Highway Hypodermics

Jan Steel

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:

When a nurse is asked to function outside of the terms of their contract, it must be addressed. It’s challenging for a traveler to orient to one facility. Orienting to three would be especially stressful. Extra driving would add extra stress for this traveler. First, it’s important to assess the traveler’s situation. Specifically, how is the additional distance when floating effecting them?

I would find out how often the situation is occurring, whether the nurse is being required to change shifts, and whether there is a negative impact on the traveler’s finances due to the extra mileage. After I have obtained that information, our company would then work with the facility to assure the terms of the contract are met, or if necessary, provide additional resources and support as necessary to accommodate our traveler.

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:

Every traveler’s contract at The Right Solutions states, “The healthcare professional agrees to float only to units where they are experienced and proficient.”

The Right Solutions has a manager on-call during after hours, so there is someone available 24/7 for our travelers. Nurses are instructed to call TRS immediately if they are floated to a unit that is out of their scope of practice. Our company would immediately address the issue with the facility’s acting supervisor at the time to address the situation.

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:

It is important that a traveler feels their housing is safe, clean, and comfortable. In the rare case that a traveler arrives at their assignment location and finds housing conditions unacceptable, the issue is addressed immediately. Our housing department works together with the landlord to correct any issues such as insects or uncleanliness. If the housing conditions are still unacceptable to the traveler, or if the negative conditions can not be fixed, we offer to find alternative housing for our traveler. Fortunately, this a rare occurrence at The Right Solutions. We encourage our travelers, if at all possible, to arrive on assignment a day early so that they can inspect each housing option that has been given to them. Housing preferences are different with each individual, and this process allows the nurse to choose the housing option that best meets their needs.

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:

TRS is RN owned and operated, so it’s only natural that the health of our travelers is a company priority.

Most often, if a nurse has an accident or is ill, the facility is willing to work with the nurse as long as they can return to work in a reasonable amount of time. This particular situation is unique, because the illness was caused by an environmental factor that most likely will not change.

A physician would be needed to determine the likelihood of the asthma reoccurring once the nurse is released to work.

Due to the severity of the traveler’s reaction to the wheat, it is possible the nurse would need to be put on a different assignment unless medications could be taken to keep the asthma under control.

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:

This nurse becomes a top priority, for myself as well as the rest of the TRS team. My first action is always to check to see if other assignments are available in the same approximate location. If not, we would evaluate what support and resources this traveler needs until their next assignment is found. This traveler is part of the TRS family, and will have our support.

Question 6:

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

Answer 6:

Email this Recruiter!