Typical travel nurse contracts are 13 1/2 weeks duration. If one's presence is appreciated at the hospital, the contract can be extended if everyone is in agreement. Who is everyone? The hospital, my employer, myself and pooch-princess Ninja. Ninja is typically in agreement with whatever decision I choose. I’m lucky like that!
All of my assignments have offered at least one extension which worked out well for all of us. There was one assignment where I wanted to extend a third time. I heard through my employer that the hospital was on board with offering the 3rd extension, but at a 30% reduction in pay. I declined that offer instantaneously without any second thoughts.
In another instance, it was not my preference to extend a 3rd time but my son and my mother would be coming to the west coast from the east coast to spend Christmas with my sister and her family along with me and Ninja. It just made sense for me to suck it up and stay there to enjoy the opportunity for my entire family to spend a holiday together. Everything about travel nursing is temporary. That's also what makes it so appealing to this nurse.
Moving every six months or so to a new state or city is exciting yet exhausting but ultimately worthwhile. The following is what it entails.
New Housing
I’ve discussed housing in several stories. It is one of the most stressful aspects of this career. I must look for dog-friendly housing options in my budget which are safe, have my particular must haves and not get scammed out of money or landing in an unsafe area. So far so good.
Packing
I wear scrubs to work as they come in so many cool colors, are simple to pack and so comfortable to wear. I mainly have black and gray scrub pants to stay in line with hospital dress code policies. I typically wear short-sleeved non-scrub tops along with my black jacket. I have all my gym clothes. I have waaaaaaaay too many other clothes that I typically don’t end up wearing, but am not ready to part with yet. I have packaged some and sent home. I guess I will have to get around to doing that again because, it is a pain in the ass packing, unpacking, hauling it all into and out of Blue Velvet and finding a spot to keep my excess goods in every new home.
I got this
I usually need 2 to 3 weeks to get used to my new temporary home and finding all of the following without GPS assist, maybe:
Grocery store
Gas station
Starbucks (this it not difficult as there is one one every street corner)
My way to the hospital (work)
Where I will park at work so I can find my car easily
Finding my way around inside the hospital.
I anticipate that I will get lost in the hospital at least 2-3 times until I get my bearings. I have learned to accept and live with relearning all my new destinations at least twice a year. I prepare myself mentally before each move telling myself “I got this”. It also helps for me to start investigating what tourist adventures I will be participating in once I get there. That helps a lot!
Usually around week three to four everything finally just falls into place. That is when everything starts to feel like home.
Electronic Medical Record
Every hospital assignment thus far has utilized Epic electronic medical record (EMR) program. While one would think that using the same EMR program, albeit at a different place, it would have the same work flow. That is not the case.
Hospitals have been around for many years and utilize hundreds of other computer programs (some ancient and some newer) which do not always jive the same way with Epic. Hence, despite utilizing the same EMR title, there is still a learning curve on how to use Epic at each new hospital I encounter. Okay, my Nursing Informatics is coming out now, so I’ll carry on to the next aspect.
I’m that Person now
It has baffled me in the past how an alert and oriented person might not know their physical living address. (Question asked to all patients in the hospital setting). Well here I am not remembering my address and sometimes having to regroup to remember what state I am in at a given time. Lol. I’ve accepted my new inability because there is a work-around. I jump onto my trusty Amazon app to obtain my current address whenever I need it. It also lists all other addresses where I’ve lived if I feel like going down memory lane. Ha.
When I first started travel nursing, I forwarded my mail to my next temporary home address. I stopped doing that after my second contract because I would not obtain all of my mail despite it being forwarded; I would have to pay a dollar to the post office to forward my mail each time; If I extended my contract, I would have to re-forward my mail, wait for the forward to initiate and have to enter an end date again. I found it to be too cumbersome.
My Mom shared that the post office, upon request, will forward a picture of one’s mail received daily via email. Boom! That was perfect for my needs and has worked well since initiation. In the mean time, I am fortunate to have a fantastic neighbor in my home town who retrieves my paper mail when I’m not around.
Food/Groceries
I've noticed that everywhere I land I eat a little bit differently. It's like that saying “when in Rome do as the Romans do”. Kind of a given, right? However, there are some items which I truly do not wish to go without. I have found it to be an effort to investigate where I may be able to find my staples locally, compare the pricing/taxes, how far they are for me to travel to purchase, etc. Again, too cumbersome.
Amazon is my best friend for my must have grocery items. If I’m unsure if package delivery should be made at my new address, I will search for the nearest Amazon drop box so I can pick up my package independently from the locked container.
Parking
Whenever possible I like to have an assigned parking space. I appreciate the convenience and perceived safety of having an assigned spot whenever possible. Most of my assignments are in cities where it is challenging to find a place to park on the street which is near my rental home.
Second pain in the ass aspect which had a positive outcome. One of my rentals was all street parking which turned me into the queen bee of parallel parking. Didn't have that on my check box of things to do but look at me go. Lol.
Haircare
While I love my stylist in FL, she cannot travel to wherever I am living. It’s like she has her own life or something. LOL. It is challenging to find a stylist at each new location, the pricing obviously varies, and I can’t remember the specifics of what I do to my hair. In light of all that, I have opted for using a national well known beauty salon so that my specific haircare information is on file and can be accessed wherever I may land next.
Each new assignment allows me to blossom where I am planted. I am beyond proud of myself for following my dream. I got this!!