Highway Hypodermics

Lonna Rose

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 am here as an advocate for my nurses and am 100% of the time going to go to bat for them if they are being asked to do something that they didn't sign up for. Since the contract stated they could be floated within a 10 mile radius that is what would be expected and because the facility is taking advantage, this is something that I would bring to the attention of our contact for the facility and see that they are holding up their end of the agreement just as the nurse is.

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:

A nurse should never be floated somewhere that they are not competent and capable of doing so. If this should happen I would ask that the nurse bring this to the attention of the supervisor right away. If nothing changes or if they are still being asked to do something beyond their scope, we will reach out to the facility and advocate for the nurse.

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:

If the nurse is not wanting to stay in that housing and needs to find another option that becomes my top priority. I will help the nurse to research any other housing options, reach out to past travelers to see where they have had good experiences, talk with other recruiters to see if anyone has any housing leads. In the 3 years I have been with FlexCare, I have never had a nurse be homeless.

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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:

We will immediately reach out to the facility and explain what has happened. I have found that our facilities tend to be very understanding when it comes to any health issues that arise. We will work with the facility to get the time off for the nurse that they need.

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:

Unfortunately there are things that happen sometime that are completely out of our control. When something like this happens I know what a hardship this can be to someone.. Maybe you left your job and this was the only thing you were banking on to work out. Trust me, although I am not going to be in your shoes when this happens, I get it and I immediately try to put myself in your place. How would I feel if this happened to me? There are many things I start doing when this happens. First, trying to figure out what happened, does the start date need to be pushed? Is the nurse being cancelled all together? If the nurse is being cancelled all together, immediately its all hands on deck. Researching any other places we can get this nurse a job and doing what I can to get them redirected while keeping the nurse in the loop every step of the way.

Question 6:

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

Answer 6:

The biggest thing that I ask of the nurses that I work with is communication. Don't ever be afraid to tell me whats going on, every step of the way. The only way I can be the best recruiter for you is to know what is going on, whether its working with other agencies, other active submission to jobs, any issues you are having on the job, and even the good things you are enjoying about the assignment, etc. My team of nurses are not just numbers on my desk, I consider them friends and treat them as such. I do not work for you, you do not work for me, we are a team and I will work just as hard as you are willing to to get you the job you want. I pride myself as a recruiter because of the transparency and upfront honesty I have with anyone I work with!

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