Highway Hypodermics

Lindsay Vela

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:

Contact the facility and ask if there is anyway that they can accommodate a more efficient schedule, that being if she can take two of the closer ones back to back two weeks in a row and the ones that are further out two weeks in a row that way there is more stability with the schedule.

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:

We would like to not place her in this unit given that it is not her specialty, she does not feel comfortable floating to the unit and we would not like to take any risk floating her to NICU, it is just best for the nurse and especially the newborns.

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:

That we will place her some where else ASAP, given that be a hotel in the meantime until we find her other housing options for her. We want our nurses to fill comfortable where they are staying and not stressed out.

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:

Notify the facility immediately with documentation from the hospital stating the health issues at hand about that the nurse is experiencing. Offer the facility any possible backup coverage if possible. It is always in my best interest to make sure our nurses our healthy so that they can provide the best quality patient services as possible. Healthy Nurses=Healthy Patients

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 to a location without all proper documentation and confirmations from the facility. This would never be an issue given that you follow up with the facility and provide all parties contract confirmations with the beginning/end dates signed off. If this were to happen to ever I would fully have the nurse reimbursed for mileage and time spent driving to and from the facility.

Question 6:

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

Answer 6:

Requesting any time off up front, any pay concerns upfront, any issues or concerns immediately to avoid, etc. Communication 100% always being in contact with your recruiter vice versus to make sure everything is going smoothly from start to finish.

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