Category: Travel Nurse

Fidelity on Call is a quality travel nursing team.

Travel Nurse vs Staff Nurse

Comparing a travel nurse to a staff nurse is really like comparing an apple to an orange. Both are fruit, both are good for your health, but each still has differences.

TRAVEL NURSES:

✔ Enjoy the change in environment (typical change in assignments every 13 weeks; you may be offered to extend, or you can move onto the next location)
✔ Experienced in their nursing skills (travel nurses are not new graduates)
✔Adaptable (outside of showing a travel nurse the charting system and the lay of the land, travel nurses receive little orientation)
✔Exceptional interpersonal skills
✔Above average attendance records
✔Financially savvy to save for their own PTO/Vacation time and live a more flexible lifestyle
✔Flexible (you can choose the shifts you wish to work and the time off you want to take off)
✔Enjoys the perks of travel pay (competitive wages, tax free allowances)

STAFF NURSES:

✔Prefer to see the same nurses, techs, and providers day in and day (the only change is the patient)
✔Enjoys team meetings, unit committees
✔Likes a short or familiar commute to work
✔Typically receive lower pay but earn paid time off
✔Seniority matters

It is important when determining what is right for you, to always ensure you are choosing the right travel nurse agency to support you and/or the hospital that aligns with your mission in healthcare. Both offer several opportunities! Just remember you are never locked into one or the other. You have a career that has flexibility and opportunities.

We Believe in You

When we say we’ve got your back… WE TRULY have got your back.

I think we can all agree, that shifting the blame happens in all lines of work.  A lot of people have a hard time taking responsibility for their own mistakes, errors, or shortcomings. It takes an emotionally intelligent person to be able to say, “Hey I was wrong. That was my error. Perhaps I am the problem in this situation.” When emotional intelligence is lacking, shifting the blame happens. This happens in travel nursing also. In these crazy times it does seem to occur a little more often than we have seen in the past, however we react the same as we always have.

For example, something is happening on the unit you are working on, and you are getting the blame.  When that complaint comes to the office, we have a process and we do not veer from that process.

Complaint>Investigation>Resolution

Please know that we pride ourselves in the time and effort spent in every employee we hire. Something you may not know is we do not hire everyone that applies. We are very selective in our hiring process to ensure we find the right quality candidates who will honor our mission.  We also want to be a good employer match for those we hire. We believe in you and that is why we make the offer of employment to you. With that said, sometimes there is a complaint or a concern.

If there is a clinical concern:

Any clinical concerns are immediately reported to our Nurse Manager. Whether there is a medication error, charting error etc. the nurse manager is going to ask questions and investigate the documentation that may be provided. The nurse manager will reach out to the team member and ask questions. After investigating all sides of the situation, a resolution is then determined.

If there is a professional/personal issue:

Any professional/personal issues will be reported to your recruiter. When this happens, the following is done:

The recruiter is going to ask questions from the client regarding the complaint. The recruiter is going to reach out to you to share the concern/complaint and hear what you have to say about it. That recruiter will reach out to others to ask questions, if need be, investigate and get all sides of the story. A resolution is then determined and made.

In short, we believe in you unless proven otherwise

Calling in… When, Why, and Why Not?

Attendance is a very critical component in any industry. Healthcare is no different. Although, let’s face it, hospital policies have been wild and all over the place due to Rona. Attendance in travel nursing has always been paramount due to the fact that our travel nurses are considered the backup team. Now comes the pandemic. As our travelers were not allowed to work in the early stages of this novel virus, our clients were willing to pay for their time off. After two years things have changed.

So when do you call off?

The good old -fashioned advice never fails to be correct. Are you sick, truly sick?

  • Are you running a fever greater than 99.9?
  • Are you vomiting?
  • Are you making repeated trips to the bathroom for less than pleasant reasons?
  • Did you have a medical emergency?

These are just a few sure-fire reasons you should reach out to your recruiter and manager to call off to work.

What are unacceptable call offs?

Some days we just do not feel our best. We forge on because we are the backup team. Here are some “not great” examples for calling off to work:

  • Winter weather – We all have access to winter weather reports and road conditions. You should PLAN ahead for such events Leave early! Depending on your distance, this may be 30 minutes early or more

✔Ensure your car is in winter driving condition
✔Have proper winter travel supplies in your car
✔Communicate with your recruiter about housing options

  • Lack of Childcare

✔You as a traveler are the backup team member. You should have a backup for your childcare.
✔We have some facilities that allow our travelers to use their childcare resources.
✔Instead of calling off inquire with your recruiter or hospital manager if you can switch shifts/days

  • No Call No Show

✔Proud to report that this is not happening with our Fidelity On Call travelers, but we are hearing this from our clients regarding other travelers doing it (and regularly)! We thought it would be worth mentioning so that we continue with that perfect record.

In closing, calling off makes it tough on everyone involved. Yes, emergencies happen to us all. True emergencies and illness are not every week. Please always keep in close communication with your

Time to Schedule Good Vibes

For several years I worked with a young lady who had a very interesting habit. At least once a day, she would throw her papers on her desk, hop up and shout, “Life sucks and then you die!” Needless to say, she always got the attention of the team that surrounded her, but never in a good way.

Now, decades later and I still remember exactly how she looked and what she said. Did she make an impression? Yes. Was it a good one? No! And, what could have been so earth shattering? She was doing routine paperwork.

And, reflecting back, life was sure a lot easier then than now. Every day there is something new that impacts our lives – so much so that it can seem out of control. During the past two years we have had more than our fair share of challenges in life and in the medical field.

We know and appreciate the fact that our ultimate goal – taking the best care of our patients – is a very important job. Sometimes we see things that are not pleasant, to say the least. Sometimes we take care of patients that are less than kind – shoot, some of them can be downright mean. Sometimes on-site nurses respond in inappropriate ways or try to tear us down. Sometimes the supervisor is a downer. And, never once, have we heard one of our elite team members express such a negative comment.

Yes, attitude is everything. But, we also realize that sometimes it is very, very difficult to motivate yourself to have a good attitude each and every day of the year.

We have shared many things with you on how to be upbeat – our daily habits, what we choose to think about and meditate on and many more. But, one of the things we haven’t done is share the importance of the people you surround yourself with.

If you are hanging out with Debbie Downers they will bring you down. Now, there are seasons in life when someone you know may need encouragement and lifting up. But, there are individuals who NEVER find the positive (remember – life sucks and then you die?). These are the people that you want to distance yourself from.

And, we know that this is not always entirely feasible as that person might be your mother or your spouse. But, you can choose to step back, not accept the negative comments, and find those other friends and family members that you can laugh, share, and have fun with. It is vital to keep your positive energy level up! It not only affects your outlook on life but it gives you that overall sense of well-being that we all need to have.

So, before another negative comment is heard, take an inventory of those family members and friends you can depend on to always be there with a kind comment, words of encouragement or a hug when it is needed. Those are the people you want to spend more time with. Start scheduling time for good vibes now.

6 Ways for Travel Nurses to Manage Stress

Today, life is not what we would call normal. Prior to 2020’s pandemic, we all went about our lives without much thought to what was happening in our country and the world.  We handled the day-to-day stress of home and job in a much different way than we can right now.

Now, we no longer know what each day will bring.  In our industry, there has been extra turmoil. People are angry. They are more easily upset. Patients are combative. Things that would have previously “rolled off our backs” no longer do so.

Continue reading 6 Ways for Travel Nurses to Manage Stress