Tips for New Travel Nurses to “KonMari” Credential Documents

Travel nursing is an exciting, financially secure, and personally fulfilling career. But the documents and paperwork involved can be confusing and overwhelming, especially for first time travelers. The tips in this post outline how to easily gather and manage your credentials for a successful career in travel nursing. Nurses Announcements Archive

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Travel nursing is a personally and financially rewarding way to immerse yourself in different cities while gaining professionally valuable skills and work experience. But if you’re a first-time traveler, the list of required documents can be overwhelming. Gathering and managing all of the required documents for a travel assignment can be intimidating and stressful, but with an effective credential management tool designed specifically for travel nurses, you can save yourself time and headaches. The following tips on credential management can help you stay organized and set you up for success when applying to new travel nurse jobs.

Tip 1: Request Current Documents

Instead of compiling required documents from scratch, reach out to your current healthcare employer and ask for your documentation on file. If your current employer can provide copies of these documents within a few days, you’ll be ahead in the journey to your first travel assignment.

Tip 2: Acquire State Licenses

Before you can work anywhere, you must have the right state licenses. Start the process of applying for and acquiring state licenses sooner rather than later; some states provide licenses in a couple of days, while in other states the process can take months.

If you happen to reside in one of the states that is part of the Nursing Licensure Compact (NLC), you can work in any other NCL state without having to submit separate applications for licensure. By obtaining as many license endorsements as you can, you’ll be able to apply for your desired work location without the added stress and uncertainty of waiting to see if you can obtain the right credentials in time.

Tip 3: Schedule Alerts for Expiration Dates

You can easily stay on top of your expiring documents by creating alerts 90 days before the renewal dates and as many more reminders you think you might need. By setting up alerts to remind yourself to renew needed credentials, you can easily avoid stressful situations preventing you from working or causing compliance issues for your employer. Automatic reminders also prevent upcoming expiration dates from slipping from your mind so you can take proactive action to keep your documentation all up to date. By simply staying on top of your credential management you will become a valuable asset to both your recruiter and the facility you work.

Tip 4: Add a Titer Report to Your Medical Records

Travel nurses are better prepared for a wide variety of job opportunities when they meet the strictest medical standards for an assignment. In addition to the standard list of immunizations, consider acquiring a titer report. Titer reports show the amount of levels of antibodies in your bloodstream and lab levels that indicate your range of immunity. This test is not required for all travel assignments but it is increasing in popularity. Having a titer report already to submit when applying to new jobs will increase your chances of getting hired for the positions you want.

Tip 4: Go Digital

Don’t limit your credential management system to hard copies of your documents. This creates tedious administrative tasks and is inconvenient for you and your employer during the onboarding process for a travel assignment. There are a wide variety of online tools and apps to help keep all of your credentials and required documents easy to access and send. Ensure whatever resource you use encrypts your data and includes functionality to remind you of upcoming expiration dates.

Managing travel nursing documents can be overwhelming, but stressful situations due to missing and/or expiring documents are preventable by investing the time and effort to set yourself up for success. By taking the time to properly organize required paperwork in the beginning stages of your nursing career, starting new travel assignments won’t be nearly as much of a hassle. Luckily there are online tools available to simplify this daunting aspect of being a travel nurse. As you work on organizing your credentials and required documents for travel assignments, be sure to use resources that help simplify your nursing career so you can continue to focus on what you do best - saving lives.

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