So maybe you’re just getting into travel nursing or you’re always looking for actionable career tips — this is the right place for you! No matter your situation, one thing travel nurses new and old constantly deal with is receiving proper travel nurse reporting instructions. As if traveling to a new location, securing housing, and planning your commute weren’t stressful enough, not knowing exactly where to go on your first day just adds to the madness! Well, today we’ll be sharing some tips on how you can alleviate that very specific headache before every assignment:
Typically, hospitals don’t send out reporting instructions to travel nursing agencies until after receiving a fully compliant file of documents for each nurse. In their eyes, a nurse won’t start working until these documents are reviewed and cleared so there’s no need to send out reporting instructions. While this isn’t exactly faulty logic, it’s usually a thorn in the side of travelers who relocate frequently. In many cases, these instructions don’t arrive until as little as 3 to 4 days before your assignment starts! For those trying to plan commuting routes and living situations, this is not ideal…
Avoiding Issues with Travel Nurse Reporting Instructions:
One of the things helping avoid issues with travel nurse reporting instructions is developing a list of questions for your travel nurse recruiter or agency. Communicating your concerns via email is usually the best way to go. If there are any discrepancies before an assignment is starting, a paper trail can detail exactly where any miscommunications took place. While there isn’t an overwhelming chance of error with travel nurse reporting instructions, it’s good to document how everything went down!
The last thing you want after having traveled a great distance is showing up in the wrong attire or to the wrong address entirely! Here are some of the top questions to present recruiters or agencies with in order to avoid reporting instructions errors:
- What is the exact address I should report to?
- Is there a particular room number or location in the building I should report to?
- Who is my contact at the hospital or facility?
- What is the phone number for the hospital or facility?
- What is the schedule for my orientation or first day?
- Is there a specific dress code I must follow?
- Does the hospital or facility require a specific color of scrubs?
- What should I bring to my orientation?
Making Each Assignment Your Best!
While some questions may remain unanswered, it’s important that you bring these things to the attention of your company. In the event something does go wrong, you don’t want to receive pushback which could jeopardize your entire assignment and even professional reputation. It seems like a rather simple way to ensure your assignment goes according to plan, but you can’t always leave things to a single recruiter or agency. Luckily, we feature only the very top travel nurse agencies in the country, so you’ll be sure to find a satisfactory experience no matter who you work with!
Just remember that being proactive before an assignment goes such a long way. Instead of waiting a few days before an assignment to iron out details like travel nurse reporting instructions, try to have these questions answered at least a couple weeks beforehand. If you don’t receive your reporting instructions within 3 to 4 days before your assignment, you’ll definitely need to check with your recruiter or agency to see if there are any issues clearing your documentation. Otherwise, the assignment should go swimmingly… As long as you can find the right address!
Have any tips or horror stories with travel nurse reporting instructions? Let us know in the comments below!
