Amanda

There is much to think about when switching companies. First asked yourself why you want to switch companies. Keep in my mind that when you keep switching, that requires more paperwork and keeping up with your healthcare plan. Changing companies can more of a hassle then what it is truly worth. Write out both the positives and negatives before actually making a switch.

Staying with one company that you’re comfortable with allows you to build a strong, professional relationship with your recruiter. You and your recruiter will actually become friends since they will always be there to talk to you 24/7. You are their number one priority. The better your recruiter knows you and your career goals, the better he or she can find jobs that are the best fit for you.

Also by staying there can be far less surprises. No worries about a company not coming through with what they say they are going to do. This can leave you free from worry when traveling on assignment.

Of course there are also legitimate and sometimes necessary reasons to shop around for a different company. Just be clear about why you want to change companies and be aware of some of the extra work that you’ll need to do in order to make it happen.

1. The best part about being travel nurse is that you have a say in your career. You have the choice of picking where you want to go, and when you need some time off. It is a great feeling knowing that you have control over your own career.
2. You can travel to meet new people, and see family and friends while on assignment. It can be hard to meet new people when you are working full-time. Your travel nursing assignments offer an extended amount of time to really be able to catch up on lost time with family and friends.
3. If you don’t enjoy certain types of weather you can travel to your favorite climates, so you can be in your favorite season year round. Experience summer year around or enjoy snow in the winter and the sunny skies in the summer.
4. As a travel nurse you get paid to travel, and you will be able to save money and do the traveling you have always wanted to do. This way when you are on assignment, you have the money to see all the tourist hotspots without having to worry about paying for your living expenses. It is like a working vacation.
5. Enhance your career by traveling around and experiencing different techniques of each hospital. Meet other travel nurses who can share their experiences with you. It builds your resume, gives you clinical experience, and you don’t have to worry about workplace politics.

Making the choice to become a travel nurse is a huge decision. It isn’t for everyone, and you need to realize what type of commitment it is. A travel nurse must be open to constant change and be able to handle it. This job isn’t all about the money, but providing care for those in need which is the number one reason why you became a nurse in the beginning. Put your two favorite passions together by traveling while nursing.

1. See new places
   It is hard for many people to travel the world, let alone travel across the country. By traveling with an agency, they will pay for you to go to the places you want to go. Travel nursing gives you the opportunity and the break needed to make a life change.
2. Freedom and flexibility
   Have the ability to choose when you want to work. You can always take time off between assignments to give yourself a break, and once you are ready to jump back in the saddle there will be an assignment ready for you.
3. Professional growth
   Each assignment allows you to continue to learn, since each place you go to will teach you something new. This allows you to not get stuck in the same routine when treating patients.
4. Job security
   There is always a need for nurses in the travel nurse industry because of the nursing shortage. Hospitals everywhere are in need of nurses; there is always a place for you to go.
5. Meet new people
   Staying in the same location can make it hard to meet new people, since you are stuck in the same routine every day. Travel nursing will force you to meet new people every time you go on a new assignment.
6. Make more money
   Traveling as a nurse allows you to make and save more money.  You will be able to save your money from working given that you don’t have to pay rent or many bills.
7. No workplace politics
   Since you will be a temp not perm, you will not have to deal with the everyday workplace politics. You can just focus on giving good patient care while working.
8. Networking
   Having the opportunity to travel around and meet new people allows you to network too. The more people you know in your field the better, so when you do need help finding a job or just a place to stay when traveling to a new  assignment you have someone to ask.
9. No burn out
   Having a long term job at a hospital can become tiring while you are waiting for your PTO. As a traveling nurse you will have as much time between assignments as you want, and you can pick your length of assignments giving you control of your career.
10. Discover new interests/hobbies
    Living in a new environment allows you to try new things. Different places have their own popular hobbies in the area. From snow skiing on the mountain tops, swimming in the ocean or hiking through the canyons.

Appetizers

This is where you can start to get into trouble. Try to stay away from eating too much food before dinner. You would rather eat more dinner and desserts than appetizers.

Dinner

Dinner is actually what you should be looking forward to. Remember to always watch your portions when serving yourself. The less you put on your plate the less you will eat, so only take as much as you actually need. Make sure put some vegetables on your plate, and don’t over load your plate. Consider bringing a dish to the gathering that you know is healthy.

http://www.foodfit.com/

Desserts

Most people have the problem of getting too many sweets when it comes to the holidays, since there are a lot of treats all around you. There are a few options you can do. Pick your favorite one and just eat that or only have a bite of all the ones you want to eat. The goal is not to eat multiple sweets. Another option is to eat the healthiest dessert.

http://nutrition.about.com/od/healthydesserts/Desserts.htm

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=60652

Here are some other helpful links:

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=967

http://www.ehow.com/how_2085492_plan-healthy-holiday-meal.html

When you do regular nursing through a hospital there are some pros of staying in the same place. You will always be in your comfort level in your home surroundings. By staying at the same job for a long period of time, you meet more people at your job and learn the place you work at very well.

As a travel nurse, you won’t have that everyday familiarity; however, you do start to establish it more and more as time passes. When ending and starting a new assignment you won’t be able to meet as many people at that job, but overall you meet more people all across the U.S. since you are always going to new places and transitioning. You also won’t get wrapped up in the hospital politics like you would in permanent place.

When it come to PTO, as a traveling nurse you don’t get any, but your time off is between assignments or you could think of days while not working as PTO. In a hospital, it takes awhile to receive time off making it hard for you to go on vacation.

Every nursing job offers medical insurance, paid time off and 401K, but to receive these benefits you must work for that hospital for a certain time period. As a travel nurse you can receive medical insurance and 401K from day one. That’s just the beginning of benefits.

The best benefit of travel nursing is being able to travel across the U.S. meeting new people and learning about different places. Doing this makes you become a more rounded person being able to learn more about the different cultures. Once you are in your new home, you can go out site seeing and check out all the hot spots in that area.

The main reason people become a travel nurse is traveling. You get paid to do the traveling you have always wanting to do and didn’t have the money to do sooner. Traveling is cheap and easy, since most agencies will reimburse you for you travel expenses and assist you with your certification and licensure.

1. Would you rather experience warm or cold weather most of the year or part?

2. Do you enjoy hiking, biking, water skiing and swimming, or would you rather go snow skiing, sledding, ice skating and snowboarding?

3. Do you enjoy attending different culture festivals?

4. Do you enjoy more of an urban or rural community?

5. Any specific national landmarks you want to visit?

By answering these five questions, it can give you an idea of what type of place you want to travel to and work at. If you answered most of your questions with warm weather climate being your answer then you should look into states in the West and Southwest with a couple of exceptions like Florida. The colder temperatures can be found in the Midwest and Northeast. While there are some states that are warm and not quite as cold located in the Southeast.

Deciding what type of weather and culture are two main decisions when choosing a place to live. There are some people out there who like the big city atmostphere while there are others who like the small town life.

A new place is always exciting yet a scary experience at the same time. If you aren’t used to being in a different place, it can be quite a culture shock. Always remember that experiencing these places will broaden your horizons making you a more rounded person.

As a travel nurse, you won’t have that everyday familiarity; however, you do start to establish it more and more as time passes. When ending and starting a new assignment you won’t be able to meet as many people at that job, but overall you meet more people all across the U.S. since you are always going to new places and transitioning. You also won’t get wrapped up in the hospital politics like you would in a permanent place.

Every nursing job offers medical insurance, PTO and 401K, but to receive there benefits you must work for that hospital for a certain time period. As a travel nurse, the more established companies offer medical insurance and 401K from day one. That’s just the beginning of benefits.

The best benefit of traveling nursing is being able to travel across the U.S. meeting new people and learning about different cultures. Once you are in your new home, you can go out site seeing and check out all the hot spots in that area.

The main reason people become a travel nurse is traveling. You get paid to do the traveling you have always wanted to do and didn’t have the money to do sooner. Traveling is cheap and easy, when the more established companies reimburse you for your travel and licensure expenses, and help you get your certification.

Hospitals are looking for a travel nurse that is going to come in and make a difference on the floor. Therefore, you need to have at least a year of prior experience, and the more you have the better and more appealing you look. Many hospitals prefer at least two years, so if you don’t have that don’t take it personally if they don’t want to hire you.

Good references are important too. Hospitals need to be able to check up on you to make sure your skills are adequate for the job they need to fill. Their goal is to provide good care for the patient, and they need to make sure you will be able to do that.

Always keep in mind that hospitals need to have confidence that you come in and do what you need to do. Hospitals will be judging you on your resume, skills checklist and phone interview.

It is a great idea to bring them with you to share in on your adventures across the country. It always makes the experience so much better when you share it with someone close to you.

Another option is to travel to places where relatives or friends live. This is a good way to see the people that you don’t see very often. There is an option of staying with your family and friends on assignment. You will have an opportunity to receive a housing subsidy that depends on where your assignment is.

Travel nursing isn’t just for single people, but for the people who have family and pets too. It is always more exciting to travel around to new places when there is someone to share it with.

Before any interview go to the website and learn about the hospital. Take notes to help remember important details about the hospital. Prepare yourself with the obvious questions they will ask you. Maybe practice with a friend the day before so you can sort through your answers. Stand up during your interview. It will help you think and focus better. Write down any questions you want answered by the hospital, so you won’t forget to ask them during the interview.

The interviewer will be asking you questions about your skills from your resume to make sure they fit with what they are looking for in a nurse. Have yours skills checklist with you during the interview, so you can refer back if your forget something important. The interviewer wants to get as much information out of you as they can by asking open-ended questions. They need to figure out if you will get along with their patients and other staff members. When answering a question, always answer them in depth and do not stray away from the question or give too little information. Communication is key in every interview you do. It is important to give a good sense of communication since the interview is short and that’s all they will know before hiring you.

Some other things to remember when preparing is to be in area that you won’t be disturbed. This way there won’t be any distractions around.

It is always nerve-racking doing any type interview. If you prepare yourself, the interview will go a lot smoother then if you didn’t, and you will display confidence in your voice over the phone to the interviewer.

Here are some links to some of the major airlines with some of their luggage restrictions and/or requirements:

• American Airlines
• United Airlines
• US Airways
• Northwest Airlines
• Southwest Airlines

Born and raised in Arizona with an older brother and two older sisters. I am a proud aunt of 1 year old twins and one of my sisters is due in November. The other passion of my life has been playing softball which was shown to me by my Dad. Started  playing when I was 7, and I just ended my career at Creighton Univeristy. Softball is how I ended up in Omaha, and has lead me to where I am today. I have now started playing slow pitch to feed my competive drive.