be
paying for someone you don’t need.”
Dollars and sense
Another obstacle to placing a greater reliance
on supplemental staff is the perception by many
hospital administrators that travel nurses are a
more costly budget item.
Henderson, however, says that’s incorrect.
“Travel nurses can be less expensive for the hospital,” he says. “I think many facilities probably
believe the opposite is true but independent studies have confirmed that a travel nurse is about the
same cost as a core nurse (who is) not even working
overtime,” he says.
Henderson points to a 2011 study conducted by
KPMG, a company that provides audit, tax, and advisory services, that found that the actual cost per
hour for a full-time nurse is on average 176 percent
of their base-hourly range.
According to the study, the average base wage
didn’t take into consideration other costs to the
hospital associated with full-time employees including employer taxes, paid time-off, the loss of
productivity, insurance, and other worker-related
costs.
“I think sometimes a hospital will compare their
base wages to our bill rate, and that’s problematic,
right. They are not including their benefits cost,
their idle time, their orientation of the employee,
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ES286626_hct0813_013.pgs 07.24.2013 01:30
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spending about 15 percent of their labor costs
on overtime.
“They basically analyzed travel nursing from a
financial perspective and said ‘boy it makes sense
for us to use travel nurses verses continuing this
trend from a financial stand point,’ “ he says.
YOUR VOICE
Do you think travelers
should have to work
overtime? Why?
HealthcareTraveler.com/TravelerOvertime
relocation expense, signing bonuses, and recruitment costs,” Henderson says. “All of those sorts of
things really add up. It neutralizes the difference
between our bill rate and their labor rate. It makes
them fairly equal.”
Iannotti says traveler nurses are also a way hospitals can provide the necessary staffing at peak
times of the year without committing to a full annual salary for a full-time employee who may not
be necessary in the end.
“Mandatory overtime
works against a healthy
work environment. Besides
the potential impact on
patient safety on the job,
it’s likely to have a long-term impact
on nurse recruitment and retention.”
-Ramon Lavandero
“I believe that the hospitals will be looking for
a more flexible work staff and the travelers fit that
bill very nicely,” he says.
Henderson recommends that when hospitals
make workforce decisions they first evaluate
how much overtime they currently have to get
an accurate picture of their financials. For instance, one of their clients realized they were
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More health systems may be turning to mandatory
overtime, but industry experts caution it may not
be the best permanent solution.
“Mandatory overtime often means tired nurses
are providing care,” says Ramon Lavandero, RN,
MA, MSN, FAAN, senior director of the American
Association of Critical-Care Nurses. “Tired nurses
endanger patients and themselves.”
For instance, a study that examined the impact
work hours have on critical care nurses and patient safety found that longer shifts were associated with an increased risk in errors and decreased
vigilance. The researchers reported that the risk
of making an error almost doubled after nurses
had worked for 12-and-a-half or more consecutive hours.
“The studies indicate that there is a relationship between working long hours and healthcare
worker fatigue and adverse events for both the
healthcare worker and for the patient,” Henderson says.
Nurses themselves have also reported concerns.
According to a new survey released this year,
“Nurse Staffing Strategy,” 96 percent of the nurses
surveyed said they feel tired at the beginning of
their shifts, while 92 percent reported being tired
while driving home from work.
Nurses may not always be getting the support
they need from their place of employment either.
Based on the results of the survey, 56 percent of
nurses said their hospitals disregard rest periods,
while 65 percent of those surveyed said their hospitals don’t have regular policies in place to regulate cumulative days worked, or extended nursing
shifts.
“Mandatory overtime works against a healthy
work environment. Besides the potential impact
on patient and nurse safety on the job, it’s likely
to have a long-term impact on nurse recruitment
and retention,” Lavandero says, who also serves as a
clinical associate professor at Yale University School
of Nursing.
Photo courtesy of American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
Answer at
Caution and care
ES286630_hct0813_014.pgs 07.24.2013 01:31
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On the job
Full-time nurses aren’t the only ones who may be
feeling the effects of a long workweek.
Travel nurses may also find that they are being
asked to work overtime on the job. AMN doesn’t
have a mandatory overtime policy for its nurses
on assignment but instead leaves the decision up
the individual nurse to decide whether
they are able to provide quality care
beyond their regular hours.
“We provide guidance to our employees when they are asked to work
overtime and provide them with another clinician just so they have somebody
they can bounce that off of before they
accept those shifts,” Henderson says.
Patient safety, experts say, should
remain the focus.
“It’s the most important aspect of
our jobs so they should consider that
in any requests to work overtime, making sure they haven’t worked excessive
hours and are not putting themselves
or their patients in jeopardy,” Iannotti
says.
He added that nurses being asked
to float to other departments should
make sure they have the required
skills and experience necessary to be
successful in that work environment
before accepting the task.
When it comes to securing assignments, industry leaders say the increased use of mandatory overtime
hasn’t changed the overall profile
hospitals are looking for in a traveler.
Iannotti says they continue to look for
healthcare professionals who are flexible and adaptable.
Henderson says a nurse’s experience
in the unit or department also plays a
role.
Those in the traveler industry aren’t
sure exactly what the future will bring,
however, especially once the Affordable Care Act is fully implemented in
2015. Henderson says that mandatory
overtime in the nursing industry will
likely continue as facilities grapple
with staffing issues.
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“I suspect that as volumes increase the more hospitals will kind of be forced into looking at mandatory overtime,” he says. “It’s probably the first step
toward coming up with a more strategic solution.” ■
Jill Sederstrom is a freelance writer based in
Kansas City.
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Cookie Ervin on assignment with husband Del, (l to r) Austin, Jessalyn, Nickalos, and Devon.
with
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Lisa Daggett
H
ealthcare clinicians have much to consider before taking the plunge into traveling. For those
w it h chi ld ren, t he considerat ions increase
dramatically.
Parents must first decide whether to take the kids along or
leave them home with another parent or trusted caregiver.
Though bringing the kids with you to an assignment may
require more planning, those who do so say they wouldn’t
have it any other way.
With preschool children, the most pressing concern is often daycare. And for school-age children, the highest priority
is indeed school. The two schooling options that travelers
often adopt are homeschooling or enrolling the children in
the local school district.
Photo courtesy of Cookie Ervin
Some healthcare travelers
arrange for their children
to accompany them on
assignments. Though it
takes planning, the results
ensure a host of family
memories.
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Travelers looking at schooling choices may want to
talk to your recruiter about finding a longer contract,
since many children transition more easily when they
can start and finish the school year uninterrupted.
Some say If a longer contract isn’t available, look
for facilities that have a steady need for travelers, and
a history of extending travelers for multiple contracts.
Choosing wisely
“I have been working with travelers for 15 years, and
when someone tells me they’re bringing along schoolage children, I am dedicated to finding them housing
in the best school district in the area,” says Nora Adams, director of corporate housing at Emerald Health
Services, a healthcare staffing firm based in Marina
del Ray, Calif. “Once the children are safe and happy
in school, the parent can relax and concentrate on his
or her new work assignment.
“I also look for facilities that tend to offer contract
extensions, so the children have a better chance of being able to stay put long enough to complete a full
school year. That helps them to make friends, get involved in extra-curricular activities, and not have to
jump in somewhere new mid-year, which can sometimes be stressful.”
According to Adams, only a small percentage of
nurses travel with their children.
“I think few people do it because it sounds daunting. And the truth is it’s not always easy, but it is very
doable. Before I send a parent to a new location, we
research schools, summer camps, and after-school/
back-up activities, such as gyms and art centers. I have
seen great success in families traveling together.”
Photo courtesy of Karen Kirtland
Scouting local schools
One example of this success is Mamunetu “Mimi”
Yekpabo, RN, who is currently on assignment in
southern California through Emerald Health Services. “A little over a year ago some changes in my
personal life prompted me to move out of state with
my 12-year-old son,” Yekpabo says. “Since I was unsure about my long-term plans, I decided to pursue
travel nursing.”
At the time of her move, Yekpabo’s son had just
completed fifth grade in their Georgia hometown.
But since the schools were still in session when they
arrived at their new location, he was able to jump in
at his new school for the last few weeks of the term.
“I didn’t want him to be the only kid in town not in
school, and he wound up having a great time,” Yekpabo says.
At the end of the summer, Yekpabo got a new opportunity, and her son started seventh grade in a new
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school. The school system and surrounding community proved to be an ideal fit.
“My son is in a very highly-rated school, we are in
a family-friendly neighborhood, and my work was
only 18 minutes away,” Yekpabo says. “Adams also
researched programs offered at the local YMCA,
and other programs offered by the school itself.
So I have the coverage I need if I have to stay and
work an extra hour or so, which doesn’t happen very
often.”
The school year went so well, in fact, that Yekpabo
wants her son to stay where he is.
“Fortunately, Emerald was able to find me another
opportunity only a little farther away,” Yekpapbo says.
“And if I can extend my contract, which looks promising, my son can finish seventh grade here, as well.
He’s made good friends and there is a lot for him to
do here. This summer for instance, he
is going to camp and
participating in a lot
of beach activities,
since we are so close
to the beach.
“I take my son’s
feelings into consideration when I decided where I’m going next. I just want
him to be happy. I
Karen Kirkland says having her son Silas
think being a mom
accompany her requires pre-planning.
who travels is a lot
like being a working mom anywhere. We’re in a great
place with great people, and I’m just taking things one
school year at a time.”
Planning for pre-school
Karen Kirkland, PT, is also putting off long-term decisions for the time being. “I am currently on my first assignment as a mom, and it is very different than traveling on my own,” Kirkland says. “I have to plan ahead
more than ever before, and my flexibility is somewhat
limited. But we are having a good time and I already
have plans to do a second assignment.”
Kirkland, a traveling physical therapist, contracts
through Dallas-based Delta Healthcare Providers
with her son, Silas, whom she adopted in December
2012.
“He is only three and a half years old, so I called
ahead to several daycares and interviewed providers
over the phone,” Kirkland says. “I knew I wouldn’t
have enough time to check them all out in person
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“I travel with my husband, Allen, and
our four children, who are ages 4, 5,
11, and 12.”
-Rosemary Ferrell, RN
“I had to go in on a holiday recently and I had no one
to watch Silas,” Kirkland says. “Since I was only going
to be there for an hour I brought him with me and let
him play on the computer. We are in a small town in
northern Minnesota and most of the people are family
focused, so that has been a great setting for my first
time on assignment as a mom.”
Kirkland also sprung for spacious housing to ease
the transition.
“When I traveled in the past I would often just rent
a room,” Kirkland says. “But now, with Silas, I opted
for a furnished three-bedroom apartment. When you
have a child, you want safe, you want clean, you want
parks nearby. As I get more comfortable traveling I
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may start considering smaller apartments and larger
cities. I want to show Silas everything that’s out there,
and travel opportunities seem like a great way to do
that.”
Homeschooling
Rosemary Ferrell, RN, also uses travel nursing as a way
to explore different areas with her family.
“I travel with my husband, Allen, and our four children, who are ages 4, 5, 11, and 12,” Ferrell says. “When
we first started traveling in 2004, we only had the two
children, who were 2 and 3 at the time. Once they got
older, we enrolled them in the local school, and they
completed five grades in five different elementary
schools. It always worked out that we could move during the summer, and they didn’t seem to mind switching schools each year.”
But when the older children were in fifth and sixth
grades, the Ferrell’s needed to switch schools mid-year
and the transition was tougher. “The boys asked if they
could be homeschooled, and since Allen was already
home to care for our younger son and daughter, we
agreed, Ferrell says.”
The Ferrells contacted the school district in their
hometown in Arkansas, and had to sign documents
saying they would be homeschooling their children.
They also had to list what program they would be using, and agree to bring the children for annual testing
at a specified date and time at the end of the school year.
“I know when they have to be home for testing,
so I plan my schedule accordingly,” Ferrell says. “All
the homeschooled children in the area meet at the
same time to take those evaluations, usually in a local church. Our first year of homeschooling we used
a Christian-based curriculum called “My Father’s
World.” The boys really liked it, but it didn’t leave us
enough time with the younger children. So the next
year, we started using “Switched On Schoolhouse,”
which is done on the computer.
“That was easier for us, but the boys complained that
it was too much like regular school,” Farrell continues.
“Next year we’re going to try Unit Studies, which allows
for more freedom in how you create the curriculum,
but they will still do their math and language work on
the computer. That’s the beauty of homeschooling. We
can create a program that works best for our specific
family needs.”
On her days off, the Ferrell and her family explore their
different surroundings, traveling to Alabama, California,
and Texas, which is also an education for the children.
ES283646_hct0813_018.pgs 07.17.2013 22:47
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Photo courtesy of Rosemary Ferrell
before I had to start working, so I set everything up
before I arrived.”
And once she arrived, she started looking around for
backup daycare. “We had gotten friendly with people
at the local church, so I felt comfortable asking Silas’
Sunday school teacher to act as a backup babysitter, and
she happily agreed.”
There is the rare occasion, however, where Kirkland
has to scramble to make it work.
Currently, they are in Minnesota through a contract with
Total Med Staffing, based in Appleton, Wis.
“They are learning on their ‘days off ’ as well,” she
says. “We visit museums, zoos, lakes, beaches, historical sites, and everything else we can find. And they
love it. When we’ve been in one place for a while, they
start asking when we can get moving again. And since
I save the special snacks, movies, and video games for
the road, even days spent riding in the truck to my new
assignment is a treat.”
Traveling with a family of six can be costly, so the
Ferrells keep costs down by driving to each location,
and taking the housing allowance to find affordable
apartments. “We take unfurnished apartments and
we pack very light,” Ferrell says. “We actually live like
we’re camping and the kids love it because they can fold
up the chairs and race around the living room. When
we’re home in Arkansas life is more orderly, but on the
road, we have a lot of fun.”
Ervin and her family try to
spend a lot of time outdoors,
outside the travel trailer.
“We’ve taken the kids to a
U.S. Air Force Base in Delaware, a pumpkin festival in
New Hampshire, and historic places along Route 66 in
Arizona,” she says. “They’ve
seen Niagara Falls, the Alamo, and the Grand Canyon.”
“You have to save money
where you can,” she continues. “Some people say to me,
‘how can you live in a trailer?’
Well, we don’t live in a trailer.
Nathanial (left) and traveler Kevin
We live in a home in Tennes- Sterling enjoy time together during a
see, and we try to get back there recent assignment in Wyoming.
for four or five days each month.
For the rest of the time, we get to explore the country
Photo courtesy of Kevin Sterling
Cozy quarters
Cookie Ervin, RN, also tries to keep
costs down while traveling with her
husband, Del, and three children.
“When I am on an assignment, Del
and I live in our travel trailer with the
kids, who are 8, 4, and 3,” Ervin says.
“We have three older sons, who are
grown, and we always said we wanted
to see the country when they were on
their own. Then a couple of years ago,
we decided to take in my brother’s
children, who we are in the process
of adopting. We figured we’d have to
put our travel plans on hold. But after
looking into homeschooling, we realized we could do it all.”
Ervin signed on with Boca Raton,
Fla.-based RNnetwork. “I am lucky
that my husband is around to do the
childcare and homeschooling while I
am at work,” she says. “Before we left
we signed in with the school district
near our home in Tennessee, and
my husband used the A Beka (Book)
curriculum to do second grade with
our 8-year-old. They sent us different
DVDs to use, and it took about four
hours a day, which left us free to go
exploring on my days off.”
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ES283648_hct0813_019.pgs 07.17.2013 22:47
ADV
with a little planning traveling with children can be
more than just manageable, it can be a lot of fun.”
together as a family. We could never do this if I had a
regular full-time job. Every now and then, I do wish I
could send one of the children to their room, but there
is no door to their room, so that won’t work,” Ervin says.
“Instead, I send them out to ride their bike around the
campground. It works.”
Katie Newberry, a career consultant at Medical Solutions, agrees. She has worked with Kevin Sterling and
other healthcare travelers to incorporate their family
into their travel lifestyle, and knows that there are
many different ways to make it work.
“Sometimes spouses and children come for an entire
assignment, and sometimes they come out to visit for
shorter durations,” Newberry says. “If I know family
will be involved, I can try to adjust housing and scheduling accordingly. And if I know the area, or have had
past travelers in the area, I can put them in touch to discuss neighborhoods, schools, daycare, and recreational
activities. Different families have different needs, and
Finding quality time
Kevin Sterling, RN, also opts for campground life while
on the road.
“I started traveling about a year and a half ago, with
my wife, Tammy, and our 14-year-old son Nathanial,”
Sterling says. “We also bring our dog, Jabba the mutt,
who is Nathanial’s best friend. We have a home in Mississippi, but when I’m on an assignment we live in our
RV, which is 30 feet long and has a separate bedroom
in the back for Nathanial.”
Sterling works the nightshift at opportunities he finds
through Omaha, Neb.-based Medical Solutions. “We all
have breakfast together when I get home in the morning,
and then I get some sleep while Tammy helps Nathanial
with his homeschooling,” Sterling says. “When they’re
done they might go to the library, or explore outside, or
sometimes Nathanial plays video games on this computer.
Then we can use my time off to play together as a family.”
With an only child, finding peers on the road can
be challenging.
“Most of the other children around the campground
are much younger than Nathanial,” Sterling says. So
when we arrive somewhere new, we visit the local churches and find one where Nathanial can get involved with
the youth group activities and meet people his own age.”
Sterling makes the most of his time with his son.
“We got to where we were watching too much television, so I did away with the dish,” he says. “Now we’re
getting outside more, hiking, exploring national parks,
and visiting historical sites. You learn so much more
about a place by actually seeing it with your own eyes,
and going to new places forces you to meet new people
and expand your boundaries. This is an excellent experience for me and for my son.” ■
Lisa Daggett is a freelance writer based in Saugerties,
N.Y.
YOUR VOICE
Did you consider bringing
your children on the road
Answer at
HealthcareTraveler.com/TravelChildren
20
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ES283732_hct0813_020.pgs 07.18.2013 02:59
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On Assignment
ST. LOUIS,
MISSOURI
POPULATION
318,172
Making a lasting
impression
His initial assignment
as a healthcare traveler
put southerner Austin
Crouthers in several
unfamiliar situations, but
that’s exactly what he had
hoped for when he decided
to try the Midwest.
The first thing that most visitors encounter when visiting St. Louis is the Gateway
Arch, which rises 630 feet and is Missouri’s tallest accessible building.
Average High temperature:
89º August
Average low temperature
24º (January):
Average annual precipitation:
43.12 inches
Anne Baye Ericksen
Photo (top) by Burt Remis; courtesy of St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission. Bottom photos courtesy of Austin Crouthers
U
ntil he agreed to his first travel contract last
December, Austin Crouthers, RN, BSN, had
lived and worked in the South his entire life.
Three years into his career as a surgical
intensive care nurse, however, Crouthers was ready to
branch out. He was enticed with the idea of venturing to
other regions offering clinical and cultural differences,
which he discovered, a traveling lifestyle afforded.
“In the South, there’s an idea that you go to school, get
a career, and start a family, and I knew that wasn’t what I
wanted right off,” he says. “I wanted to see more.”
Austin Crouthers, shown here with friend Charlena Corbit, learned recently that
St. Louis isn’t that far from his home in the South.
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CITYSCAPE
St. Louis, Missouri
Situated in the center of the
country and known as the
Gateway to the West, St. Louis
personifies Middle America.
The city’s average family size
matches the national average
of 3.23 persons. The city’s
gender breakdown reflects
the national numbers: men
at 48.3 percent versus 49.2
percent nationally; women
at 51.7 percent versus 50.8
percent, respectively.
The community on the
Mississippi River has played
a pivotal role in the country’s
history, from opening the
door to the West, to being a
dividing factor leading up to
the Civil War, and creating the
ice cream cone.
For a city of only about 62
square miles and less than
320,000 people, it’s home to a
dozen hospitals, half of which
earned recognition on U.S.
News & World Report’s
list of best hospitals.
With that mind set,
he believed becoming a
healthcare traveler seemed a
logical first step to parts unknown. “What better way to
do what I love and travel at
the same time?” he asks.
Still, Crouthers thought
it would be best if he stayed
in a familiar environment
for his initial assignment.
He requested his staffing
company — Fastaff Travel,
based in Greenwood Village, Colo. — place him in
a position in either his current home state of Tennessee, or neighboring Mississippi. He had noticed
postings for each location
on the agency’s job board.
“The day after I applied
for those contracts, my
recruiter told me they were
already filled. Then she said
something interesting came
up in St. Louis and asked
if I would consider it,” he
says. “St. Louis was nowhere
on my bucket list, but it
was only four hours from
Memphis, which isn’t too far
from the South, so I agreed.”
SETTING THE RULES
Not only was Crouthers
new to the traveler lifestyle,
but he was assigned to a
newly opened care unit at
Mercy Hospital Washington. In fact, for the first
three days, there were only
ES285605_hct0813_021.pgs 07.22.2013 18:59
∣
21
ADV
WEEKEND EDITION
The Saint Louis Art Museum is a striking sight for
travelers at any time, especially at dusk.
other travel nurses practicing there.
“The hospital needed
experienced nurses, so six
of us came in to open a
transitional care unit designed to receive patients
too sick for telemetry, but
not quite needing the level
of care in an intensive care
unit (ICU),” he says. “It was
helpful that all of us travelers had ICU experience.”
Soon the travelers were
joined by permanent hospital staff who together
developed its protocols.
“I had never opened a
unit before. The nursing
staff and travelers set a
precedent for factors like
patient admittance and discharge criteria,” Crouthers
says. “Ultimately, most
of the clinical protocols
were similar to those for
an ICU, and most of the
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administrative procedures
were based on the hospital’s
own policies. .It was neat
that they allowed us travelers, who knew nothing
about the hospital except
for the profiles from our
recruiters, to participate in
establishing how the unit
functioned.”
According to Crouthers,
their efforts received rave
reviews.
“Many physicians
loved the transitional
care unit because we did
close monitoring,” he
says.
PEOPLE PERSON
In a matter of a few
months, Crouthers
recorded important
“firsts”: first time accepting a temporary contract;
first-time living in the
Midwest; and first time
establishing a brand-new
unit. It was a lot to process, and he was glad he
didn’t have to face it all
on his own. Rather, he
learned from the other
travelers he met in St.
Louis.
“It was good to be
there with other travelers. I heard different
stories from people who
have taken more assignments,” he says. “That
helped a great deal.”
22
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Barnes-Jewish Hospital/
Washington University is
ranked No. 1 in the St. Louis
as well as in the state, also
has been acknowledged
nationally for 15 specialties
and has been a Magnet Recognition facility for 10 years.
With 1,315 beds, it’s also the
largest in the area.
The 111-year-old institution
has racked up a number of
historical medical milestones,
including hiring the first
full-time professor of neurosurgery in the country and
performing the first successful
lung removal surgery in the
world. Recently, the hospital’s
Stroke and Cerebrovascular
Center is the first in the state
to earn the Comprehensive
Stroke Center certification
issued by the Joint Commission and the American Heart
Association (AHA)/American
Stroke Association.
Missouri Baptist Medical
Center also earned an impressive eight high-performing marks for: cardiology
and heart surgery; gastroenterology and GI surgery;
gynecology; orthopedics;
diabetes and endocrinology;
geriatrics; nephrology; and
pulmonology. In addition to
its main acute care hospital
of nearly 500 beds, its Rural
Outreach Program provides
specialists to outlying communities throughout the
state and southern Illinois.
St. Louis University
Hospital made it into the
state’s top 10 rankings and
was specifically noted for
its work in nephrology and
pulmonology. The Level I
trauma center treats more
than 2,000 trauma cases a
year and admits more than
17,000 acute care patients
annually. Its efforts to engage
staff to make healthy life
choices through programs
like “Grandest Loser” garnered the American Hospital
Association’s distinction of a
“Fit-Friendly” company.
Des Peres Hospital, one of
the smallest facilities in the
area (142 beds) also made
U.S. News & World Report’s
list of top medical institutions
in Missouri. It has scored high
on patient safety evaluations
and is accredited by both the
Joint Commission — receiving the Gold Seal of Approval
earlier this year — and the
American Osteopathic Association’s Healthcare Facilities
Accreditation Program.
ES284570_hct0813_022.pgs 07.19.2013 02:53
ADV
Photo courtesy of the Saint Louis Art Museum
MEDICAL DIRECTORY
One family in particular helped him with the
transition.
“It was Christmas and
the patient knew she was
not well enough to go home
for the holiday,” he says.
“When she and her daughter found out I wouldn’t
be going home either, they
invited me to eat Christmas
dinner with them in the
mother’s room. Her daughter brought in a great homecooked meal. That was
really memorable because I
had never been away from
my family for the holidays.”
EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS
Although he did not end up
going to either of his firstpick locations, nor did he
expect to be thrown into an
unprecedented situation for
his first contract, Crouthers
values the experiences he
gained in St. Louis. He
recommends other novice travelers embrace the
unexpected.
The assignment also
bolstered his confidence
to accept other positions;
from Missouri he immediately headed to California.
RESOURCES
St. Louis Convention &
Visitors Commission
701 Convention Plaza,
Suite 300St. Louis, MO
63101(800) 916-0040
www.explorestlouis.com
St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission
Missouri Board of Nursing
3605 Missouri Boulevard
P.O. Box 656
Jefferson City,
MO 65102-0656
(573) 751.0681
Ever
Have You Visiting
of
Dreamed New Jersey?
&
New York
Anne Baye Ericksen is a freelance writer who
has contributed to Healthcare Traveler since
1996. She resides in Simi Valley, Calif.
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St. Louis boasts a lot of old-world charm with plenty of historically
significant tourist sights. Travel through time starting with Cahokia
Mounds State Historic Site, a United Nations World Heritage Site that
marks the archaeological discovery of one of the largest prehistoric
Indian cities north of Mexico.
The Old Courthouse, part of the National Expansion Memorial,
holds a unique place in U.S. history. Not only is it on the National Park
Service’s (NPS) National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom,
but it also was the scene of the Dred Scott trial. The radical case filed
by a slave suing for his freedom, helped ignite the Civil War.
Speaking of the Civil War, military legend Ulysses S. Grant and
his wife Julia (a native of St. Louis) built their homestead in the area.
White Haven is now part of the NPS system and tours are free to the
public.
No trip to St. Louis would be complete without a free tour of the
Anheuser-Busch Brewery featuring the brew house, which completed
construction in 1892. An interesting trivia bit: The Clydesdales,
synonymous with the beer maker and Super Bowl commercialism,
were originally a gift from August Busch to his father to celebrate the
end of the Prohibition era.
Architect Theodore Link’s interpretation of a functional train
station still exudes grandeur and elegance nearly 110 years after its
creation. The St. Louis Union Station is a majestic sight and continues
to send people off on many a journey via the rails.
The 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis inspired songs, movies, and
even culinary creations—in addition to the ice cream cone, the event
marked the beginning of Americans’ obsession with hamburgers and
hot dogs. The Saint Louis Art Museum is the last standing testament
to the extraordinary gathering. Nowadays it houses more than 33,000
pieces of art.
Built nearly 50 years ago, the Gateway Arch is the symbolic
entry to the modern-day West. It’s also the city’s most recognizable
landmark. Take the elevator to the top for a panoramic view of this
community on the Mississippi River.
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Which of your
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Can Make Your
“Already, traveling has allowed me to see a lot
more of the country,” Crouthers says. “That has
made me more tolerant of people and accepting of
different lifestyles and cultures. Professionally, traveling has allowed me to expand my nursing career.
That is what I wanted of my travel experience.”
In fact, these first assignments have whet his
appetite for more mobile opportunities.
“It’s all been positive,” he concludes. ■
http://pr.mo.gov/nursing.asp
http://pr.mo.gov/
physicaltherapists.asp
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The Kiener Fountain, located in front of St. Louis classic
courthouse, provides a bubbling atmosphere.
∣
23
ES284575_hct0813_023.pgs 07.19.2013 02:54
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In the Bag
Little touches of home
Roberta Nicholson, RN, BLS, ACLS, is a cath lab nurse who has been traveling for the past seven years. Enjoying the mobile lifestyle as much today as when
she started, Nicholson views her time as a travel nurse as ”a great way to see the
country, make new friends, and enjoy a variety of local and ethnic foods.” The
Johnstown, Penn.-native is married and the proud mother of three grown children, not to mention a grandmother. Nicholson, who currently contracts with
the healthcare staffing firm MedSource Travelers, says no matter where she is,
her sense of home never strays.
FAVORITE ASSIGNMENT DESTINATION:
Any place with sun, sand and water.
I’ve worked in Myrtle Beach, Cocoa
Beach, and the gulf side of Florida. An
assignment close to a NASCAR racetrack
is also a favorite place. There’s nothing
like the sound of a good engine, the
smell of fuel, and the rumble of the pack
as they go flying by the grandstand to
make my heart beat faster.
#1 TRAVEL ESSENTIAL: I have two
totes that go with me everywhere
I travel. The most important one is
referred to by my children as my
“Life in a Box” It contains all my
important papers like my passport,
nursing licenses, current contract,
BLS and ACLS cards, social security
card, car information, small notebook
with all my passwords, and insurance
policies. Tote number 2 contains
things that I used to take for granted
when I lived
in a permanent
home. There is
nothing worse
than needing
a band- aid
or a pair of
scissors and not
having it. This
tote has things
like duct tape,
hammer, screwdriver, paper clips, sticky
notes, pens, envelopes, address book,
and refrigerator magnets, which I use
so I can hang up my schedule and
important papers from my current job.
Also, I never leave home without my
cell phone, laptop, iPad, wireless router,
wireless printer, and a camera.
NIGHTSTAND READS: When I started to travel, one my friends gave me the
book “1,000 Places to See Before
You Die” so whenever I get to a new
assignment I check out what I should
go to see. My iPad is full of book
downloads, so what I read depends
on my mood at the time. Right now,
I’ve started a book called “ The Little
Princesses” by Marion Crawford. It’s
a true story written by a nanny to the
royals.
24
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PERSONAL TOUCHES: When I arrive at
my new travel home, I put pictures of
my family in prominent places. I have
a picture calendar with personal dates
like birthdays that gets hung on the
refrigerator with one of my magnets. I
light candles that smell like coconut and
pineapple to remove that apartment
smell. Then I place a crochet tablecloth
made by a friend on a table, and finally
find a special place for my Steeler stuff: A
Terrible Towel, two Steeler teddy bears,
two Steeler snowmen, a bracelet, and a
tissue box. Love the “Black and Gold.”
CHERISHED KEEPSAKES: I have been
fortunate to have had many assignments
close to the beach and have a large shell
collection. Too most people they are just
seashells but I can look at those shells and
remember where I got them which brings
back a flood of memories. I have taken a
lot of pictures of places I’ve been and the
people I’ve met in the last seven years.
The pictures and the people are cherished
keepsakes and have made my life better.
MUST-HAVE KITCHENWARE: I have found
most travel kitchens lacking in what I think
are essentials: a sharp knife, cutting board,
slow cooker, blender, and a portable mixer
— so I bring these with me.
IDEAL/DREAM TRAVEL COMPANION: My
husband is the best travel companion
anyone could have. He is a great cook
and makes me awesome dinners. He
researches the area and finds out what
there’s to do around town. While we
were living in California, he planned trips
to San Francisco, Napa Valley, Monterey,
and Yosemite. It’s like living with my own
personal chef and tour guide.
MOBILE TUNES: Thank goodness for
Pandora and ITunes. I love using iTunes
for my music. I can pick the songs I like
without having to buy a CD for one
favorite song. I download it to my iPhone,
which in turn downloads to my iPad and
my Mac Pro. Pandora is like having Sirius
in my house. Love it.
What’s in your bag?
Healthcare Traveler would like to hear
about the personal and practical items you
take on assignment. Contact David Bennett
at dbennett@advanstar.com.
ES285593_hct0813_024.pgs 07.22.2013 18:41
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27
H R N SERVICES INC
888-476-9333
www.hrnservices.com
15
MEDPRO HEALTHCARE STAFFING
954-332-4475
www.medprostaffing.com
23
MEDSTAFF INC
866-379-2162
www.medstaffinc.com
3
RN NETWORK
800-866-0407
www.rnnetwork.com
CV2
TAILORED HEALTHCARE STAFFING
866-871-0568
www.thstravel.com
20
TRUSTAFF
877-880-0346
www.trustafftravel.com info@trustaff.com
CV4
WHITE GLOVE CARE STAFFING
866-387-8100
www.whiteglovecare.com
23
YUMA REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER
800-726-9862
www.yumaregional.org
19
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25
ADV
Tech Support
EBOOKS
Travel Like a Flight
Attendant
Heather Zorzini
• A former flight attendant
with 30 years of service
and 20 million air miles,
Zorzini shares her practical travel advice and truelife stories to give you the
optimal vacation experience. Learn how to pick
the perfect destination,
find the best airplane seats and fly through security and
immigration line-ups.
• Along with creative budget tips, you’ll read about fire and
hotel safety routines that may save your life, and what to
do if you’re arrested or detained in a foreign country.
• $0.99
• www.myflyingfingers.com
ASTHMA TRIGGERS:
A Guide for Parents, Teachers, Doctors and Nurses
Moms Clean Air Force
• Several components of outdoor
air pollution trigger asthma attacks:
fine particles (soot),
ground level ozone
(smog), diesel
exhaust, sulfur
dioxide, nitrogen
dioxide, and carbon monoxide.
The major sources
of these pollutants
are power plants, cars, trucks, buses, and industrial
machinery.
• Because the world progresses, Moms Clean Air Force has
created an e-book “ASTHMA TRIGGERS: A Guide for
Parents, Teachers, Doctors and Nurses” that identifies
asthma is a national epidemic. Nearly 26 million Americans live with asthma — including 7 million children.
• Free
• momscleanairforce.org
APPS
Nursing Central by Unbound Medicine
• Nursing Central helps nurses and students find detailed
information on diseases, tests, drugs, and procedures. The
moment a question arises you can consult the automatically
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WEBSITES
Bonnie & Vern Bullough
History of Nursing Collection
• The History of Nursing
Collection was established
by Bonnie Bullough,
former dean of the School
of Nursing, University at
Buffalo, and husband,
Vern Bullough, SUNY
Distinguished Professor of
History, SUNY College at
Buffalo, in 1990.
• The collection includes
nursing artifacts
and histories on nursing leaders including Florence
Nightingale, whose vision of a comprehensive health
care system, and even the core principles of what would
become the welfare state, with a system of agencies
for the care of the aged, long-term infirm, disabled and
children of destitute parents.
• library.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/hsl/history/bull.html
updating database of 5,000 drugs, find
a definition in the dictionary with more
than 65,000 entries, interpret hundreds
of laboratory and diagnostic tests, and
consult the latest disease information.
• You can also subscribe to your favorite
nursing journals and search the entire
MEDLINE/PubMed database directly
from your mobile device. iPhone, Android, BlackBerry
• Free
• nursing.unboundmedicine.com
Lab Values Reference by Imago
• According to Imago, this app is perfect for both academic and clinical
settings, providing clear, concise
coverage of 375 of the most commonly performed laboratory tests.
• Organized by body system and lab
panels, and presented in a consistent
format with normal findings, indications, test explanation, test results
and clinical significance, as well as
an overview of order of draw. iPhone
• $0.99
• www.imedicalapps.com
ES285806_hct0813_026.pgs 07.22.2013 23:59
ADV
Opportunity Showcase
Voalte One by Voalte
• Designed by one of the pioneers
in healthcare communication
technology, Voalte One is
designed to be a unified communications solution enabling
phone calls across the hospital
VoIP system, text messaging
via the user directory, and userfriendly alarm management.
• The company’s name refers to
the product’s basic features: voice, alarms, and texts.
iPhone
• Free
• www.voalte.com
Top pay
equals
more play
TECHNOLOGY
Fastaff launch streamlines traveling
Fastaff Travel Nursing, a provider of urgent and crucial
temporary nurses, recently launched a new online tool –
FastPass Profile software, which is designed to link nurses
with travel opportunities and assist hospitals fill vacancies
faster.
According to the company, FastPass Profile technology
streamlines the application and credentialing process by
allowing nurses to electronically prepare their travel profile
by uploading their credentials to our Nurse Portal. Once
their profile is complete, the system will match the nurse
to open positions giving nurses the ability to “self-submit”
for priority consideration.
The nurse’s profile is then expedited to the hospital’s
hiring manager, reducing the cycle-time between
applications and placing a nurse on location.
“This technology completely changes the landscape
in rapid response healthcare staffing,” says Kay Cowling,
Fastaff’s chief executive officer. “Now, just as soon as a
facility requests our services, potential nurse candidates
are matched to that opportunity and via FastPass Profile
can submit themselves with a click of a button, allowing
Fastaff to provide needed patient care to a hospital in
record time.”
Fastaff’s new leading edge technology gives nurses
the ability to be proactive in finding their next travel
assignment by matching available travel opportunities
to their profile. FastPass Profile technology also provides
healthcare facilities with unparalleled, immediate access
to the credentials and travel readiness of the nurses
within Fastaff’s system thereby reducing the time spent on
outbound sourcing.
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H iki ng ne
w trai ls!
As the leader in Rapid Response RN stafng, Fastaf
is your connection to extraordinary job satisfaction.
Enjoy a challenging and rewarding assignment?
Then become part of our elite group of travel nurses.
• Premium Pay
• Flexible Scheduling
• Top-tier Assignments
• Exciting Locations
Fastaf places experienced travel nurses, including:
ICU, CVICU, PICU, NICU, PEDs, PEDs ER, OR, CVOR, PEDs
OR, PACU, L&D, Med/Surg and Case Managers. View
current openings and sign-up for job alerts at our website!
Know a nurse looking for a rewarding opportunity?
Refer a nurse and earn up to a $3,000 referral bonus.
Learn more!
800-736-8773
www.Fastaf.com
Joint Commission Certifed
27
ES285805_hct0813_027.pgs 07.22.2013 23:59
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Starter’s Kit
DAVID MORRISON
Pay is just part
of the picture
O
n my first travel assignment
years ago, I was fortunate
enough to go to Hawaii. At that
time, I still owned a house in Ohio
and had about $10,000 in credit card
debt.
Despite this, I still accepted an assignment paying around $7.00 an
hour less than I typically earned.
But for me, I was always what I
term a “location traveler”—someone
who does not care about his wage as
much as getting to a specific, desirable
location.
I admit that I’m not going to work
as a nurse in a critical care unit for
minimal pay. However, if I’m looking
to get to a certain location, as long as
I am able to earn enough to pay my
monthly expenses, I will consider taking a $5.00 to $10.00 per hour pay if
other things balance out.
Lately, I’ve received a fair share of
emails from nurses questioning why
they would want to take a travel assignment that pays less than they currently earn as a staff nurse. Whether
you choose to travel is based on your
3
∣
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Earning as you go
Choosing similar assignment locations and earning a bigger paycheck
is one option. Often, you can do this
by working extra per diem or registry
shifts in your current location.
I call the nurses taking these types
of contracts “paycheck travelers” and
there’s certainly nothing wrong with
that. It depends on what priorities
you place on your future traveling
career.
After my first 13-week contract, I
enjoyed the island lifestyle so much
TIPS FOR YOUR KIT
1
3
28
expectations. If you expect to get
rich, know that travel nursing is not
the ‘cash cow’ that it once was. Sure,
you can earn a very nice living being
a travel nurse. There are even nurses
who earn more than $100,000 a year
traveling.
However, in those situations you
are probably talking about working a
48- or 60-hour work week and likely
not in choice locations like Hawaii,
where assignments don’t materialize
everyday.
When considering a
travel assignment look
at all of the potential
benefits.
can earn extra
2 You
money, even at a plum
assignment that pays
less.
Talk to a recruiter to determine what travel assignment is right for you.
that I was actually contemplating a
permanent staff position. However,
I realized that to do so would not be
financially feasible.
But, one thing that I valued was
being able to live in a permanent
home in another state and continue to work in other locations as a
traveler.
If you’re considering a travel assignment, I recommend you sit
down and create a very accurate
budget detailing all of your monthly
expenses.
I advise travelers to
maintain enough savings
to cover at least a month’s
worth of financial
obligations.
Once you have this number, you
have a little bit more math ahead of
you. You will need to have an idea of
how much you are paying in taxes
each month so that you can figure out
what your take-home pay would be
when a travel company quotes you an
hourly rate.
I work with a travel company that
asks me a few questions (how many
exemptions I will claim and if I will
be participating in its tax advantage
program) and then quotes me a biweekly take-home amount. This process should work well for associate or
diploma nurses who are considering a
travel assignment.
Once you know the hourly
rate that you will need to earn to
meet your monthly financial obligations, you can start deciding what
type of travel assignment is right
for you.
ES284523_hct0813_028.pgs 07.19.2013 01:55
ADV
Perhaps you need to catch up on some bills and would
like to be a paycheck traveler for an assignment or two.
After that, you might opt for spending the rest of the year
in a location bathed in sunshine or surrounded by a body
of water.
I also encourage travelers to make a list of the attractions
or locations they would like to see throughout the country.
As you go forward you can better plan your assignments
according to geographic regions. Then as you go forward,
you can begin marking select items off your personal
bucket list.
While an assignment in a location topping your list
might not pay what you require to comfortably meet your
monthly expenses, a second or third choice might actually be a happy compromise where you can meet your
monthly expenses and earn some extra money to have
while on site.
While some travelers are happy to take an assignment
where they earn less, max out their credit cards, and then
take one or two assignments to catch up, not everyone is
comfortable with this situation. That’s why I advise travelers to maintain enough savings to cover at least a
month’s worth of financial obligations.
Contracted gold
You should also know that reading your entire contract will net you a million dollars. Ok, it won’t really,
but the value of scrutinizing your contract is worth its
weight in gold. That’s because this simple document
governs a good part of your life while you are on the
road and understanding how it applies to you is ultimately important.
For example, your contract mandates how you
must behave (“the traveler must follow all hospital
policies and procedures”), conditions of your work
(“36 hours per week, 7P- 7A, four weekend shifts per
month”), and the important fine print (“should the
traveler be terminated by facility with cause, traveler
will be responsible for all housing costs associated with
cancellation of contract.”)
Travelers often ask me what they should do if they are on
the road and realize their contract is not what they expected. Getting out of a contract is a lot easier to do before you
travel hundreds or even thousands of miles from home.
The travel lifestyle affords you opportunities that you
may have never considered before. The key is determining what you value and how to go about achieving it.
Earning less pay in some instances shouldn’t detour you
away from the other treasures associated with being a
travel nurse. ■
David Morrison, RN, is a Phoenix-based travel nurse and
the author of the book “The Travel Nurse’s Bible: A Guide
to Everything on Travel Nursing,” (travelnursesbible.com).
He holds nursing licenses in six states and travels anywhere
from six to 12 months annually. He can be reached at
david@travelnursesbible.com.
Classifieds
For Recruitment, Products & Services Advertising Information
contact Joanna Shippoli:
800-225-4569, ext 2615 or e-mail jshippoli@advanstar.com
VISA, MASTERCARD, AMERICAN EXPRESS accepted.
TAX SERVICES
TravelTax
Started by a former Traveler
with you in mind.
U.S. or Canadian tax preparation
Audit assistance
www.TravelTax.com • 866.272.7871
ATTENTION TRAVELERS!
Do you have tips for Starter’s Kit?
Send the to dbennett@advanstar.com
and they could appear in a future issue of
Healthcare Traveler.
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Explore great Career and
Travel Opportunities with
all the leading companies,
all in one place!
∣
PLACE YOUR AD IN
HEALTHCARE TRAVELER!
For Products and Services and
Recruitment, Call Joanna Shippoli:
800-225-4569
29
ES284522_hct0813_029.pgs 07.19.2013 01:55
ADV
Attention
travelers & recruiters:
Let the voting begin!
Don't miss your chance to participate in Healthcare Traveler's
annual Traveler and Recruiter of the Year Awards.
Recruiters: Nominate one nursing and one allied health traveler
who reflects the best of the best in terms of loyalty, flexibility,
work ethic, dependability, and reputation.
Travelers: Vote for your favorite recruiter. Who has been
the most professional, understanding, and supportive?
T
ra
ve
ler
MOVE
2013
s
RE PROFESSIONALS ON THE
rd
INFORMATION FOR HEALTHCA
of the Year A w
a
Go to HealthcareTraveler.com
to nominate a traveler or recruiter today.
Online nominations due by Oct. 7, 2013
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ES286719_HCT0813_030_FP.pgs 07.24.2013 02:08
ADV
Going the Distance
ONLINE LEARNING PROGRAMS
Going online at UT Tyler
Karin Marcus
A
ccredited by the Commission on
Collegiate Nursing Education,
University of Texas at Tyler’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences
opened its doors in 1975.
Home to one of the top graduate
schools of nursing, the university was
recently ranked eleventh in the 2013
issue of “Best Online Graduate Nursing Programs” by U.S. News & World
Report.
Online programs
Web-based programs continue to be a
wonderful option for working professionals giving them the flexibility they
require in order to continue their education while still being able to manage
work and family responsibilities. The
College of Nursing offers an online
Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)
degree with three specialties as well as a
PhD in Nursing.
Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)
UT Tyler’s MSN program combines
critical thinking and advanced practice
to help students learn specialized skills
and prepare them for leadership roles.
Typically completed in just two years
of full-time study, coursework is done
online with clinical experiences conducted within each student’s local community. An MSN degree provides a firm
basis for those interested in earning a
doctoral level education.
Participants in the Nursing Education degree program will enhance their
clinical skills while learning the newest
educational strategies and theories.
Graduates are prepped for a career
in a healthcare-related or an entry-level
faculty position. The completion of 37
credit hours is necessary to graduate
from this program.
Those interested in pursuing a career
in Nursing Administration will learn to
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take on executive roles and management positions in nursing. Graduates
learn how to develop and implement
new systems to provide top-notch patient care.
Thirty-seven credit hours are needed
to complete the MSN degree as well.
Nurses choosing the Nurse Practitioner track are trained primarily for
advanced roles in family practice. Students acquire expertise as a primary
care provider, directly involved in diagnosis and treatment procedures, and
play a major role in patient care and
recovery.
This hybrid program requires 48
credit hours for completion including
30 hours online and 18 hours of clinical
courses in a web-enhanced format. This
degree program will require occasional
on-campus attendance.
To be eligible for admission to the
MSN program, candidates must complete a graduate school application, hold
a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN)
degree from an accredited college; RNMSN applicants must hold either an
associate degree in nursing or diploma
in nursing.
The PhD in Nursing (PhD) degree prepares graduates as nursing leaders and
researchers equipped to impact health
locally and translate research findings globally. Coursework is provided
entirely online with the exception of a
three-day workshop each summer.
UT Tyler offers two PhD curriculums: BSN to PhD and MSN to PhD.
The BSN to PhD program is completed
in four years (rather than five if a MSN
and PhD were earned sequentially) of
full-time study. Students enrolled in
the MSN to PhD curriculum require only
three years of full-time study.
Those seeking admission to the PhD
program must have a degree in nursing
from a college or university approved by
a recognized national accrediting body,
a minimum GPA of 3.0, and submission
For More Info
The University of Texas at Tyler
College of Nursing & Health Sciences
3900 University Blvd.Tyler,
Texas 75799
(903) 566-7203
enroll@uttyler.edu
Technical Requirements:
For a successful experience with UT Tyler’s
online programs, the following is recommended: The latest versions of Internet
Explorer or Firefox, MS Office, high speed
DSL or cable connection, and the latest
version of Mac OS or Windows (although
users may be happier with Windows 7 for
this purpose).
The latest versions of these software
applications should be obtained: Java,
Adobe Reader, Adobe Flash, Adobe
Shockwave, Apple’s QuickTime, and Windows Media Player. An updated antivirus
program should be used, as well as for the
overall operating system.
of graduate record examination (GRE)
scores within the past five years.
Candidates must possess a current
RN license, a page paper linking professional goals and research interests to
health issues emphasized in this program, and three academic and professional letters of reference.
Prospective MSN and PhD students
may apply online at www.applytexas.
org. All applications must include a
non-refundable $40 application fee.
For further information about the
programs offered through the University of Texas-Tyler’s School of Nursing,
visit http://www.uttyler.edu/nursing/
college/index.php or call at
(903) 566-7128. ■
Karin Marcus is a freelance writer
living in North Woodmere, N.Y.
ES283640_hct0813_031.pgs 07.17.2013 22:14
∣
31
ADV
your
shift
Jennifer L.W. Fink, RN, BSN, is a registered nurse
and freelance writer from Milwaukee, Wis. Her work has
appeared in a variety of publications, including RN, Nursing
Spectrum, Scholastic Parent & Child, and Ladies’ Home Journal.
Presenting a positive image
Y
ou’re probably a nurse, so you know
what real nurses do as an occupation,
what they look like, and how they act on
the job.
You know that the average nurse
is an intelligent, compassionate human being who works hard to provide
information and comfort to patients
and their families. You know that most
nurses wear scrubs and are pretty ordinary human beings who, at times, do
extraordinary things.
Even though the American public
consistently ranks nurses as the most
trustworthy professionals, why do the
stereotypes of the sexy nurse, angel of
mercy and nurse-as-battle axe live on?
Could it be because we, as nurses,
unwittingly reinforce some of the stereotypes?
You probably don’t wear skin-tight
uniforms or outdated hats, but if you’re
like most nurses, you’ve probably said
yes to at least one inconvenient request
to work an extra shift.
At least once, you’ve probably prioritized the needs of your patients over
your needs, even to the point of foregoing rest or nourishment. And isn’t that
the definition of the “Angel of Mercy,”
who exists only to serve her patients,
and willingly pushes aside her own
needs.
She is always calm, always kind and
never, ever assertive. And while it’s true
that you have a responsibility to tend to
your patients, it’s also true that you have
a responsibility to yourself. You will be
a better nurse, a better person, and a
better representative of the profession of
nursing if you also develop and maintain
personal and professional boundaries.
For example, you don’t have to say
yes to every request to work. You don’t
have to sacrifice your lunch period in
order to be a good nurse. Good nurses
can (and do) ask other good nurses to
cover for them so they can have some
much needed time off. Because if you’re
the subject of burnout, how is that helping your patients?
At the other side of the spectrum,
good, professional nurses take the time
to listen to their patients. When you
work in the high stakes, highly emotional world of healthcare, it’s easier to
adopt an attitude of indifference.
It’s easy to become jaded, whether it’s
viewing every patient who asks for pain
meds as drug-dependency delinquent, and dismissing every obese person as a
fast-food addict.
It’s easy to become brusque and
short in the name of efficiency, to issue
commands instead of taking the time
to answer questions and explain procedures. But doing so only reinforces the
outdated image of a surly battle axe.
Better instead to deal with your feelings and frustrations. When you cease
seeing patients as individual human
beings, you cease being useful to your
patients – or your profession.
In too many places, nurses still see
themselves as less influential than other
healthcare professionals. We still see
ourselves as overworked and underappreciated, and we’ve twisted that perceived lack of professional respect into a
form of gallows humor that unwittingly
reinforces the negative stereotypes of
nursing.
Frequently posted quotes and photos on the Internet, such as “Become a
hospital nurse today and experience the
thrill of having nothing to be thrilled
about!” don’t exactly paint nursing as a
desirable, fulfilling profession.
Let’s treat our patients, ourselves and
our profession with dignity and respect.
Let’s carry ourselves with pride. And
let’s leave antiquated stereotypes of
nursing in the past. It’s time to move
nursing’s image into the future. ■
YOUR VOICE
Do you have
a problem
with nursing
stereotypes
Answer at
HealthcareTraveler.com/NurseStereotype
WAYS FOR IMPROVING NURSING’S IMAGE
Dress
professionally.
Cartoon characters
may comfort scared
kids, but there’s
nothing professional
about baggy scrubs
emblazoned with cute
cartoon characters.
Leave Daffy at home.
32
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Call out
offensive images.
When you see an ad
or image that shows
nurses as sex objects
or unprofessional,
write the sponsor to
explain why it bothers
you. Stereotypes are
dwindling, but still exist.
Share your story.
The more people
know about what
nurses really do,
the more people
respect nurses, so
let them know.
Reinforce the
positive.
In the age of
sophisticated patient
care, ensure that you’re
up to date with the
latest technology and
procedures that your
specialty requires.
Shun the negative.
Just one momentary
lapse of reason
feeds the perception
that nurses are
less than critical
components of a
modern healthcare
system. Don’t allow
that to be you.
ES283820_hct0813_032.pgs 07.18.2013 04:49
ADV
Our unmatched commitment to quality saves lives.
Become part of the Cross Country TravCorps team today!
We pride ourselves on placing outstanding, highly credentialed RNs who are well respected by our hospital clients.
But most importantly, our nurses deliver the very best in patient care and that’s what quality is all about.
800.697.9824 / crosscountry.com
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Cross Country TravCorps is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
ES284479_HCT0813_CV3_FP.pgs 07.18.2013 23:39
ADV
Where do you
want to go next?
Jobs you want.
Benefits you deserve.
People who care.
Let us help you find your next adventure.
For over ten years trustaff has been placing healthcare professionals at the best facilities across
the country. With outstanding benefits, great pay, and dedicated, personal service, it’s easy to
see why trustaff continues to be one of the fastest-growing staffing companies in the nation!
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Leading Pay - Up to $2,200 /week
Nurse and Allied Professional Openings
4 to 13 Week Assignments Nationwide
Weekly Pay with Direct Deposit
Guaranteed Hours
Clinical Liaison Support Available 24/7
Non-Profit Housing Department
www.trustafftravel.com
877.880.0346
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|
info@trustaff.com
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Full Benefits Package
Day One Major Medical Coverage
401k with Employer Match
Paid Time Off
Licensure Reimbursement
Loyalty, Extension, and Sign-On Bonuses
Referral Bonuses up to $1,500!
trustaff has earned
The Joint Commission’s
Gold Seal of Approval
ES284489_HCT0813_CV4_FP.pgs 07.18.2013 23:39
ADV

HealthcareTraveler.com

Transcription

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