Sure you can always rely on the permanent nurses at the hospital where your travel nursing assignment is, which is great. As locals they probably know who to go to and who to stay away from, but for those times when they are not around or you don’t have a chance to do your own research, then check out Angie’s List. It is a consumer review site where actual people like you, not anonymous marketers in disguise, review local services like:
 
HOME
Carpet Cleaning
Electrical
Handymen
Heating & A/C
Housecleaning
Painting
Plumbing
Remodeling
Roofing
Windows

OUTDOOR
Bicycles
Fencing
Landscaping
Lawn Irrigation
Lawn Mower Repair
Lawn Treatment
Lawn & Yard Work
Mulch & Topsoil
Pool & Spa Service
Tree Service

HEALTH
Dentists
Dermatologists
Elder Care
Hospitals
OBGYN
Ophthalmologists
Pediatricians
Plastic Surgeons
Primary Care
Psychiatrists

AND MUCH MORE…
Catering
Child Care
Dance Instruction
Fitness Centers
Hair Salon/Barbers
Jewelery Sales & Repair
Limousine Service
Manicures/Pedicures
Massage Therapy

You do have to pay but the cost is not all that much ($20 a year at the most or $2.60 a month) really. If you are career travel nurse, it is just another service you need to make your travel nursing life easier. 

They have a quick tour and an extensive FAQ section you can take a look at before you decide if it is for you, but I definitely recommend taking a look if you are not one of those fortunate travel nurses who have zero of life’s little problems on their travel nursing assignments.

If you do have one site or two that isn’t mentioned, please list it in our comments section to share with our readers.

As travel nurses you know that there may be times when you are between assignments, whether it is because of the current economy, you just need a breather or are just having a hard time finding the perfect travel nursing job, well this site just might be of help. It is written and managed by three nurses and offers advice on careers, life, bling, nursing school, and scholarships. So you can see it has a broad appeal to nurses of all ages and stages in their careers. It is a nursing website definitely worth checking out. Let me know what you think.

If you have ever been asked that question and looked at the possibilities of all the cities you could be a travel nurse in and thought, where do I begin to come up with my dream assignment. Well, I just came across this cool website, FindYourSpot.com. It is a pretty comprehensive site that takes you through a series of eight pages of questions based around your interests and tells you what city you should live in.

The questions cover:

Weather

Culture

Public Services Availability

Outdoor Activities

Size and Public Safety and Geography

Social Involvement

Faith

Housing/Rent Costs

At the end you are asked for some basic information and if you are interested in some advertising offers, but the payoff is a list of 24 cities (that is about 6 years worth of travel nursing jobs) that are ideal cities for you to live in based on your personality and interests. Give it a try and let me know how it works for you.

• Travel Nursing Resources
• Nursing Information
• Nursing Resources
• Nursing Organizations
• Nursing Education
• Nursing Niche Sites
• Nursing Social Networks
• Travel Nursing Blogs
• Nursing Supplies
• Nursing Other
• Hospital Information
• Moving Resources
• Travel Resources
• Housing Information
• City Information
• Settling In Tips
• Day-to-Day Living Tips
• Personal Health Tips
• Financial Resources
• Social Networking Resources

Take a look and report back with any sites you think they missed.

Many travelers we have met, do keep a home base. On our website http://www.travel-nurse-coach.com/travel-nurse-housing.html we have covered some options for travelers regarding housing.

The problem for a traveler is to find affordable available housing.  It is difficult to get information. Of course you can go to the paper or online but you do not know who you are dealing with.

Our Free E-Classified Ad Community is a new concept. It targets other health care travelers. Under housing, you can list that you have a dwelling available. Many people looking for house-sitters do so because they have plants, or pets to look after or a yard that needs regular care. You as a house-sitter can get a reduced rate or sometimes even free housing.

If you are looking for accommodations you can request what you are looking for. Like all new ideas it takes time for this to catch on.

Presently, Janet and I are doing a four month house-sit ending April first. Our Nurse Mafia (check what the” nurse mafia” is, on our previous article) found us the house-sit. Our friend Joanne who is a registered nurse knew we were looking for housing in the area we wanted and her parents were going away for four months.

We took over this clean attractive three-bedroom house for the cost of the utilities

*****************************************************************************************************

We also have a monthly newsletter, which starts March 15 where we will feature house-sits for health care travelers. Please sign up and do register at our Free Classified Ad Community.

There is approximately twenty thousand travel nurse’s in the US. The more nurses that post on the Classifieds the better chance you have of finding a house-sit.

Completion bonus
Referral bonus
Free health
Insurance life insurance
Travel reimbursement
Free private housing
License reimbursement
401k

The best travel nursing comparison websites not only offer you information to make your travel nursing decision, but they also allow you to join the conversation and rate travel nursing companies you have worked with.

Here is a list of websites I have found that offer a travel nursing company comparison:

TravelNurseConnection
Highway Hypodermics
TravelNursingCentral.com
UltimateNurse.com

If you know of any other good travel nursing review or comparison sites let us at TravelNursingBlogs.com know. Or leave your own reviews in our comments section.

If you take your laptop, netbook or desktop PC with you on the road during your travel nursing assignment you are going to love Hulu. Depending on how much TV you watch you could probably just get by with Hulu if you wanted and forget about cable altogether. You do have to deal with limited commercials, but they are only 30 seconds long so definitely worth checking out on your next travel nursing job.

When we are looking for items and or information we usually reach out to other travelers. There are other practical benefits to contacting other travelers.

Passing on items and simply learning where the good deals are found can help you get started in the right direction. My husband and I have bought sold and passed on everything from snorkeling equipment, computer equipment and even leased out our vehicle.

We have built a Free Classified Ad section on our website www.travel-nurse-coach.com

It is brand new and the more people who use it, the better chance you have of finding what you need. Please let healthcare workers know about the Free Classified Ad Community.

The one problem that we found is when we were traveling we only got to meet a limited amount of travelers.

We have a section marked (activity partner wanted) where you can post and let people know when and where you are traveling. This is” a work in progress “so we welcome any suggestions.

Oh, by the way it is not necessary to give out your email or contact information unless you wish to do so. You can simply have them hit the reply button.

Please pass this forward to other travelers possibly your “nurse mafia!”

Carol e-mailed and asked “Do healthcare workers rent out there home base apartment, or house to other travelers?” Stay tuned for our answer next week.

On Dec 31 2003 all that changed when Janet and I traveled to Lahaina to see her doctor. She had discovered a small lump in her breast and we were going to the office to find out the results of a biopsy.

Life with no worries changed quickly when Janet was diagnosed with breast cancer. After sampling many Mai Tai’s that night (New Years Eve) the reality slowly set in that the next several months we would have a new focus.

By Valentines Day six weeks later Janet had had the lump removed and was in the middle of chemo treatment. She had made the decision to stay working on Maui and go through chemo and radiation.

The week of Valentines Day I went to a Toastmaster meeting. Toastmaster’s is a club where you can learn communication skills. I never realized how illness could affect everyone involved until I was invited to give a one-minute speech on a topic that another club member picks for you. I should have seen this coming but the question was, “What are you doing with your sweetheart on Valintines Day?”

After many um’s and ahs( a real no-no in Toastmaster’s) I held my head down for what seemed an eternity. Finally I lifted my head and said my wife is battling cancer and I have not even thought about Valentines Day. I then disappeared realizing that we always need to expect the unexpected. When adversity enters our life things change and how it affects us can surface at any time or place.

The support and care Janet received from other Travel Nurses was amazing and very appreciated. Doctors, her nurse supervisor and of course co workers all helped. All their help and Janet’s attitude while being treated, allows her to boast five years cancer free this Valentines Day 2009.

On our website www.travel-nurse-coach.com we have a motto. Wish for the best plan for the worse.

RNVIP.com
TravelNursingUSA.com
AAA TravelNursing.com
TravelNurseSource.com
TravelNurseDepot.com
ThirteenWeeks.com

The sites listed above are specifically travel nursing, while the following sites are more general nursing job boards, but offer a strong travel nursing element:

NurseTown.com
Nurse-Recruiter.com
AbsolutelyHealthcare.com
NursingJobs.org
MedicalWorkers.com

And if you are the more independent type you can always look at sites like:

ejane.com
NurseAuction.com

I am sure there are some other good nursing job boards I’m missing. What ones do you use? Why do you like them?

They have a few fun areas too like Best and Worst MPG and Cars that don’t need gasoline.

TravelFitness.com
HealthyTravelNetwork.com
ExpertVillage.com
EmaxHealth.com
ChristineColumbus.com
WorkoutsForYou.com
60in3.com
RoadWarriorTips.com

Patricia Lederman
Group Editor
plederman@advanstar.com

Bobbi Harrison
Managing Editor
bharrison@advanstar.com

Jennifer Samuels
Associate Editor
jennifer.samuels@advanstar.com

If you read Healthcare Traveler magazine then you are already aware of the kind of info and quality they will bring to the travel nursing blog universe. Check out their blog and tell them TravelNursingBlogs.com sent you.

With that said I would take this site with a grain of salt, because on review sites there can be a tendency to draw traffic from people who may have an unrelated reason to be upset with the hospital. So if you love your hospital go on the site and rate it to keep the site fair and accurate.

After you check it out let me know what you think.