Find out which Healthcare Employers Topped Fortune’s List of 100 best places to work Fortune Magazine, well-known throughout the business world, has published this year’s results for the top 100 best companies to work for; not surprisingly, it includes 11 different hospitals and health systems across the United States—this is fantastic news for a leading nurse staffing agency that fills travel nursing jobs from coast to coast, and even better news for R.N.s who come to work for us! Our healthcare staff enjoys luxury private housing and other comprehensive benefits with some of the best travel nursing locations in the country as the backdrop—and the cherry on top? American Traveler is proud to be affiliated with America’s best hospitals, ranked year after year by U.S. News & World Report and frequent spot-holders on Fortune’s annual list. Need a Quick summary of Fortune’s list? Then feast your travel nursing eyes on this! Several of the hospital systems that made the cut are in coveted U.S. travel nursing locations, spanning the sunshine state—where Florida nursing jobs employ tens of thousands of registered nurses —to the west coast, where California nursing jobs are [+]

Find Cost-Effective Ongoing Education with a Wide Topic Selection! For busy registered nurses, earning continuing education units (CEU) via online courses is the preferred method. Whether R.N.s work as permanent healthcare staff or travel nurses, online education is a must, helping them keep up with state licensure requirements, as well as staying competitive; but beyond the necessity of continuing education, there’s also the draw of super convenience and exposure to cutting edge treatments and hot trends in nursing practice. In essence, CEUs are the fast track to improving patients’ safety and care. Talking to Our Registered Nurses About CE Direct Travel nurses and allied healthcare professionals benefit enormously—in their own living rooms—from unlimited (and free!) CEUs. R.N.s and therapists are eligible to register for CE Direct and may start earning continuing education credits now! The curriculum includes more than 500 courses; registered nurses and allied healthcare staff may choose from an online library of courses, with popular topics that sharpen their clinical skills and knowledge in specialized healthcare careers, like telemetry jobs, emergency and critical care. Earn Continuing Education Credits in Nurse Leadership, Clinical Care and Development American Traveler’s continuing education courses are offered [+]

It will be Time Well Spent During Days Off ! Find out What’s Happening Next Door to Your East Coast Travel Nursing Jobs Travel nurse jobs available in all 50 U.S. states make a fine medium for touring the country in high style. Chances are your free private housing, a part of the travel nurse benefits package and close to the job site, is also in the respective backyard of America’s top tourist destinations. With your penchant for travel in mind, our team at American Traveler has put together the ultimate resource for our vacation lovers working on the Eastern seaboard this winter—so get out your travel nursing calendar and jot down these dates! Travel Nursing in D.C. a Capitol Idea! Washington DC travel nurse jobs are a bundle of fun in the wintertime! Take for instance, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, offering an array of cultural events this January—the Washington DC calendar offers quintets, guitars and drama at the National Archives too. Plan the whole of January and your Valentine’s Day in the capitol city by clicking on this DC events link. Star-Filled Nights—on Stage that is—are Close to New Jersey Nursing Jobs When it [+]

Link into Travel Nurse Wardrobe Resources, Get Scrubs Coupons, Here! Scrubs have come a long way since they catered exclusively to surgeons “scrubbing in� for the OR; no longer strictly blue or green, color choices in medical scrubs abound—and today the majority of registered nurses are proud to wear them. Laura Ashley, Disney and Timberland labels are just a few designers behind fun scrubs, relegating the starched white dress and hat of yesteryear to the back of most registered nurses’ closets. There are, however, a few hospitals in Ohio, Georgia and Utah—the later being one of 24 compact nursing states in the U.S.—that mandate the white uniform for nurses, a rule that eliminates patients’ confusion when it comes to distinguishing among hospital staff. Considering that scrubs outfit so many in healthcare—from doctors and nurses to food and housekeeping personnel—it’s important to note hospital I.D. badges. Travel Nurse Jobs Feel Most Comfortable When They are Outfitted with the Right Resources American Traveler wants members of our team to have access to the very best nursing career resources, so with the spirit of this in mind, we’ve provided a shortlist of some of the best places to find quality [+]

You’ve got your eye on a travel nursing job that sounds great. It’s in your top specialty, in a prestigious hospital, and it’s in a state where you’ve always wanted to work. But … you’re not sure if your nursing license is valid there. Lots of travelers need help with licensure in new states. A top-notch travel nursing agency is one of your primary resources for obtaining license and certification information. Naturally, one of your first stops for nursing license requirements will be the internet. American Traveler provides a nursing boards list by state, which can serve as an easy jumping-off point. (One of the first things you may want to check is whether your potential job is in one of the Nurse Licensure Compact States, facilitating your application.) Your consultant should be knowledgeable about the requirements for obtaining licensure in your destination state and can explain the process to you. They’ll also advise you on how long the verification process may take. Travel nurses and travel therapists can expect licenses to take as little as one day in a "walk-through" state; it may take several weeks or longer to obtain licensure from some [+]

Travel Nurses Connect with the Resources You Need, Here! Since the success of registered nurses' continuing education hinges on razor sharp critical thinking, it’s important to sharpen the blades from time to time by keeping up with your continuing education credits; free and unlimited at American Traveler, CEU courses are designed for busy schedules and easy to accumulate during any nursing assignment. You can print your completion certificate at home! Continuing Education is an important part of travel nursing job benefits; beyond the free health and life insurance, cost-free private housing and help meeting travel associated costs, registered nurses with CE Direct Membership are eligible to receive one complimentary credit when they view a webinar and fill out an evaluation report. If you’re a healthcare professional interested in building critical thinking skills that—for recent hires in great registered nurse jobs —boost PBDS nursing test scores, a visit to eventbrite.com lets you view and register for upcoming webinars. What is the PBDS Nursing Test? The PBDS nursing test is the Performance Based Development System. Learn what nurses can expect from this test, now implemented in over 500 US hospitals nationwide. Read more about the PBDS test  and download the PBDS [+]

Last year, hospitals required travel nurses to receive the H1N1 flu vaccine in the form of a shot or nasal spray. Now hospitals are strongly encouraging you to get vaccinated again, in preparation for the 2010/2011 flu season; you can read about this year’s flu strain, its symptoms and tips on how to prevent catching the virus at flufacts.com. Flu.gov Flu season begins in October and lasts until May, with outbreaks of influenza peaking in the coldest winter months of December and January; fact: did you know that December 5-11 is National Influenza vaccination week? The Center for Disease Control (CDC) advocates getting vaccinated early. You can browse CDC’s "What you need to Know" facts about this year’s flu strain and 2010/2011 vaccinations, which also protect against H1N1 (swine flu) this year. Travel nurses at American Traveler enjoy free healthcare insurance and should take advantage of that full coverage by getting vaccinated ASAP! Plug your current zip code into Take Care Clinics or your nearest pharmacy, where most insurance covers cost. Advise your friends and family that even without insurance, the price of a flu shot runs about $30—a small price to pay when you are guarding against the influenza virus, [+]

We welcome furry friends with travel nursing tips and resources If your travel nursing lifestyle includes a dog, cat—even canaries—you’ll be pleased with American Traveler’s client support services, designed to accommodate the furry friend accompanying you on your travel nursing adventure. Here, we provide pet-lover tips and resources that get both of you (and in some cases, all of you!) off to a great start. Bookmark these nurse career resources where you'll find free pet sitter locaters and a "people with pets" directory that dishes on pet-friendly hotels, products and services. Remember that planning before the big road trip, in your travel nursing career or for any occasion, is critical. Each year approximately 100,000 dogs are injured or killed inside moving vehicles; pets may even fall from a car’s open window! Avoid potential dangers by outfitting your car with a pet carrier, big enough to let your dog or cat lie down. You can also shop for tethers that safely anchor your pet to the seat while permitting a near full range of motion—or shop crash tested dog car seats. See the kind of gadgets we’re talking about on this video. These kinds [+]

Here’s a tongue twister for you: are you a registered nurse, only recently registered? If you’re like many graduate nurses and you’ve just finished school and quit working a day job in anticipation of finally getting to focus on your career, you might be doing a bit of financial catch up; after all, nursing school and the licensing examination weren’t free. The good news is, you can expect to earn 40K or more in your first year of full-time employment – that’s a good salary, and every penny of it worth managing wisely. When it comes to money matters, financial analysts at Wall Street Journal have got your back, bringing 4 fundamentals in money management to the attention of graduate nurses, and RNs like you, new to a profitable career path. #1: Assess your biggest liabilities. Look at your student loan or mortgage, and talk to the lender about refinancing at a better rate. Institutions like Sallie Mae are accustomed to negotiating smart option catch up plans, and may suggest low interest only payments until you’re back on your feet. As for mortgages, lenders know they have to stay competitive, [+]

Because you stay busy as a travel nurse, financial analysts recommend the more hassle-free approach of automatic, consistent contributions to your travel nurse job benefits, such as IRA and 401K savings plans; reading the fine print on your next credit card statement is a good way to get started. See if they offer a Retirement Rewards Program! Here’s an example of how it works at Fidelity Investments Retirement Rewards (American Express): you earn 2 points for every dollar charged on the card; once you rack up 5,000 points—equivalent to $2,500 in charges—Fidelity will funnel $50 into your IRA as a current year contribution. The Ameriprise Financial Mastercard offers a similar program. Considering that 78% of Americans under prioritize their retirement savings, reward programs like these seem like a good way to go—the only caveat: pay off your balances on time, or suffer the ding of a higher (than traditional credit cards) interest rate. Travel nursing jobs pay well. The U.S. Department of Labor reports earning potential for RN’s as anywhere from the upper 50’s to 110K per year; good news for nurses looking to salt away ample retirement funds. With the goal of staying in [+]