Calling all travelers, i have a question!

RNcorazon · Oct 16, 2010

Hi ! i being traveling for a year and they usually give you one day orientation to the unit, so you know where everything is located and you may follow a nurse to be familiar with most of the hospital protocol. I would say the first week pretty much you should be able to work independently, but there is always somebody to ask, usually a charge nurse.

RNERHOUSESUPOR · Oct 16, 2010

If you have determined that it will take you two weeks of a 13 week contract to become "oriented, then maybe travel assignments aren't for you. If you are able to provide safe, effecient patient care with one day of orientation then you will be respected and requested. We all have different learning curves and different jobs. Hopefully a person seeks a job that they are suited for with their personal requirements.

EmergencyNrse · Oct 20, 2010

Takes me about 2 weeks to settle into my "comfort zone".

Software is different. Protocols will be different. Priorities will vary.

It will be a different routine everywhere you go.

Most places will understand and will help you out. It's not all bad.

Good luck,

enchantmentdis, BSN, RN · Oct 20, 2010

If you have the misfortune of making a mistake by traveling to Kaiser (Kaiser hogs all travelers from other hospitals, btw), you will have to hit the ground running after very tedious sit down orientations and exams that tell you nothing about the tortures and inequities you will face as a traveler (especially in med-surg/tele). Not for the faint of heart. Just blend in and don't **** anyone off. They will want you to help them, not the other way around. Travelers are expected to know everything and read everyone's mind, and are not supposed to have a life. One manager said to a traveler--you are here to work, so yeah, you are scheduled for 4 twelves in a row; did you think you came here for wine-tasting?

flnursemichelle · Oct 20, 2010

I have been traveling for the past year and I find that it usually takes me about 2-3 weeks to get really comfortable but you will find that you still ask lots of questions. I have had assignments where I had only 1 night of orientaion then I have had an assignment where I had 4 nights of orientation. By the 2nd night, I am caring for the patients, I felt like it was a wast of time and money to have someone sitting around just in case I needed them. I usually find that hospitals with free "Charge" or that type of situation are easier to ask questions. They don't have 6-8 patients to care for and answer all your questions. I have also had several assignments where the first week I went home thinking WTH was I thinking when I took this job and by the time the 2nd week was done I was ok and over it so just keep at it. If you interview the hospital well and learn how to read their answers, that will help. When you ask what their max ratio is, that is what you should expect every night, that seems to be the common theme for all of them to me anyway. I also make sure I ask about if I am required to do OT or if I am allowed to do OT, what support staff they have at night and a bunch of other things. I have a 2 page form I fill out during the interview. It is very hard to turn down the one job offer you have had for the last 3 weeks but inevitably, something else comes along soon after so if you don't like the way it sounds, don't take it. I also look up the hospital scores on the internet before I accept. Just making sure that I'm not going to someplace horrible. I hope this helps, don't give up after a bad assignment, keep trying. Give it a chance and treat each place as a learning experience.

GleeGum, BSN, RN · Oct 22, 2010

i'm on my third assignment.

with the first i had two days orientation and was pretty comfortable in the small ER there in a few weeks

the next i had one day orientation and felt comfortable by week 8 (yikes!)

now i had one day orientation and by the 2nd week i was fine.