Travel Nurse Recruiters: What a Good Recruiter Won’t Do
By Alex McCoy, Contributing Writer, Owner of Fit Travel Life Even after over three years in the travel nursing industry, I come back from the Travelers Conference every year in awe of the sheer number of staffing agencies in this industry. From huge corporate companies to smaller local companies, finding an agency that fits your needs can be overwhelming. My advice to every new traveler is the same: the agency matters less than the recruiter themselves. I have worked with agencies that have a great reputation but the recruiter I was matched with fell short. Similarly, I have worked with companies that have a less-than-positive rap sheet and found the diamond in the rough recruiter. Your travel nurse recruiter is on the front lines for you every day, and their approach to working with you can make or break your experience with their company. While each individual travel nurse will have a different preference in regards to the personality of their recruiters, there are some important deal-breakers that should make you run away from a recruiter without looking back. It is important to keep in mind that your relationship with your recruiter is a business-minded one, so there is a certain level of mutual respect that should remain no matter what the circumstance. A good recruiter won’t get mad if you work with other companies Different agencies will have different facility contracts. Period. Some facilities will use multiple vendors, but the only way you can ensure you are truly getting the best job for your situation is to speak with two or three different travel nurse recruiters and compare what contracts they have to offer. Some recruiters may try to tell you this is unacceptable or get angry if you mention speaking with another company. This is absolutely not the case and should be considered a huge red flag if your recruiter says this to you. A good recruiter will give you the best pay package upfront Settling on a pay rate should not feel like a used car dealership. Your pay as a travel nurse is determined by the bill rate given by the hospital. The company should take a set portion of every bill rate (this portion will vary by company) and the rest should be broken down into taxable and nontaxable income for the traveler. If you mention the package is too low and your recruiter comes back with a couple hundred more dollars, chances are they were holding this money back from the beginning. On rare occasions, they can pitch directly to the facility and ask for more money, but this is more the exception than the rule. A good recruiter will give you a pay package upfront New travelers may be told they have to submit to a job to see a pay package at all. Nine times out of ten this is untrue. Every recruiter should be able to give you a breakdown of pay before you submit to a contract. After all, the pay is a huge factor in determining if a job is the correct fit. In some instances, the recruiter has to pitch a bill rate against different companies to compete for a job. If this is the case, they should still be able to give you an estimated pay range before you agree to submit. A good recruiter won’t fail to answer emails or calls during an assignment Sometimes travelers find themselves in scary or unsafe situations while on assignment. While most of the recruiter’s work is done once you are at your new location, they will still remain your main point of contact throughout the full assignment. A good recruiter will periodically check in throughout your time at each location, perhaps offering to start looking for new placements towards the end. On the other side of things, if you need something or have a concern while on assignment, your recruiter should respond within a day or so if you reach out. Most companies have emergency lines if you need something immediately, but your recruiter should handle day-to-day concerns or questions. A good recruiter won’t push you to take their assignment every time. Each time you look for a new assignment your preferences or needs may change. The reason you have two or three recruiters on hand at all times is to make sure you can find something to fit your needs each time around. A good recruiter will realize you may find something that is better suited with a different company depending on what they have available. They shouldn’t take your decision to switch companies personally. Instead, they should maintain a professional connection with you, so you feel comfortable reaching back out the next time you are looking for a new location. Bottom line: A good recruiter won’t make you feel uncomfortable. I hear of so many new travelers who got pushed into a bad deal because they were made to feel uncomfortable or to override their gut feeling. A good recruiter simply won’t make you do these things. If something seems unfair or an alarm bell is going off in your head, I suggest reaching out to an experienced traveler and running your situation by them. Trust your gut and don’t be afraid to stand your ground if you are feeling pressured into a job or contract where the terms seem off. Alex McCoy currently works as a pediatric travel nurse. She has a passion for health and fitness, which led her to start Fit Travel Life in 2016. She travels with her husband, their cat, Autumn and their dog, Summer. She enjoys hiking, lifting weights, and trying the best local coffee and wine. << Travel Nurse Spotlight: Doing What You Love
‘UVA Has Ruined Us’: Health System Sues Thousands Of Patients, Seizing Paychecks And Claiming Homes (KHN)
Over six years, the state institution filed 36,000 lawsuits against patients seeking a total of more than $106 million in unpaid bills, a KHN analysis finds. Jay Hancock and Elizabeth Lucas, Kaiser Health News UVA Medical Center treated Heather Waldron in 2017 for complications from an intestinal malformation. The hospital sued her for $164,000 after she discovered her insurance had lapsed. That was more than twice what a commercial insurer would have paid for the same care. [partner-box]Heather Waldron and John Hawley are losing their four-bedroom house in the hills above Blacksburg, Va. A teenage daughter, one of their five children, sold her clothes for spending money. They worried about paying the electric bill. Financial disaster, they say, contributed to their divorce, finalized in April. Their money problems began when the University of Virginia Health System pursued the couple with a lawsuit and a lien on their home to recoup $164,000 in charges for Waldron’s emergency surgery in 2017. The family has lots of company: Over six years ending in June 2018, the health system and its doctors filed 36,000 lawsuits against patients seeking a total of more than $106 million, seizing wages and bank accounts, putting liens on property and homes and forcing families into bankruptcy, a Kaiser Health News analysis has found. Unpaid hospital bills are a leading cause of personal debt and bankruptcy across the nation, with hospitals from Memphis to Baltimore criticized for their role in pushing families over the financial edge. But UVA stands out for the scope of its collection efforts and how persistently it seeks payment, pursuing poor as well as middle-class patients for almost all they’re worth. KHN’s findings, based on court records, documents and interviews with hospital officials and dozens of patients, show UVA: Sued patients for as much as $1 million and as little as $13.91, and garnished thousands of paychecks, largely from workers at lower-pay employers such as Walmart, where UVA took wages more than 800 times. Seized $22 million over six years in state tax refunds owed to patients with outstanding bills, most of it without court judgments, under a program intended to help state and local governments collect debts. Sued about 100 patients every year who also happened to be UVA Health System employees and filed thousands of property liens over the years, from Albemarle County all the way to Georgia. Dunned some former patients an additional 15% for legal costs, plus 6% interest on their unpaid bills, which over years can add up to more than the original bill. Has the most restrictive eligibility guidelines for patient financial assistance of any major hospital system in Virginia. Savings of only $4,000 in a retirement account can disqualify a family from aid, even if its income is barely above the poverty level. The hospital ranked No. 1 in Virginia by U.S. News & World Report is taxpayer-supported and state-funded, not a company with profit motives and shareholder demands. Like other nonprofit hospitals, it pays no federal, state or local taxes on the presumption it offers charity care and other community benefits worth at least as much as those breaks. Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam, a pediatric neurologist, oversees its board. UVA defended the institution’s practices as legally required and necessary “to generate positive operating income” to invest in medical education, new facilities, research and the latest technology. They point to the Virginia Debt Collection Act of 1988, which requires state agencies to “aggressively collect” money owed. “Sending unpaid bills to a collection agency or pursuing a civil claim is a last resort,” said UVA Health System spokesman Eric Swensen. Two years ago, he said, the health system limited lawsuits to cases in which patients owe more than $1,000. “For the vast majority of patients, we are able to agree upon workable payment plans without filing a legal claim,” he said. In addition, UVA is “making a comprehensive review” of its charity care rules and “considering policies to provide additional financial assistance to low-income patients not covered by our existing charity care policies,” he said. Swensen declined to discuss individual cases, saying the hospital was bound by patient confidentiality. UVA Health CEO Pamela Sutton-Wallace declined an interview request. A spokeswoman for Northam did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Though there is no national data on hospital debt collection, UVA’s pursuit of patients goes beyond that of a number of institutions. Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore has sued patients 240 times a year on average, according to a May report in The Baltimore Sun. UVA, by comparison, often sues that many former patients in a week and averages more than 6,000 cases annually, court data show. Private, nonprofit Yale New Haven Health System files liens only if a bill is over $10,000 and then only if the property is worth at least $300,000, a spokesman said. Falls Church, Va.-based Inova Health says it does not file liens on patient homes or garnish wages. Tenet Healthcare, a national, for-profit chain whose stock trades on Wall Street, says it does not sue uninsured patients who are unemployed or who lack significant assets other than their house. Waldron learned after her UVA hospitalization that a computer error involving a policy bought on healthcare.gov had led her insurance to lapse. Industry standards are few and vague. The American Hospital Association says its members follow Internal Revenue Service guidelines, which merely require hospitals to have a financial assistance policy and to make “reasonable efforts” to determine whether a patient qualifies for help before initiating collections. Patients find themselves unable to pay UVA bills for many reasons: They are uninsured or sometimes have short-term coverage that does not pay for treatment of preexisting illnesses. Or they are out-of-network, or have a “high-deductible” plan — increasingly common coverage that can require patients to pay more than $6,000 before insurance kicks in. Virginia’s Medicaid expansion, effective this year, covers families with low income but is still projected to leave hundreds of thousands uninsured. Patients also have trouble
Extended Stay Hotels vs. Short Term Rentals: What is the Best Travel Nurse Housing Option?
By Alex McCoy, Contributing Writer, Owner of Fit Travel Life This week I just finished up five days in Las Vegas at the Travelers Conference soaking up all things travel healthcare. I was also lucky enough to sit on the housing panel answering questions from prospective travelers on the best ways to find housing. Also on the housing panel were two representatives from well-known hotel chains. These hotel chains have begun to realize there is a strong market in the travel healthcare world for short term housing and are working hard to market towards this niche. The panel was a nice mix because we got to see how these hotels are catering more towards travelers but also offer options for other ways to secure housing. I wanted to go a little more in depth in this area and offer some pros and cons for both short term rentals and hotel options that may help you decide what the best option is for you at each assignment. Pros of Short Term Rentals When I use the term “short term rental” in this article I will be referring to any sort of room rental, short term lease, or AirBNB type of housing option. Basically anywhere that is not part of a hotel chain. One great thing about short term rentals is you may have the opportunity to simply rent a room or share rent with a roommate which can save you a lot of money. By using services like AirBNB or online forums you can often find fellow professionals looking to save on rent by splitting costs with a roommate which leads to a win-win situation. On the other end of the spectrum, you may also be able to find larger properties if you need space for a family or a yard for pets. Depending on the area of the country your stipend may cover enough for a more private rental even with the short term fees. Cons of Short Term Rentals While short term rentals can help you save money or be more particular about your space, you also have to consider if they come fully furnished, if you have to pay utilities, and if there are deposits associated with these rentals. Most of the time if you rent a room or through AirBNB your utilities and furnishings will be included in the package. Do keep in mind that this may come with limitations related to utility usage or internet and TV offerings. I have heard of landlords limiting changes to the thermostat, having visitor restrictions, or offering the lowest internet or TV services. These questions should definitely be addressed ahead of time so you can decide if you can live with these guidelines. If you choose to seek out a short term lease through an apartment, you may not get everything included that you will need to live. Many travelers choose to utilize storage bins and air mattresses in lieu of furniture in these situations and bring basic kitchen necessities. Depending on the space in your car, you may be able to make this work or it may be worth it to pay a little more for a fully furnished and stocked rental. Pros of Extended Stay Hotels We actually lived in an extended stay hotel for most of our first assignment and it was a great experience. Some of our favorite features included housekeeping, hotel amenities, and no deposits upfront. Most hotel chains offer some sort of housekeeping service that will vary based on length of stay. If you book for months at a time you can expect a room clean one or two times per week depending on the chain. The nice thing is this also includes restocking of paper goods and changing of sheets, etc. Another huge benefit to an extended stay hotel is they are move-in ready. The kitchens should be stocked with the basics, all linens are provided, and all the utilities are taken care of. All you really have to bring is your clothes, which is great if you are flying to a destination or have limited car space. The last big pro is most of these hotel chains are pet-friendly for up to two pets. Weight limits and fees will vary by brand, but it can be nice to know as long as you can find your preferred brand in your new city that there won’t be any unexpected fees or regulations that come up. Cons of Extended Stay Hotels While all of the amenities and conveniences that come with extended stay hotels are very appealing, there is one big drawback for many people: cost. Like anything else in life, having all the perks comes with paying for all the perks. Most of these chains offer discounts if you book for 30 days or more, but they are typically more expensive than finding a short term lease yourself, and they are definitely more expensive than renting a room or living with a roommate. Other than that, I would just encourage travelers considering a short term hotel to read reviews on that particular location ahead of time to get a feel for safety and cleanliness as that can vary between individual hotels. The bottom line: will you pay a little more for convenience? In the end, if you are debating between staying at an extended stay hotel versus finding a short term rental, it really boils down to cost vs. convenience. Some travelers are really looking to save money or pay down debt, which could make the cost of an extended stay seem like too much. However, if you are traveling to explore and simply enjoy the experience, an extended stay hotel can be a good way to alleviate a lot of the stress that comes with moving frequently. Alex McCoy currently works as a pediatric travel nurse. She has a passion for health and fitness, which led her to start Fit Travel Life in 2016. She travels with her husband, their cat, Autumn and
2019 National Surgical Technologists Week: Top States for Travel SurgTech Jobs
This week September 15-21 gives national recognition to Surgical Technologists across the country. This special week-long acknowledgement was founded in 1984 by the Association of Surgical Technologists’ Board of Directors. Today, there are more than 80,000 surgical techs in the U.S. Thank you to every surgical tech for all you! Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the Association of Surgical Technologists is hosting a “Surg Tech Superhero” contest this month that allows people to nominate someone in the profession for a chance to win prizes. Nominations close Sept. 30, 2019. See for more details here. In honor of National Surgical Technologists Week, here’s a look at top states for travel Surgical Tech positions in the U.S. This data is based from the Travel Certified Surgical Tech Pay Rankings and Cost of Living by State Report, the StaffDNA Job Board and other current trends in the travel healthcare industry. Wisconsin Whether travelers are looking for a small town feel or a bustling city life, Wisconsin has something for everyone. While the winters may be harsh, the state makes up for it in affordability, low crime rates and close-knit communities. Certified Surgical Tech travel assignments are paying up to $1,800/week, which is very competitive in today’s market. Popular areas such as Madison, Appleton, Wausau and Milwaukee suburbs have several CST specialties open in anticipation for a busy fall and winter. Click here to view CST jobs in Wisconsin. Tennessee Home of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Elvis Presley’s hometown and Dollywood, there are several reasons why Tennessee is a great place to travel. Chattanooga, TN has a Surgical First Assistant job paying nearly $3,000/week, which has made recent appearances on the weekly highest-paying jobs list. Facilities in Nashville and Cleveland, TN are also popular destinations with several high-paying Surg Tech openings. Click here to view CST jobs in Tennessee. South Carolina If looking for Southern Charm, South Carolina has Surgical Tech openings across the state paying up to $1,500/week. While this may be lower than other featured states, the lower average cost per living rating and diverse landscapes make the state desirable for travelers. The most in-demand specialty in South Carolina right now is for Cardiovascular Operating Room Techs followed by Sterile Processing Techs. Click here to view CST jobs in South Carolina. Georgia For Surgical Techs specializing in areas than other cardiovascular, Georgia could be a good choice. Other specialties such as ENDO, Sterile Processing and general OR have openings in several areas of state. From the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains to the lively city of Atlanta, healthcare travelers can enjoy multiple activities year-round. Click here to view CST jobs in Georgia. Oregon While the average cost of living and weekly rents may be higher here, Oregon has so much to offer travelers, including several Surgical Technician positions. Whether interested in a large, high-traffic trauma center in downtown Portland or smaller facilities outside of the metro areas, the StaffDNA job board has openings paying up to $1,500 weekly right now. Click here to view CST jobs in Oregon. These are just snapshots of states with high-paying opportunities for Surgical Techs looking to travel. Browse all locations and pay packages here. Read next: 5 Most Expensive States for Travel Certified Surgical Techs
Having a Baby While Working as a Travel Nurse
By Alex McCoy, Contributing Writer, Owner of Fit Travel Life I don’t know if it is Facebook reading my mind or just a coincidence but I have been seeing more and more posts in travel healthcare groups addressing the issue of children and traveling. Questions range from having babies and taking maternity leave while traveling to how to travel with older children while homeschooling. I am currently pregnant with baby number one and can tell you that working as a travel nurse did not deter our decision to start a family–in fact, it made the idea a little less daunting and exciting! We are looking forward to traveling with a baby and continuing to save for a home, a new car and retirement even with the added expense of a little one. While we haven’t had to actually deal with childcare or homeschool just yet, I do have several friends who travel with older children and will share some of the tips I have learned from them about those stages of parenting on the road. Before baby: have a plan for where you want to deliver Ultimately you can receive prenatal care anywhere you can find an obstetrician or midwife. My husband and I decided to deliver at home, so we saw a midwife for the first 20 weeks and then transferred care to my physician back home. All it took was a few medical release forms and some phone calls to coordinate the switch, and my medical care picked right up where it had left off. For insurance: decide if you want to use COBRA or private insurance As a female I will obviously not be working a contract right when I deliver, so my company insurance would lapse in that time frame. Our family’s option was to put me on my spouse’s insurance and figure out a way to coordinate him getting time off when the baby arrives, or to have both of our jobs finish up before baby and opt to use COBRA during the lapse in insurance. COBRA is more expensive than insurance through a company, so you just have to plan for this expense ahead of time. Another option is to carry private insurance. Depending on your state costs will vary, and you may not be eligible to sign up for private coverage if it isn’t open enrollment. If you are in the early stages of planning a family you may have more time to coordinate this and get benefits in place before conceiving if that is what you prefer. Coordinate your contracts, or take a permanent job temporarily. I have talked to some parents who chose to simply end their last contract around the 37 or 38-week mark and then travel to their chosen delivery spot and take some time off before the baby arrives. We personally decided to take permanent jobs close to home so we could have steady insurance and some time to adjust to life as parents before hitting the road again. We didn’t necessarily tell our employers our plans, but we both took jobs we knew we could be happy at for six months to a year and we will reassess at that point. The benefit of working a contract is you can then take as much time off as you would like to bond with the baby. If you are a new employee it may be trickier to coordinate leave depending on your state laws governing maternity leave. I have learned a lot about federal regulations in this area, and unfortunately, it is up to the state to determine if you get more than the medically necessary six weeks off guaranteed. After baby: childcare options. One of the most daunting tasks as a soon to be a parent is deciding how to find care for your baby if you decide to work full time once they arrive. As travelers, this can get even trickier because you are moving frequently so you can’t use the same caregiver the entire time. While we haven’t faced this issue yet, if we both decide to work contracts at the same time we would most likely look into hiring a private nanny. My friends Steve and Ellen over at PTAdventures travel with their toddler and elected to take positions in areas where they could work for a year or longer to help create more normalcy for their little one. This is a great option that we will probably look into when we get to that point. Deciding to take the leap into parenthood (or being surprised by it) can be a scary time full of unknowns for any person. So many people talk about having babies in regards to how limiting it is which makes traveling with a baby seem impossible. Like anything else, however, I truly believe your attitude towards the situation is what will determine how successful you can be. There is a newly added level of flexibility that comes into play, but having a baby and then traveling with a baby can be a great way to show your child all that our beautiful country has to offer while setting your family up for financial success long term. Alex McCoy currently works as a pediatric travel nurse. She has a passion for health and fitness, which led her to start Fit Travel Life in 2016. She travels with her husband, their cat, Autumn and their dog, Summer. She enjoys hiking, lifting weights, and trying the best local coffee and wine. << Travel Nurse Spotlight: Taking on New Adventures Across the Country
Travel Nurse Spotlight: Stories and Insights from a 10-Year Traveler
Healthcare travel is complex and can be challenging to navigate, especially for first-time travelers. From finding the right recruiter to understanding pay packages and reviewing contracts, travel nurses need to be well-educated. Seasoned traveler and ER nurse, Lisa D., wishes there was a better platform for new travelers to learn the ins and outs of the industry. Traveling for nearly 10 years and completing more than 25 assignments, Lisa shares her stories, experiences and important things travel nurses need to know. “There are positive sides and negative sides to travel nursing; travelers need to know both sides,” Lisa said. “My persona is: you can do anything for 13 weeks. If you don’t like a facility, it’s only 3 days a week for 13 weeks.” Lisa began her nursing career as an LPN in the ER, which also landed her an EMT first responding position with her local fire department. When her two children went to college, so did she to get her Registered Nursing license. Once a RN and a soon-to-be empty nester, she started working toward her two years of experience required to travel by doing local contracts, helping nearby hospitals with staffing shortages. For example, she filled in for a nurse who was deployed in the military. Early in her travel RN career, Lisa had a unique opportunity to work a 4-week assignment in Hawaii, which she said was an eye-opening experience. It was at a very small ER department with disordered room numbers and dated processes, but she stayed open-minded. She was frequently floated to the 6-patient ICU, because other ER nurses weren’t as willing to. “The staff nurses loved me and I enjoyed helping out,” Lisa said. “I’m from the ER, I’m used to having a lot more patients at a time. When they apologized for having to give me another ICU patient, I was like ‘sure, give me another one!’ with a smile.” The best part of her assignment in Hawaii, she bought her children and their significant others plane tickets for Christmas, and they had a week exploring the beautiful island with her. Lisa’s positive attitude, adaptability and willingness to help in any situation is what facilities look for in great travel nurses. Lisa’s biggest and most important piece of advice: like your healthcare recruiter. “Get a recruiter you can count on and enjoy talking to,” Lisa said. “If you don’t feel warm and fuzzy with your recruiter, go talk to other recruiters until you find one with the right niche. There are tons of other companies out there to choose from.” Lisa has worked with about six different staffing agencies, two of which she said she will never work with again because of recruiter issues. The most important qualities she values in a recruiter are knowledge and honesty. “Don’t be afraid to ask questions, especially when you’re new to the game,” Lisa said. “Make sure you have all of the facts. If something looks off on your contract, tell them.” Lisa’s biggest pet peeve is recruiters not answering her questions. At one hospital, she was faced with a difficult assignment and unsafe working conditions. She feared for her license and expressed her concerns to her recruiter, who shrugged it off and told her, “don’t worry about it.” Another assignment, she was promised a completion bonus, but had to fight for it. The company’s reasoning was they had changed their pay schedule and tried to move the end date mid-contract without her permission. She knew they couldn’t change the contract without her agreement. Unfortunately, newer travelers may not know how to handle these types of situations like she did. How do you research what healthcare staffing companies to work with? Lisa shares her top tips: Research who likes the company or recruiter and, most importantly, why they like them. Get on Facebook (company pages, reviews, travel groups). Know the sites you can trust and the sites you can’t (i.e. if a travel nursing review site only publishes positive reviews, they probably are hiding the negative ones). Take note of who calls you and when. For example, Lisa only works day shift and tells recruiters this. If they keep calling about night positions, they aren’t listening or putting the traveler’s best interest first. Know your pay range and look for a company who has pay packages to accommodate. Talk with travelers you work with! Lisa’s Golden Rule: if a recruiter doesn’t know the answer to a question, they should tell you truthfully that they don’t know, but they will find out for you! And that is just the supportive attitude that Lisa has found with her current recruiter. “Lisa is an absolute pleasure to work with,” said her talent advisor Leah Moss. “She has a great attitude and is always willing to help others any chance she can. I enjoy hearing about her travel stories, and appreciate her sincerity and passion for nursing.” “Everyone has their reasons to travel,” Lisa said. “My reason, I don’t do vacations very well, so travel nursing is like my vacation for 13 weeks. Working only three days a week, the other four days are vacation where I can go explore.”
Traveler Tips: Creating the Perfect Travel Nurse Wardrobe
By Alex McCoy, Contributing Writer, Owner of Fit Travel Life My first travel assignment was in central Wisconsin and spanned August until November. As I sat down and started to pack and sort through which clothes I would need for the three months, I had a slight panic attack when I realized I would be hitting almost every kind of weather imaginable. We would be enjoying several warm weeks before transitioning to fall, after which temps would drop into the negatives by the end of our assignment. Now I am not what you would typically refer to as high maintenance when it comes to clothing. I typically shop at places like TJ Maxx or Target so my wardrobe before traveling was pretty simple. I do however like to feel comfortable and confident in my clothes, and it’s always fun to dress up for a date night here and there. Plus I do not like being cold, so the weather-appropriate gear was a must. Needless to say, I ended up overpacking just a smidge my first travel assignment. If I remember correctly, I brought approximately two sets of plastic drawers, a massive suitcase, and about 37 hangers full of clothes. Then my car broke down mid-assignment. I downgraded in size and realized that since I had only worn about a quarter of the clothing I had packed that this was the best area to start making space. I went through all my clothes again, donated a ton, and packed the rest into plastic bins for storage back home. To do this I followed a few simple rules: Get rid of anything that doesn’t fit quite right or I feel may be unflattering All the ladies realizing this can understand what I mean when I say there are always a few “skinny” pieces in your wardrobe. These are the clothes that you only like how they fit if you are carrying zero water weight, ate perfect for the week, and followed your workout routine to the T. Get. Rid. Of. These. If you don’t feel 100% comfortable or confident in your clothing there is no point in toting it back and forth across the country with you. Avoid patterns that can only be matched with one or two other items Versatility is super helpful when you are narrowing down your travel nurse wardrobe. While I love a good pattern for flair, it just doesn’t make sense to have a bunch of pieces that can only match one specific shirt or pair of shoes. Stripes can sometimes be a little more flexible than other designs, so I did keep some striped items to mix up the solids in my wardrobe. Statement earrings can add a pop of color without taking up too much space. Jewelry is a great way to spice up a more limited variety of clothing. I actually found this great craft box and it worked perfectly for organizing and transporting all of my jewelry. Add a big necklace or some bauble earrings to different outfits to help keep from getting bored with your options. Stick to basics on the bottom For shorts and jeans, I have one denim pair and one black pair of each. The ripped jeans trend has me contemplating buying a really cute distressed pair, but right now I am holding out. Pack one or two dressy outfits I have found that even when I need to feel “fancy” nine times out of time a nice pair of black pants or jeans and some flats will cut it. Very, very rarely on assignment are there times where you will need a nice fancy outfit. Usually, a dress or two will suffice for nights you want to feel a little more dressed up. If you are a guy, one pair of dress pants and a couple of button-ups should be more than enough. Cut down on shoes Like I mentioned before, my pre-travel wardrobe was low maintenance and I still found it difficult to cut back on my shoe collection. What ended up working best was breaking down shoe categories and covering the two most common color needs: black and then brown or white. This worked for boots, sandals, and flats. Then I have one pair of gym shoes, work shoes, and hiking shoes. Add in a couple of pairs of flip flops and that rounds out just about every type of shoe you could need. This may sound very Marie Kondo of me, but honestly, it was a huge relief. Not stressing over space is nearly impossible as a traveler, but cutting down my unnecessary clothing was surprisingly easy after my first couple of assignments. The more you move, the less you want to spend time packing and hauling items you rarely use. I always keep in mind that if I really need something while on assignment I can always purchase things as necessary. If you find yourself in need of something really nice there are also great rental services like Rent the Runway that could be an option so you don’t end up adding to your wardrobe needlessly. Luckily the pay increase that travel nursing offers makes it less stressful to purchase a new pair of shoes or jeans if I absolutely need something. My last piece of advice would be to give yourself a set limit on what you are bringing. Set aside a tote or suitcase that will fit easily in your car and only bring what can fit in this space. Go through your clothing, and then go through it again. Store what you don’t want to part within an airtight tub, then see if you still need it next time you are home! Before you know it your wardrobe will be only the necessities and your car will feel a lot less overstuffed. And your back will thank you as you are moving into your next place. Alex McCoy currently works as a pediatric travel nurse. She has a passion for
A Brush With A Notorious Cat, My Rabies Education And The Big Bill That Followed (KHN)
Caitlin Hillyard, Kaiser Health News I was just petting an orange tabby cat in my Falls Church, Va., neighborhood, a cat I’d never met before. He was very cute. And he was purring and butting his head against my hand. Until he wasn’t. He sunk his teeth into my wrist, hissed at me and ran off. So began my personal episode of Law & Order: Feline Victims Unit, complete with cat mug shots and weekly check-ins from local animal control and public health officials. And rabies shots. Multiple rabies shots in the emergency room. And more than $26,000 in health care costs, an alarming amount considering I was perfectly healthy throughout the whole ordeal. What I learned, besides fascinating facts about rabies, its transmission and the horrible ways one can die from it, was that any one of us is a mere cat scratch away from financial peril if we aren’t lucky enough to have good health insurance. Our confusing health care system makes it too easy for a person who should get medical care to postpone it or avoid it — even when that decision could be fatal. After the encounter with the cat, I headed to a nearby storefront urgent care clinic, where a nurse handed me a form to fill out, which the city uses to track animal bites. She faxed the form to the health department and a police officer visited me as soon as I returned home. I was asked: “Do you know the cat?” After some sleuthing in my neighborhood Facebook group, I developed a suspicion about whom he belongs to. But I couldn’t be 100% positive. Which is why three days after the bite I was in the waiting room in the emergency room. When an animal bites someone, the procedure is to quarantine it for 10 days. If the animal doesn’t develop rabies symptoms during that time, it’s safe to say the bite victim won’t develop the disease either. But if the animal can’t be identified or captured, the recommendation is to begin post-exposure preventive treatment for rabies. I’d need a one-time injection of human rabies immune globulin and then four injections of the rabies vaccine over two weeks. An estimated 40,000 to 50,000 people get such treatments each year following exposure to potentially rabid animals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. I did consider taking my chances and skipping treatment. The odds the cat that bit me was rabid were, I’d guess, almost zero. He was probably someone’s pet and didn’t appear to have any symptoms. But rabies is fatal. That was the line my doctor, the animal control officer, my friends and public health officials kept repeating. A small chance is not the same as no chance. I tried to be a responsible health care consumer and research cost-effective options. The ER is the only place that can administer immune globulin, so I knew that was my first stop. But I hoped to go elsewhere for the next three appointments, where I would receive the rabies vaccine. I sat on the phone with insurance company agents while they tried to find an in-network provider that stocked the rabies vaccine. They found nothing. My primary care doctor told me people generally ended up doing the follow-up doses in the ER. The urgent care clinic staff told me they didn’t keep the vaccine in stock but could have ordered it ahead of time if they had known I would need it. Since I hadn’t anticipated being bitten by a cat, I neglected to call ahead. The staff at the ER told me that specialized clinics for travelers can administer the vaccine, but the procedure is not generally covered by insurance. Also, to adhere to the strict vaccination schedule, I needed a location with Sunday hours, which I was unable to find. The Fairfax County, Va., public health department said the county does not administer rabies vaccines at its clinics. Two hospital urgent care clinics also told me they couldn’t provide the vaccine, even though one of those clinics is on the same campus as the ER. Which left me back where I started. Although my insurance picked up the full tab for that first emergency room visit, the hospital bill came to $17,294.17. My insurance provider negotiated that bill down to $898 and paid it. For the next three visits, I received doses of RabAvert, made by GlaxoSmithKline. Even though I received the same treatment for each of these visits, the hospital billed my insurance slightly different amounts each time: $2,810.96, $2,692.86 and $2,084.36. (If I could have bought it from a pharmacy, it would have cost about $350 a dose.) Rabies is not the only possible complication of a cat bite. Many bites become infected, which is why I left my urgent care visit with a 10-day supply of amoxicillin, an antibiotic. According to the police, the cat who bit me is likely a repeat offender. A neighbor recently developed a nasty infection after a bite from a large orange tabby — no one is sure if it is the same cat — and has since needed surgery. She also underwent the rabies treatment. I was lucky not to develop an infection, but my insurance company did have to pay one final bill — $206 to see my primary doctor after I developed a rash, likely from the antibiotic. If you’re keeping score at home, that brings the grand total to $26,229.35. I had hoped to donate my blood, now rich with rabies antibodies, to be used to create more immune globulin for future bite victims. Unfortunately, my level of immunity likely isn’t high enough. Most people who give their plasma for this purpose have undergone the rabies vaccine many times. A public health worker said he recommended plasma donation to an acquaintance of his who studies endangered bats — a career I’m unlikely to go into. In fact, if I get bitten by any wildlife in
Insurance Options for Travel Nurses
By Alex McCoy, Contributing Writer, Owner of Fit Travel Life One question I get from coworkers or soon to be travelers is how we handle insurance as healthcare travelers. Healthcare is a complicated situation everywhere in our country, so it can often be confusing and frustrating to navigate this arena if you are coming from a permanent job with great benefits and insurance coverage. My first piece of advice would be to realize that regardless of what you choose, insurance costs as a travel nurse will most likely be higher than your costs at a permanent position. Whether you opt for private or company insurance I have found my paycheck deductions are more than what I paid bi-weekly at a permanent job. This is just one of those expenses that come along with working as a traveler, so it is best to be aware ahead of time. There are some great in-depth resources out there going into the nitty-gritty of how insurance works. I myself am not an insurance expert, so I will simply share my experiences from shopping around and give a quick overview of each option to help jump-start your search for the best plan for you and your family. Option 1: Company Insurance Every travel nurse agency will have some sort of healthcare coverage. Most of them try to have a plan that offers decent nationwide coverage. In addition, I have seen some agencies opting to have levels of plans–from catastrophic insurance all the way up to full coverage for anything you might need. Most companies should be willing to give you a benefits overview before you actually sign with them. Cost of insurance affects your weekly take-home pay, so it is helpful to know what their benefits will run when you are comparing pay packages between companies. Another question to address when asking about company insurance is their coverage between contracts. Some companies will cover you for several weeks between jobs if you are signing on to an additional contract with them afterward. If this is not the case, you would need to read up on how COBRA works in the event that you take some time off and need insurance in between jobs. Option 2: Marketplace Coverage If you are needing more all-inclusive insurance but you do not want to worry about lapses or dealing with COBRA, I suggest buying a plan directly from the Healthcare Marketplace. These plans will all be ACA compliant and cover pre-existing conditions as well. Marketplace coverage costs will vary from state to state, but can also be cheaper for travelers since we have lower taxable income. Be sure to check if you are eligible for a reduced rate based on your taxed income rate. Option 3: Private Insurance Part of the Affordable Care Act included stipulations about what all employer insurance was required to cover. There are minimum standards your company has to meet which can drive the cost of insurance up to cover services you may or may not need. In the meantime, there are still health insurance companies selling private insurance that does not meet all the requirements of the ACA. Previously there was a fine if you opted for insurance that did not meet these minimums, but that fine has since been repealed. Private insurance maybe a little more expensive than company insurance and may not have as great of coverage. However, if you take multiple months off per year or want the flexibility to switch between companies as you choose, this may be a good option for you. You are essentially paying for the peace of mind to know that your insurance is completely controlled by you if you opt for private insurance. Option 4: Health Sharing Plans There is a whole list of requirements I could go into regarding health sharing plans but the basis is fairly simple. These are large group plans where each member pays into a pool of money which is then used to pay for medical services for members. Typically the cost is less than traditional insurance but you may be limited on services if you have pre-existing conditions when you sign up. Two of the larger companies I have heard of are Liberty Healthshare and Medishare. Their websites provide a lot of helpful information and they have representatives that can call you to answer questions as needed. So How Do I Choose? Choosing the right insurance plan is a very personal decision. Depending on if you have current health needs, regular prescriptions or are planning to get pregnant will affect what you need in terms of coverage. My best advice is to compare insurance between your top two companies along with marketplace insurance to start. From there you can determine if your budget and needs would be better suited to a less common option like health sharing or off-market plans. While health insurance is one of the less fun aspects to deal with as a traveler, feeling confident in your choices and coverage is key to feeling less stressed about taking the leap into travel nursing. As always: research, ask questions, and reach out to other travelers if you aren’t sure where to start! Alex McCoy currently works as a pediatric travel nurse. She has a passion for health and fitness, which led her to start Fit Travel Life in 2016. She travels with her husband, their cat, Autumn and their dog, Summer. She enjoys hiking, lifting weights, and trying the best local coffee and wine. << Traveler Tips: Watch Out for These Housing Red Flags
10 Best Nursing Memes To Help You Survive Your Shift
If you are stuck inside working inside and can’t enjoy the beautiful summer weather in your neck of the woods, we’ve got the perfect solution to cure your day shift blues (Hint: It’s nursing memes). 1. If you could not pause for that long, that’d be great. – via Reddit user meg090 2. Who knew nursing was going to be this hard? – via Reddit user Drake_Pancake 3. “When I ask a 70-year-old patient if they have any pain and they tell me about their high school football career.” – via Reddit user starstuff89 4. Sure, safe ratios are nice, but have you heard of money? 5. On a scale of Vermeer to Dali, we’re feeling a bit Rembrandt. 6. “When my patient has 20 allergies listed.” -via Reddit user 711smoresicecream 7. “When my patient wants to leave AMA.” via Reddit user D5HalfNormal 8. We’re going to guess the manual on the right is used much more than the left. 9. “We’re going to be short staffed tomorrow. I can feel it.” 10. Excuse me while I go throw up outside.