amy0123

nurses have way too much on their plates during a shift. Prioritizing patient care often means we neglect our own basic needs, like using the bathroom or even staying hydrated. But it's critical to advocate for ourselves and push back against the culture that normalizes this. Taking a few minutes to go to the bathroom isn't just about comfort—it's about our health and well-being, which ultimately impacts the quality of care we provide. Companies / Hospitals need to address staffing and workflow issues so we're not forced into these unhealthy situations.

Thank you, that is an awesome suggestion! I can definitely spend a day shadowing in each area and pick a specialty. I'll contact the manager of each specialty. If the specialty is not a good fit for me, then I could stay as I am in my position. At least I could say I've tried

Hi everyone, I have been a medsurg tele traveler for a little over ten years, and pick up local per diem shifts in between assignments at home. After reviewing several travel nurse websites and all of their needs for specialties like OR, ICU, ER, PICU, NICU, L&D, I've been considering adding a new specialty for new opportunities and experiences. What would you pick if you were me? :) A few of my coworkers have transitioned to NICU and loved it. I remember always wanting to work with babies during my days in nursing school. After I graduated I was directed to start in medsurg and never really transitioned to another specialty. Now I'm considering NICU, as there are several positions available at my local facility. I feel I'm sort of at a crossroads. Learn a new specialty and stick with it for a few years or should I stick to traveling in medsurg tele? Have any travelers taken time off to train in other areas and then travel again? What was your experience? What would you recommend? What would you do?

I've worked at The Villages Hospital and Naples Community Hospital on Travel Assignments with AMN. They were both a great experience. I'm a med/surg/Tele nurse. Some friends I made in both places work in ICU and said it was great too. I would definitely go back to either hospital and work there again if the opportunity opens and I'm available.

nomad5150- this is old stuff and there is already a behind the scenes effort to clean up the worst of the practices (see www.natho.org ) :) as a traveler, you are not going to get a market wage in this economy as the agencies must take their bill rate (not as high as rumor has it) and allocate part to wage, reimbursements, taxes, overhead and profit. there's a traveler's conference in las vegas in september. some agency execs will be there to present, discuss and answer questions on travel wages, taxes and other things that'll help clear up these issues.

79Tango - please explain some facts. If the 4 companies I mentioned are the worst, what makes them the worst? what are the best? You seem to know. As an RN, the $15/h wage is not market value. Especially after working for American Mobile for 4 years. The companies mentioned as "best" had been recommended to me by several travelers in several states. And I've heard of the worst companies over and over. None were these.

I've been with American Mobile for 3-4 years. It's really sad how since fall of 2010 they've changed into a "tax advantage" pay program. This means to me that the company gets to take advantage of Travel Nurses on the tax and hourly rate. I was offered a contract to work $15/h. My recruiter said "you are really getting $24 hour with the $35/day per diem meal rate." I am looking forward to working for a company that is not lying or stealing for their own gain. What company does not follow this tax advantage program and honors a normal market pay rate? So far I am looking into OnAssignment, Freedom Healthcare, Aureus and Fastaff. These companies do not have a "tax advantage" program and do not cheat Travelers with below market wage salaries. It's great that American Mobile is such a large company with so many contracted hospitals under their umbrella. But it's sad that they've changed into this tax advantage wage with super low hourly rates. If I want to work in a specific location, American Mobile usually has it. Unlike other travel companies. That means for me that I may have to switch between companies to get the location wanted. More work for me. But the right thing to do.

I had the same problem. It was not easy. The process took weeks. I had the same situation. I had to explain to my loan officer what a travel nurse was and does. He said his mother was a nurse and new about travel nursing and she helped him to understand it better. She even lived near the home base of the travel agency. My loan officer had to convince the underwriter that I would be living in the home and not leaving it for long periods of time. I explained that long truck drivers, salesmen, flight attendants may leave their homes for weeks at a time and get mortgages too. My loan officer wanted to see proof of steady consistent income, (no gaps of time without paychecks), proof of employment and that I would be living there, employeed within the area and not commuting more than 50 miles. What it came down to was the steady income - that I've been working with the same company for years without gaps in time. Plus it helped that my husband was not a travel nurse and that his name was also on the mortgage. He can be there while I'm away. Shortly after the underwriter approved the mortgage, we went into closing.

Yes, their housing is clean and safe. Occupied by nurses. A condo-like setting. The hospital itself is located in Naples, mostly a retirement community. It's a beautiful area. The hospital's housing is about a 15 minute walk to the beach and a block away from the hospital. There are lots of places to shop along the strip that the hospital is located like Macy's, Sear's, several malls and country clubs. I loved it! I was at the beach almost most of my time collecting sea shells and dolphine watching.

Vassar Brothers starting pay is $29.67 per hourly rate. It goes up a dollar or so every year after. I'm not sure about St. Francis pay.

I've worked with American Mobile for 3 years. I started my first travel assignment with them and I'm still working for them. They're a well known company and therefore have more assignments available in more states. I would say for a new traveler, I would rather start out with an experienced company than a new small company for stability reasons. I almost signed up with a company called Voyager and they went out of business a few months later. A friend suggested me to join them. I would have been in a bad position if they went out of business in the middle of my assignment. Glad it wasn't me! From experience, I haven't had any conflicts with them. At some hospitals, I met other travel nurses that worked for different agencies. I'm usually the highest paid and I work with American Mobile! For example, in Hawaii I made $27.50/h. My coworkers made $18, $20, and $22 - I don't remember what agencies they were with. Another example was in Florida; I made $24/h, someone from CrossCountry was making $20/h but we both had great housing. She needed to buy plates and bowels. Not all hospitals are great. Sometimes you don't know what you are walking in to! Just be ready to hit the ground running. Staffing may be poor, expect large nurse to patient ratios (1:8), over-worked staff, lack of aides, lack of help, pharmacy slacking with bringing up meds, outdated equipment, outdated protocols... I've seen all of this and more. As a Travel Nurse, You're providing relief into over stressed facilities. In a great hospital, sometimes there are no major issues, and the only reason why you're there is to relieve the high census. For example, Florida has a higher census in the winter due to tourism. And when you're there, the nurse ratio changes from 1:8 to 1:6. What a relief for everyone! Housing comes with furnishing/linens/kitchen items in safe areas. It has been a great experience. The commute can be far from the hospital. In one place, it was a 45min commute. In another place, it was about a 20 minute commute. Sometimes it's safer to commute to a busy city than live in it, plus it depends what housing is available and what kind of area you're in. I've had 3 different recruiters. The one I'm currently with is new since last week. The one before her worked with me for 2 years (left because she had a first baby) - She was the best & I miss her. The one before her worked with me for only 4 months (left because she was promoted). Hope this helps.

You're right. Most people do not care. However, I think there are very few who do. And they will be very frustrated.

If every state mandated the H1N1 vaccine like the NY government has, I wonder what the response would be from health care workers from all 50 states. Would some states refuse and rally? Would those nurses also lose their argument for free choice and be fired?

united nations international law: http://www.un.org/en/law/ world trade organization law: http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news_e.htm obama announces plan to expand fight against global h1n1 pandemic http://geneva.usmission.gov/news/category/health/h1n1-swine-flu/ "in terms of preparedness, the world is also fortunate to have the revised international health regulations. this treaty, which is designed to protect public health, also has provisions aimed at preventing undue interference with international trade and travel." http://www.who.int/dg/speeches/2009/influenza_a_h1n1_situation_20090504/en/index.html [color=#4557a0]

The military gets involved: "Representatives from 10 U.S. government agencies are holding a two-day table-top exercise in cooperation with the government of Panama to assist in responding to any future influenza pandemic Sept. 16." "The representatives discussed how the United States and the Panamanian government can manage an influenza outbreak by utilizing their agencies' assets to combat a pandemic." http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=48357 "When this is declared Pandemic level 6 we are no longer under US law. This is the important thing- at that point we are under United Nations and World Health Organization law." http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread503575/pg1