Highway Hypodermics

Jonathan Stenzel

AHS Staffing - NurseStat, MedStat, RenalStat

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:

The first step would be to continue communication with both the nurse and the client and refer to the agreement regarding any float policy in place and whether these issues came up in the past or is this the first time that has happened.

Communicating and talking through the traveler's frustration is essential to finding out if the frustration comes from the locations she is floating to, gas for mileage, or the fact she is being pushed to other locations and feels like she is being taken advantage of because she said yes. Depending on the answer, I would regardless bring these issues to the client to try and address them; if there is a history with this client would prep the traveler about the client and what has happened in the past to make them aware before signing her agreement if this is the first time this has happened.

I would also bring this up to the client and find out why they are floating her, do they have other travelers, and ask if we could limit her floating back to the agreed-upon locations. If it comes down to being canceled or being floated, I would bring this situation to the RN to make them aware and communicate with the RN and client based on what they would prefer to do. Regardless of client or RN would ask if cancellation or termination was required and would request a two-week notice to have time to make adjustments for the RN or client and keep them from being marked as a DNR with the facility.

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:

Speak with the facility regarding the concerns for the safety of the individuals having an RN working in a unit she does not have the skill set to do. This puts the patients at risk and would ultimately put the facility at risk if something happened. I would try and find other solutions with other staff within the facility or offer alternative solutions to staffing this specific RN.

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:

Get her set up in a hotel for the next few times with plenty of time to work with her on finding other options for housing.

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:

Communication and documentation are essential. I would ask for a doctor's note to provide to the hospital; Colorado offers 48 hours of sick time, so I would let her know she is offered 48 hours of pay and to take care of herself. When a medical situation arises, and she is under a doctor's care, they must take care of themselves. If an RN can't take care of themselves how can we expect them to take care of the patients in the most chaotic situation?

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:

I would never send a nurse on a contract without confirming that client confirmation has been signed or approved by all parties involved. Even if this happens, let Roulette know what is going on and find out what happened. Why is this not approved yet? Is it going to be approved, or is there no position? If the position hasn't been approved yet, speak with all parties involved regarding when or how long that process will take; if this is a quick process, reassure Nurse Roulette that it will be taken care of and that she will be working fine shortly.

If this can't be saved and there is no contract, let Nurse Roulette know she was fully credentialed to start; then, we would be able to move quickly with another contract. I would ask Nurse Roulette where she wants to go and call client managers and facilities to let them know we have an RN credentialed and ready to move quickly to their most urgent needs. Nurse Roulette would be at the top of my focus to give her another option and let her know we will provide some compensation due to this.

Question 6:

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

Answer 6:

Communication is always the most important. We understand things happen, and life gets hard, but we want to help you, and communication helps so much. Let us know what is going on so we can best help you, and don't be afraid, to be honest with us. We want to put you in the best situation possible, and being lied to because of fear of the outcome isn't helpful. A good recruiter can give you honest advice when a problem arises and direct you to make the best decision possible. Remember, we are people as well and do make mistakes at times, it's something we never want to do, but it does happen, and let us know what we can do to try and fix those if they come up.

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