Based on true Travel Nursing experiences by Cynthia Hubbard, R.N.
It was Wednesday when the call came in: "Can you be here by Tuesday?" Moira, the Director of a well- established Home Health and Hospice company up in northern Maine had just phoned me for an interview. It wasn't 10 minutes and I found myself saying with enthusiasm, "Sure!" Never mind I was in Wisconsin, but then, I have always been an optimist.
"Really???" Hope was evident in her voice. "Wow! That would be great."
"See you Tuesday, " I replied. I placed a call immediately back to my travel agency per instructions, to let them know that I would accept the assignment. Now I needed housing. I hate apartment living so Janelle in the travel agency's Housing Department was scrambling to find me a single family rental near where I would be working. She phoned to tell me she was waiting for a reply which we found out later - would never come.
After three hours, Janelle called to say she found a "cute place on a lake with a private deck and everything. I found it on Craig's List," she said happily. She gave me the phone number to the lady who owned the house. She lived upstairs from the studio I would be renting. It was in my price range. Little did I know what I was in for.....As I already had my necessary administrative paperwork done, all except the drug test and a few FAX's to send, all I to do was pack a suitcase....or so I thought.
The vehicle I drove was a 2000 Plymouth Voyager Van, 15 years old. While it got its' oil changes done religiously, and had new brakes, tires, and insurance, it lacked a tailpipe, one hubcap and had no back seats. Mind you it was great for loading stuff, but as it has crossed the country four times in the last 5 years and been exposed to extreme temperatures, so of course it had some rust. I suddenly wondered if we would really be okay on this trek to "God's Country." I phoned my mechanic to schedule the oil change. It was a tough squeeze but he agreed to do it later that afternoon.
As there was no internet in my apartment, keeping communication open between the travel agency and myself was a challenge. One is only authorized 2 hours a day of internet at the library unless one brings their own computer. Experience has taught me that using my computer in the library, is an exercise in patience. It could take up to 2 hours just to log on. Some documents such as titers, immunization records, physicals, respirator fittings, etc. needed timely FAXing so I jumped into my car to our apartment manager's office to use their machine. Caroline was behind the desk, hunched down, speaking to a prospective renter on the phone. (I think she had hoped I wouldn't see her.) Her desk piled with papers, she was trying to eat her lunch at the same time. Clearly, she was doing the work of 2 people. I felt guilty for asking for her help, but FAX's sent from her office do not cost anything and I was told in the past that it's ok to ask them to send. She hung up the phone.
"Hi, Caroline," I said with some mustered up cheerfulness, "How are you?"
"Busy," she said flatly.
"I just got offered a travel nurse position up in Maine and I need to send these right away. She loaded the machine. While it was sending, her phone rang. As the pages fed through the FAX, they fell on the floor, gracefully spilling in all directions. I wanted to go behind the desk and help gather them up but renters aren't allowed back there so I helplessly stood while she spoke on the phone while I waited. The Confirmation Page printed. I thanked Caroline very much and headed out the door to the mechanic, 45 minutes up the highway. As I rolled into the garage for the oil change, my phone rang. It was Joe, from the travel nurse company.
"We never got the FAX," he informed me.
"But I have a confirmation!"
"Nope, it's not here. Can you send it again?" Caroline again and I was too far away from town anyway.
"Wait," I brainstormed. "My church is about a half mile up the street. I'll see if I can use theirs."
"Ok, just let us know when you are transmitting so we can watch for it."
"You got it," I said. Throwing the car into reverse, before he got a chance to raise the hood, I left the mechanic with a mental promise I would call him later and re-schedule. As I sailed into the parking lot at church, I prayed I could get this all done before I had to leave for Maine in the morning. Slamming the car door and racing to the entrance I nearly dislocated my shoulder as I grabbed the door handle to the church entrance.
Locked! I forgot that the church was also a school and that school was now out for the summer. Frantically I phoned the Pastor. (I had him on Speed-Dial.)
"Hello," he said cheerfully.
"Pastor, I've got kind of an emergency.." and explained to him what I needed.
"May I use your FAX?"
"Sure! Just tell Amanda what you need. Come to the end of the building and she'll let you in. I'll let her know to open the door."[
"I breathed a prayer of thanks." Amanda opened the door and said seriously, "You need to send a transmission? We will need to de-activate the alarm, as school is closed for summer and the equipment is rigged to go off if being used without authorization."
"Wow, so what do we do?" I asked.
"I'll call them and ask them to de-activate it while we are using it. It shouldn't be a problem."I watched as she contacted the Security folks. "About a half hour I would think," she said to them. I pulled out my paperwork and got my agency on the line to confirm as it was being transmitted.
"By the way", said Lisa, (H.R. Compliancy Officer at the company), "we also need a copy of your C.P.R. card and proof of car insurance."
"Great," I thought to myself. "It will mean a trip to the car," as I kept that in the glove box. I glanced sheepishly up at Amanda- she's very tall. "I will need to go out to the parking lot and I'm afraid the door will lock after me."
"Just prop it open with the child bench outside the door," she suggested. I ran down the hall. We were racing against the clock so I was only thinking about my Team that was waiting for the FAX, the alarm and how much time we had. The bench was within reach. As I held the door open and reached over to pull the bench over, I was shocked to feel how heavy it was and nearly threw my back out in the process. No one mentioned it was made of concrete!
As I reached the car and threw open the glove box, I saw to my dismay that although I had current coverage, my card had expired. "This just keeps getting better and better," I said to myself ruefully. As I trotted back to the church office and handed her the expired insurance card, I called Joe to let him know that the card is expired, but I could prove coverage.
"Yeah, we really do need a current card or something from your insurance company," he droned.
"You'll have it within the hour, I promise." I shot back with a forced smile. To my horror, while Amanda was making copies of my tiny cards to FAX, the alarm went off. We stared at each other. "Really?!" I asked. "Has it been a half hour?" We waited. No phone call.
"Great," I said chuckling, "Do we wait for the S.W.A.T. Team?" "I don't understand it," Amanda said looking bewildered. "They're supposed to call when it goes off." "Well," I replied, "I'm on a mission. They're gonna have to shoot me first." I started laughing. Amanda didn't think it was funny. The phone finally rang. All was well. I thanked her profusely and she wished me well.
Another ring...it was my cell: "By the way," (it was Lisa again) "You will need to take a couple of quick tests online. Can you get to the library?" No stress there. I was only 45 minutes in the opposite direction. I said I would get there in about an hour. It was a miracle it went as well as it did. The tests got done, I was packed, mail forwarded and out the door, I went the next morning. I don't think my feet even touched the ground.[
Travel Day
First stop, the garage. I still needed that oil change and I knew I'd be walking on eggshells with the mechanic, due to the afternoon previous.
Jeb was in a bad mood, crabby and the only person in the world I know who can make "good morning, " sound like it was a bad thing.[ I pulled in the garage and left the car to wait in the waiting room. About 15 minutes later Jeb approached me scowling, "You might need another one of these." He held out his hand with a broken piece of rubber hose that used to be part of the crankcase apparatus.
"What are you guys doing? I only wanted an oil change."
"I'm not breaking stuff on purpose! It just came off. Here, I'll show you. Follow me." I obeyed.
"Can you tape it for now? I need to get on the road." He showed me a print out of my battery. It didn't look good.
"Promise me you will get the battery replaced as soon as you get there if not sooner. The tape will hold for now. The oil change is done." I was on the road.....
The deadline to get there was Tuesday to start work, so my time was limited. Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Hampshire and finally, Maine. The scenery was an education in the geography and demographics of our wonderful land. The glorious sunrise of gold, pink white and silver, the rolling green hills flowing of farmlands, bays of blue-silver water, sailboats, colorful gardens, all were reminders America's beauty. I smiled as I anticipated how much fun driving to the northeast would be.
It rained in Michigan, quite a lot. Highway traffic was deadly. I prayed for Travel Mercies the whole time. Unfortunately, in every state I hit construction. Still, the delays weren't too bad and I managed to make it to a nice motel by 8 p.m. the same night.
When I got to Ohio, the highway suddenly closed down without warning compliments of the State Highway Patrol. All traffic was detoured through Sandusky, at the height of the motorcycle gathering of veterans, and a celebration of the anniversary of the end of the Viet Nam war. The colorful flurry of flags that flew, planted in lush lawns, the bands playing, vendors, outdoor cafes in full swing, folks honoring those we lost and those who came home scarred inside or out, made me take pause. To this day, when I see a convoy, I still get choked up.
The one thing that I thought was a miracle, is that the whole time that I was driving, my blower fan which needed repair, was working beautifully! There wasn't time to fix it and frankly, I hadn't the finances to do so. It was to God's grace to which I give credit. By the time I got to New England, my spirits began to soar. The mountains, mists, colors and lack of billboards made the drive look like a picture postcard. Such graceful and treacherous beauty!It felt as though I was entering another world...
