Design Your Dream Nursing Career
By Christine Whitmarsh, RN, BSN Just as little kids mull over the possibilities of what they want to be when they grow up, nursing students custom design their dream career. A few years on the med-surg floor first, then perhaps a move into the ER or ICU, followed by a return trip back to school for a Master’s degree and later on a nurse practitioner career. Nurses with a wandering spirit are more likely to map out a career as a travel...
Health and Language Literacy Intertwine for Traveling RNs
By Christine Whitmarsh, RN, BSN Literacy is no longer exclusively a problem for teachers to address. Nurses and especially travel nurses who travel to certain regions and communities are also facing language and health literacy issues while treating patients. The importance of reading the fine print has been ingrained in the mind of anyone who has ever read a contract. But for ailing or injured patients and their loved ones, taking...
Travel Nurses Have Opportunity for Post-Traumatic Healing
By Christine Whitmarsh, RN, BSN LIVE… BREAKING NEWS… How many times have you watched a tragedy unfold live on the news in a town nowhere near yours? Is it just me or have these type of events dominated the news channels quite a bit lately? As the tearful and traumatized survivors and witnesses mill about in the background behind the on-scene reporter, desperately seeking direction and ultimately comfort, it is a nurse’s basic instinct...
Overtime Could Benefit Travel Nurses Most
By Christine Whitmarsh, RN, BSN Now is the time to review your travel nursing agency’s policy on overtime along with your current assignment contract. One of the temporary fixes for the nursing shortage that appears to be benefiting both staff and travel nurses is increased opportunities for working lucrative overtime hours (double time in some rare cases). Since the pay scale for traveling nurses is predominantly higher than it is...
Nurse Assignments in Skiing Communities Bring Unique Challenges
By Christine Whitmarsh, RN, BSN The tragic death of Natasha Richardson from an initially undetected and later fatal head injury is a reminder of the unique patient challenges faced by nurses working in winter recreation communities. While on assignment in popular travel nursing locations such as California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and New Hampshire, the travel nurse confronts a myriad of patient injuries resulting from skiing and other...
Spotlight on Florida Travel Nursing: Hot Locations
By Christine Whitmarsh, RN, BSN A nursing career in Florida holds a special place in my heart because that is where I began my career as an RN. I can attest from personal experience that Florida is a great destination for travel nurses to add to their wish list. As a popular place to retire, the Sunshine state is a diverse mixing pot of retirees from all around the country and from all walks of life. The national almanac of...