Highway Hypodermics

Dixie Lee Bostick

Question 1:

In a large metropolitan area, Nurse Floating Flo contracts to float between three hospitals within a 10 mile radius of her housing. Starting in the 6th week, the company ask her to float to a hospital 15 miles away, the 7th week she goes to one on the other side of the city, that is 30 miles away, plus one that is 17 miles away. The nurse is willing to take the first few, but after the behavior continues, she has had enough and voices this to her recruiter.

Answer 1:

I would express my nurses concerns with my account manager so that my account manager can contact the hospital. I would also express that my nurse is always willing to go over and above, however it appears as if my nurse is being taken advantage of. I would also demand to limit the floating agreement within 10 miles as per the contract going forward.

Question 2:

Baby Nurse Betty is a skilled labor and delivery nurse, who also can float to post-pardum care after the delivery as well as the well-newborn nursery. At 7:30pm, the staffing company hotline gets a call stating that they want her to float to the NICU, which is beyond her competency level. What is your company’s response?

Answer 2:

This is not safe and not within my nurses skill scope. It is not safe for the hospital, patient nor the nurse. My nurse has no problem floating within her skills set.

Question 3:

Nurse Roach is all excited about her first travel nursing assignment. She drives 750 miles to her new assignment housing. After getting the keys from management, she opens the door and three cockroaches scurry across the floor. After further investigation, she also finds a ring of mold in the shower. She can’t stand it and immediately texts you with pictures. How do you respond?

Answer 3:

I would tell her not to sign off on the walk through and that our company would be contacting them immediately. I would put her up in a hotel until we found a safe, clean apartment within a reasonable driving distance from the facility. I would apologize profusely and let her know that we would never use the apartment complex again. I would also let her know that the difference from a good company and bad company is how they handle a bad situation. Unfortunately issues do arise and when and if they do I will always go and above to rectify the situation ASAP.

Question 4:

You have worked with Nurse Asthmatic for 3 years now and she has done a great job for you, when she takes an assignment in Southeast Colorado. She envisions magic mountains that reach to the sky, only to find that she has landed in wheat country. Not wanting to cause problems she continues to work and everything is fine, until harvest. She has an asthma attack, ends up in the hospital, and is told that she is going to miss at least 2 weeks of work related to asthma induced pneumonia. How do you work things out?

Answer 4:

I would contact the facility of her health issues and this environment is hurting her health. It is best that we amicably end the contract without fines or hard feelings. I would try to locate her an assignment immediately and make note not to send her to an area that is not conducive to her health. I would call and check on her daily. I would make sure she was not penalize for housing losses and that she received her travel pay home.

Question 5:

You have worked hard to find Nurse Roulette a job in Las Vegas. You send the nurse a contract that she readily accepts, signs, and sends back. The next morning the bags are packed and Nurse Roulette is on the way to the assignment of her dreams. At 0800 she is out the door and to the hospital. Checking in with HR, they inform her that there is no contract between the hospital and the company, related to the fact that it has not been approved by HR. About the same time, the recruiting manager comes to you and tells you not to send Nurse Roulette on the assignment. This shouldn’t have happened, but unfortunately it does happen. What do you do?

Answer 5:

That would never happen with a legitimate company. You can not send a nurse to a hospital without a signed contract between the company and hospital period. If it did happen I would question the company I was working with and most likely resign.

Question 6:

What would you like travel nurses to know about being a great traveling nurse and making your job easier?

Answer 6:

I would always make sure to let them know that this is a partnership. We both need to be open and honest about everything. If an issue arises or if for some reason they are not happy with me or my company to please speak up so that we can address it immediately. We all learn from feedback and silence gets neither of us anywhere. I always say “a bad 13 week assignment for you makes a bad 13 weeks for me as well.” We are in this together.

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