Getting Ready
Before you leave, whether it be for a 3000 mile trip or 30 mile trip you should always have a look around your vehicle. Check the tires for proper pressure and for any abnormalities in the wear and make sure that all lights on the car are functional. There’s nothing worse than getting pulled over for a brake light out and having to pay for a ticket you could have easily avoided. When going on an extended trip, make sure you have the vehicle looked over by a trained professional, get an oil change and tune-up if need be. If you belong to a roadside assistance company like AAA, make sure you are up to date with your membership… Who knew towing a car could be so expensive?

When it comes to packing your car, it is very important that you carry a few essential items that can help if you so happen to have a break down. Always carry an emergency roadside kit, road atlas, first aid kit, tire jack, tire iron (make sure the spare tire is also fully inflated), tool kit and duct tape – you’d be surprised at the many uses of duct tape. Just ask my friend Gus, his wallet has been “repaired” with the help of the tape and now can surely withstand a nuclear holocaust. When it comes to packing your wears, make sure it is only those things in which you’ll need. The more weight you add to your car, the worse your gas mileage will be. So be smart and take only what you absolutely need. Pack a lunch or snacks that can keep you away from those enticing truck stops… Unless of course it’s for beef jerky. Then, by all means you must stop! You can never get enough of the “local flavor!”

It’s almost time to hit the road, so does everyone who needs to know (Family, staffing agency, housing management) know where you are going? When you expect to get there and so on? If you have a GPS system, make sure your coordinates are in place and do a little research as to what to expect weather wise. When you finally arrive to your destination, notify the important parties that you have made it safely, they’ll be glad to hear it.

On the Road
When driving, always wear a safety belt, make sure your mirrors are all positioned correctly and keep your doors locked at all times. If you are traveling alone, make sure when it comes to make a stop, especially in a interstate rest area, park in a well lit area with people nearby. Don’t stop for hitchhikers and if you are flagged down to stop, don’t. Instead, offer to help by using your cell phone or going forward and send help later. You just never know, nor do you want to find out.

When You Get There
You’ve finally made it, safe and sound to your new home for the next 13 weeks or so and the first thing you should do is let your loved ones know. You should have all the housing arrangements made prior to your arrival and now it’s time to unload. Keep a watchful eye around you and never prop open security doors while unloading your vehicle. Make your presence known and greet fellow neighbors and so forth but don’t get too comfortable quite yet. Look around the grounds and your building layout, make sure you know where the nearest fire escape is and make a plan for your escape during any emergency. Try not to reveal your apartment number or give away your full name until you’ve established some sort of “relationship.” As a travel nurse your housing is usually taken care of by the staffing agency and often times your temporary home is equipped with many amenities like a swimming pool or fitness center… You should definitely take advantage of those things while you can.

Beginning a new traveling nurse assignment is an exciting time, everything is fresh and new and the opportunities are abound. Make the most of your experience by following these traveling tips and you should be ready to begin your new assignment, stress free and with a full head of steam. I would love to hear more tips you may have involving traveling by ones self, it can only help our readers. Good luck and safe travels!

Here’s a previous article about traveling in the winter time… It is right around the corner and you surely don’t want to be left in the cold.
Winter Driving Tips

When you’re on the road, you can’t really worry about improving your house to increase equity. You don’t worry about job promotions or raises. You live from assignment to assignment. It’s that simple.

So if I can leave you with one last piece of advice for your travel nursing career, it would be this: learn to enjoy the journey.

• When you’re traveling to and from assignments, enjoy the drive. Don’t just try to get from A to B as quickly as possible. If you’re driving through Wisconsin, stop at a farm to pick apples. If you’re driving through California, detour to a state park on the beach and take a private walk along the coast of the Pacific. If you’re driving through Arkansas, stop at the welcome center and enjoy a free cup of coffee, a roaring fire, and all the information you could ever want about The Natural State. Driving from assignment to assignment can either be a boring task or a relaxing vacation.
• When you’re on assignment, take the time to soak in the culture of wherever you are. Each state, each city, each town is different. Eat at local diners, hike the state parks, and visit an art gallery featuring local artists. Very few people get the opportunity to spend three months at a time in various cities across the country. Learn about the history of each place. Meet as many people as possible.
• Finally, enjoy your rare time at home. It’s so easy to fall into the world of to-do lists when you finally make it back home. Between unpacking, repacking, car tune-ups, and the long lists of people to visit, time at home can quickly become nothing more than a stressful stop on the way to your next destination. Don’t let it be that way.

With all of its challenges and trials, traveling has still been the most rewarding and fun experience of my life. I wouldn’t trade this time for anything. Enjoy it.

Courtney
Adventures in Travel Nursing

We are sad to say that this was the final article in Courtney’s Guest Series. We hope to have her back some time, but in the meantime visit her blog Adventures in Travel Nursing to read more of here great insight into the travel nursing life.

Here’s a great tool I discovered called Cost2Drive!

Simply enter the starting and ending points of your journey, as well as what type of car you’ll be driving. From that information the website will show you their estimation of the fuel cost of your trip. It also shows you a map with the stops in your trip where you’ll need to re-fuel your vehicle as well as what the price of gas is in that city. They also provide links to Mapquest, Yahoo Maps and Google Maps if you want to print out your driving directions.

The other nice thing it shows you is what your trip would cost if you decided to fly instead. I wish I could have used this tool a few years back when I was planning a family trip to Pennsylvania!

The one thing it doesn’t do is allow you to add extra stops on your journey. Say you planned to see your friend in Dallas, TX on your way to San Diego. With this site you would need to enter a trip from Minneapolis to Dallas and then another trip from Dallas to San Diego.

Give Cost2Drive a try the next time you have a road trip to plan!

If you have never heard of Zipcar before I suggest checking it out. It is definitlely a great alternative to the bigger car rental companies that make you sit in line and complete tons of paperwork just to drive a car for a couple of days.

Zipcar is quick and easy to use, you just sign up online and get your “Zipcard.” Then you just reserve the car you want and you will have access to that car for the day. Check it out during your next traveling nurse job and let us know how it works for you.

All the frequent detours allow me to get up and stretch my legs and arms which keeps me alert, stimulates blood circulation and prevents my back from getting too stiff. I know many of you may just want to get there as quick as possible, but you should try and stop every couple hours, even if it’s just for 5 minutes. Always allow time for breaks in your itinerary, it is imperative to your well being. Besides, you’re probably traveling through unknown territory and what better time to soak up the surroundings and make your trip a little more memorable. For instance, my favorite road trip discovery of late is this truck stop/fireworks stand/antique/lawn ornament store between Omaha and Kansas City. It’s like a buffet of useless things one could ever need to buy while on a road trip, unless you’re in desperate need of gnome for your garden… Then this is your place!

Okay, so here are a number of exercises you can do while traveling cross country.

• Pelvic tilt. Funny name, good exercise. This exercise may help prevent or relieve any lower back discomfort and will work your abdominal muscles. Sit up tall in yourseat and place your hands behind you at the small of your back. Now press your back into your fingers by contracting your abdominal muscles.Hold for 10 seconds, then relax. After doing this a few times, try holding the contraction longer.

• Quadriceps contractions. Using one leg at a time, straighten your knee and contract your quadriceps. Hold the contraction for 10 seconds and do this several times.

• Upper-body stretches. Tilt your head toward one shoulder, then the other. Do shoulder circles in both directions. Clasp your hands together on the steering wheel and round your shoulders and upper back. If the weather cooperates, get out of your car for these exercises:

• Full-body stretch. Clasp your hands together and reach above your head, stretching yourself as tall as possible.

• Calf stretch. Step one foot behind the other and press your heel down. Hold for 20 seconds. Repeat with the other leg.

• Squats and lower back stretches. Stand beside your open car door and support yourself by holding onto your open window. Squat down to a 90-degree bend in your knees, then stand up. Do this 10 to 15 times. Stretch your lower back by bending at your waist and stretching away from the door.

So if you follow my suggestions, you can save yourself from pain and stiffness, all the while enjoying the scenic highways of these great United States. Happy travels!