Healthcare Traveler - November 2008 - (Page 12)

Field Notes P E R SP E C T I V E S F RO M E X P E R I E N C E D M O B I L E P RO F E S SI O N A L S The Magazine for Healthcare Travel Professionals The federal factor www.HealthcareTraveler.com Editorial Advisory Board Members are mobile providers nominated by their respective travel company representatives. As schedules permit, they submit story ideas and/or manuscripts and agree to be interviewed. By discussing issues with our staff, they assist Healthcare Traveler in creating a base of knowledge, experience, and insight for defining and developing editorial content. I became a nurse in 1982 and spent 10 years working in the private sector before my husband, Matthew, convinced me to apply for a job with the prison system. We both worked for the Federal Bureau of Prisons for a long time and traveled quite a bit, relocating to help them activate a new facility. We spent time living in Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. So, I was accustomed to the mobile lifestyle even before I began working as a traveling nurse outside of the federal prison system. When I returned to the private sector as a traveling med/surg nurse, I completed several rewarding opportunities at impressive commercial facilities. On a particularly memorable assignment, I accepted a contract in a small research-oriented psychiatric unit in San Diego, California. It was a great experience because it was different from my usual nursing jobs. I also enjoyed working at The Villages Regional Hospital in Florida, where I worked alongside many other travelers on a telemetry unit as a pool nurse. Nursing Members Mary Jo Alessio, RN Supplemental Health Care Teresa (Terri) Allen, RN Onward Healthcare Lora Anderson, RN Banner Health Travelers Virginia Bialk, RN Bridge Staffing Paul Bier, RN Innovative Placements Dayne Bowers, RNC, RN Network Pam Campbell, RN Trustaff Rose Cousineau, RN Medical Express Nigel Day, RN MedCall NorthWest, Inc. Dorothy Del Valle, ADN, RN First Assist Katrina Essenburg, RN Clinical One Christopher Freedman, RN NursesRx Tim Groves, RN American Mobile Healthcare Terry Hall, RN Trinity Healthcare Staffting Group Jennifer Hamrick, RN, CNOR NovaPro Staffing Glenda Hardy, RN PPR Healthcare Staffing Lila Johnson, RN Cross Country TravCorps Karen LaBlanc, RN Aureus Medical Group Christopher LaCounte, RN, CEN, NREMT-P, LP National Healthcare Staffing Brand new opportunity A little while ago, a friend told me about a pilot program just starting up with the Department of Veterans Affairs called the VA Travel Nurse Corps (VA TNC). Because I’d worked in the federal system before with the prison bureau, I knew that the government makes it very easy to relocate from job to job. So, I decided to give it a try. BILLIE ANN FRONCZEK, The program is designed to provide a private RN, on assignment at Carl T. pool of traveling nurses who move from VA hosHayden VA Medical Center. pital to VA hospital, as needed. All the major hospitals are the same within the system. So, facility administrators know when they select a nurse from this particular pool that they’ll be getting someone who’s already familiar with their procedures. Currently fulfilling my first contract with the agency at the Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona, I can happily report that I love it so far. My schedule is very flexible, and all of the doctors and other nurses are great to work with and have been really friendly. While here, I’ve noticed an interesting trend developing. Historically, some female veterans opted not to take advantage of the medical benefits provided to them as vets, but more and more of these women are venturing into the healthcare system. During this assignment, I’ve provided care to two such female patients, which is unusual. Vicki Lawson, RN Attentive Health Care Yvonne Lawson-Thomas, RN InteliStaf Travel Jean Magnuson, RN Soliant Health Charlotte Mansfield, RN, FNE, SANE Advantage RN Monti (“Micki”) Marsh, RN HRN Services Inc. Joni Parcell, RN Favorite Healthcare Staffing Bill Pletch, RN Professional Nursing Service Rosemary Primeaux, RN Preferred Healthcare Staffing, Inc. Bonnie Richlin, RN Matrix Healthcare Services, Inc. Susan Sabatula, RN The Right Solutions Mandeep Smith, BSN, RN Procare USA Jenny Thompson, RN American Traveler Staffing Professionals Aleksey Yukhvid, RN White Glove Placement, Inc. Allied Health Members Emily R. Brawner, OT American Traveler Staffing Professionals Keith Carregal, PT Sunbelt Staffing Marsha Dexter InteliStaf Travel Josephine Feldman, RT TeamStaff Rx David Garrard, BHS, RRT, RCP, CCEMT-P, PNCCP Cirrus Medical Staffing Prioritizing Even though I travel from job to job and city to city, I love the fact that my family still takes center stage in my life. Matthew is retired now, and he travels with me. But before I made the decision to pursue a full-time career in travel nursing, I considered the impact that it would have on my two sons. My youngest, Daniel, is 21 years old now, and travels with my husband and me. He’s currently going to school at a local community college. Adam is 23 years old and enrolled in a nursing program at Lake-Sumter Community College in Leesburg, Florida. Thanks to healthcare travel, I’ll be able to take a contract somewhere near his school so I can attend his graduation next summer. » 12 Healthcare Traveler November 2008 Debora Janzen, RT (R)(T) ATC Travelers Erika Lee, PT Supplemental Health Care Richard Mahnke, PT Soliant Health Dawn Morse, PT Trinity Healthcare Staffing Group Apollone Reid, MPH, PT Destination Healthcare Staffing Joel Sauer, CNMT Favorite Healthcare Staffing Paule Thomas, OT PPR Healthcare Staffing Kurt VanZandt, ASCP, BS On Assignment Patti Witkiewicz, RPT Cross Country TravCorps Jodi Wolfgram, RDMS, RT Aureus Medical Group www.healthcaretraveler.com http://www.HealthcareTraveler.com http://www.healthcaretraveler.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Healthcare Traveler - November 2008

Healthcare Traveler - November 2008 Editor’s Desk Contents In a Flash Paws for Thought Field Notes You Said It Perks and Preferences A Latitude Adjustment Drug Update Clinical Tips Advice of Counsel Cityscape Advertiser’s Index Name It When In. . . It’s in the Bag Contest Rules Big Deals Tax Facts Going the Distance Allied Corner Classifieds Tales from the Road

Healthcare Traveler - November 2008

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