1st travel assignment

Runman1914, MSN, RN · Dec 16, 2013

I did 10 years of travel nursing, most in south Florida. Please be advised South Florida hospitals are notorious for dumping big time on travelers. Best advice i can give you is to SPEAK UP!! At anytime you feel like you are being dumped on while the staff is doing their nails you must SPEAK UP!! Most of my travel career i just keep quiet and took the abuse. Most hopitals will give the travelers more patients than the staff. Also the travelers are given the most difficult patients and difficult families!

I wish you the best with your first assignment. Just don't take abuse . Dont stand by quietly as the charge nurse gives you more patients and does nothing to help. I had experiences where i had 8 patients on day shift and the charge nurse was doing nothing but reading a magazine!

Julius Seizure · Dec 18, 2013

I worked for 5 years in Florida, and I agree, there was a reputation for the travel nurses getting dumped on - our unit would try to change that perception but travellers definitely said they experienced it other places.

I am about to take my first travel assignment, hopefully in Florida. I am wondering WHO am I supposed to speak up to if I feel like I am getting dumped on? My recruiter? The manager? I don't really know what the (unspoken?) rules are in this regard.

ukjenn231 · Dec 18, 2013

I also have been a traveler in Florida for a few years. On my first assignment I felt like I was being abused and I spoke up to the charge nurse, who looked at me like I was nuts - "this is the norm for our unit" but I really felt it wasn't fair so I called the "nurse liasion" for my company. This nurse liasion told me pretty much to suck it up. The manager of the unit called to talk to me about it on the next business day, but bottom line is it didn't change. Unfortunate, but it was worth it to me to travel to Florida.

Runman1914, MSN, RN · Dec 18, 2013

I also have been a traveler in Florida for a few years. On my first assignment I felt like I was being abused and I spoke up to the charge nurse, who looked at me like I was nuts - "this is the norm for our unit" but I really felt it wasn't fair so I called the "nurse liasion" for my company. This nurse liasion told me pretty much to suck it up. The manager of the unit called to talk to me about it on the next business day, but bottom line is it didn't change. Unfortunate, but it was worth it to me to travel to Florida.

Unfortunately i had the same experience at most Florida hospitals. My worst assignment was Del Ray medical center aka Hell Ray and Death Ray!! The charge nurses were totally useless. I was taking 8 patients on day shift. The charge nurse would sit at the nurses station reading a magazine and flirting with doctors. She would take ZERO patients and do nothing to help!! I started my assignment there with 11 other travelers and only 2 of us finished the contract.

Also be advised the clientel of patients and families you deal with in south Florida is the rudest, most demanding , self entitled you will ever deal with. The hospitals are big time in customer service!

So you barely have time for nursing care. You need to find out up front the patient ratio for the unit. Ask a lot of questions before taking the assignment.