Travel Hospice Nursing!

[EmmaJo]

Any hospice RNs out there who do travel nursing? If so, what agency do you go through? How have your experiences been?

Thank you!

[nrcnurse]

I am a hospice traveller. I have worked in FL, VT and NH. I work with Core Medical Group. They have lots of hospice positions, but you can also go to The Gypsy Nurse web site and search their jobs board for hospice jobs. Lots of positions there. It's the same job, just different locations. Learning the EMR is probably the most challenging part. I love working in New England in the summer and Florida in the winter.

[Madebymelo]

I have been doing hospice for almost two years now and have considered doing travel. I have researched it but can't decide whether to make the jump!

[TammyG]

The nursing is very similar, but there is so much you need to learn that is unique to each hospice. I would think that there would be a big start up learning curve. For example, not only the EMR, but how to order equipment, contact the doctor, how to order supplies, how do I order meds, knowing the local pharmacies, knowing how to use hospice pharmacies, not to mention learning all the streets in the area. There are also wide differences in what a nurse needs to do to prepare for IDT. I used to train new nurses at our hospice, and by far the most complicated parts were not the nursing issues but all the specifics of who to contact, how to document, how to order things. I would imagine that hospice travel nursing is more challenging than other types of travel nursing.

[nrcnurse]

You are correct, TammyG, there is a learning curve, but ordering equipment, calling docs, calling pharmacies, etc., is pretty much the same everywhere. I have a new spiral notebook for each assignment. In the front, I write down all the contact numbers and names of managers, staff, DME, pharmacy, docs, etc. that I will need. And, I always have a contact to ask every stupid question that I might have. Ramping up does not take nearly as long as you might think. Honestly, it is the same job in each location, just with a different cast of characters. And, traveling is a wonderful experience.