American Traveler had the pleasure of checking in with a new member of our travel nursing staff, Cindy Burbatt, R.N. who shared some of the details of her first travel nurse job in Kansas City, Missouri. We talked with Cindy on the eve of her birthday. She was full of excitement for the road trip planned the following morning, departing from North Carolina en route to the heart of the Midwest. As the mother of three grown children, Cindy decided it was the right time to change up her 16-year background as a permanent staff telemetry/med surge nurse by accepting a travel nurse job in America’s heartland.

While the truck she drives may not be anything that unusual for a R.N. moving to Kansas City, one standout detail is the 17ft. long trailer attached. It accommodates her longstanding and beloved pets, George and Ash; these are Cindy’s horses, and during the car trip to Missouri they’ll be staying in farms sprinkled throughout various states—places Cindy found through an online network called Horse Motel. When they arrive in Kansas City, Cindy will take up residence in a townhome, compliments of American Traveler’s private housing arrangement. George and Ash will live in a stable close by, on hand for Cindy to ride in her time off from the hospital.

How Did She Work Out a Travel Nurse Assignment that Suits the Whole Family?

While admitting to being an adventurous and take-charge person, Cindy credits her consultant, Jennie Rayner with convincing her how rewarding and fun the travel nurse lifestyle can be; in fact, at the end of Cindy’s nursing job in the Show Me State she hopes to go further west in her travel nurse pursuits, exploring Utah travel nurse jobs. With her bright smile and self-admitted “hippie cowgirl” approach to things, Cindy should be a wonderful addition to that landscape, and we’re looking forward to hearing how she fares in the Midwest too!

Are you on the fence about leaving your permanent R.N. or therapist job in favor of the travel nurse lifestyle? We look forward to hearing more stories like Cindy’s: about skilled R.N.s adding their talents to hospitals, clinics, out-patient centers and home health jobs across America—sharing their positive attitude along the way. It should be as Cindy says: “not so much about leading your life, but letting your life lead you—to see where you can go!” Call 1-800-884-8788 or apply online today to start your own travel nurse adventure!

Learn more about a travel nurse lifestyle – What’s a travel nurse

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 through CE Direct’s Nursing Spectrum, recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. Nursing Spectrum provides members of the American Traveler team with a rich array of CEUs delivered in many forms: online, in print, audio podcasts, CE fairs, seminars—even CE cruises and study tours!

The online courses are known for their easy narrative style and graphics, and are in lockstep with initiatives set by your healthcare employer. R.N.s and therapists may register for refresher courses or classes with an advanced practice degree in sight. Busy travel nurses and therapists will also be gratified to learn that, upon successfully finishing each course, they can print a certificate of completion from home. To see a categorized list of courses offered, click on the CE courses link!

Continuing Education is a must for Career Advancement Opportunities

On the subject of continuing education for travel nurses, and for all motivated R.N.s, Clinical Coordinator, Debbie Bacurin says, “Online education credits are ideal for nurses; done at their own speed and time, the R.N. is also free to choose what is most interesting to them from both a personal and clinical standpoint. I can’t think of a better way to increase professional knowledge and ascend the career ladder at the same time—nor how to better familiarize oneself with how to get exactly where they want to go in their nursing career.”

Continuing Education with the General Practice Nurse in Mind

Other big name providers of continuing education for registered nurses include GE Healthcare, which offers a large selection of online courses, with the general practice R.N. in mind. Described as flexible and convenient by registered nurses who benefited from the curriculum by taking anywhere from 50 to 100 online classes a year, GE is proud to distinguish itself as the only medical device manufacturer dually known for providing continuing education. Popular classes in the GE Healthcare curriculum include Six Sigma Training, clinical coursework and personal development.
Take Off in Your Nursing Career Today!

Want to work for a leading nurse staffing agency that offers free and unlimited CEUs? Our nursing jobs are available in all 50 U.S. states and offer a comprehensive benefits package, including free private housing. With so many adventures to have as a registered nurse or therapist, you want to fit in a top-notch continuing education without breaking a sweat—think how happy everyone will be, when your patients have the very best healthcare possible. Apply online today! or call us 1-800-884-8788

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More on Registered Nurses and Ongoing Education

Patient safety is foremost in providing excellent healthcare—which is why “alarm fatigue” is an alarming topic. The best way to increase awareness among the medical community, especially those in nursing jobs, is to educate them on what, exactly, nursing alarm fatigue is and when it is most likely to occur.

Recently, a hospital in the northeast with a very busy nursing floor had an ill patient’s alarm sounding. Surrounded by constantly beeping monitors, nurses failed to respond to this heart patient’s alarm, signaling a drop in heart rate and ending in fatality 20 minutes later.

Nursing Alarm Fatigue has been blamed; it happens because nurses become desensitized to round the clock beeping. You may be suffering from this fatigue, if, while performing your duties you hear so many ubiquitous alarms, you no longer react with the appropriate degree of concern or speed. In the case of the incident stated above, investigators found that the tragedy was due, in part, to the alarm’s volume adjustment by an unknown person; rather than scandal, investigators suspected the alarm was disabled simply because hospital staff sensed its potential to become aggravating.

Apparently disabling of alarms happens frequently in hospitals, with nurses, doctors and hospital staff citing, simply, just way too many of them.  Debbie Bacurin, American Traveler’s Clinical Resource Manager gives insight into the matter of nursing alarm fatigue by summarizing what she’s seen as a veteran of Nurse Management on crowded hospital floors. She says:

“Nursing Alarm Fatigue is very common – there are multiple alarms for things as minor as a thermometer not replaced on its charger; bed alarms beep or ring when it thinks the patient is trying to get up and may fall; there are alarms attached to monitors, IV pumps, feeding tube pumps—the list goes on, and for every alarmed device, there are several reasons the alarm can sound. Hospitals tend to see nursing alarm fatigue more in telemetry nursing jobs, ICU nurse jobs and the ED—which is attributable to the number of patients in these units.

Debbie raises an excellent point here. Nurse-patient ratio, when kept low, saves lives. Nursing Alarm Fatigue can be reduced by hospitals that reexamine their policies and systems, including disabling the “off” switch for alarms on bedside cardiac monitors.

American Traveler encourages nurses working in both permanent positions and travel nursing jobs to be aware of Nursing Alarm Fatigue, as well as cognizant of its symptoms. When you pay close attention to those life-saving beeps emitted by hospital monitors, pumps and other equipment, you are doing your part to ensure high-quality healthcare—a service that gives patients and their families a better outcome and priceless peace of mind.

Critical Care and Telemetry immediate starts available for FL licensed RNs

• Location: Palm Beach County
• Shift: day and night 12 hour shifts available
• Total Compensation ranges $27.50 – $32.50  ( includes per diem, housing and insurance)

Local nurses accepted.

Apply Online Now or call 800-884-8788