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 [+]

Laura Coles, R.N., former American Traveler nurse, checks in from her African Mercy Ship Past and present team members whose love of travel is as strong as their desire to heal patients inspire us at American Traveler. Laura Coles, R.N. is just the sort of registered nurse we’re talking about; one of our favorite travel nurses, Laura still keeps in touch. She sent our Senior Consultant Kristin Zandee a letter chock full of interesting details on what she’s been up to, working on Mercy Ships in Africa!  Laura’s fellow travel nurses are welcome at her blog, Nursing Adventures In Faith. Kristin and the rest of us are eager for Laura to resume her travel nurse career this September. We first met Laura when she was hungry to work “just one!� travel nurse job before her Africa trip. Kristin admired Laura’s patience and positive attitude—that, coupled with 4 years experience in the ER, landed her a wonderful travel nurse assignment in Texas—a place she was reserved about at first, but ultimately fell in love with as a great first travel experience—one that lead to amazing friendships. The Texas hospital [+]

Enjoy the Nations Birthday in Washington, DC Lucky travel nurses or therapists in Washington DC should prepare to sample the many July 4th events this upcoming weekend. The Folklife Festival at the Smithsonian is fun AND educational.  And you won't want to miss the fireworks over the reflecting pool by the Washington Monument. Watch for free from a picnic blanket at the monument grounds or do like the locals do, and seek out a comfy off-site vantage point. Tip: Don't drive; take the metro, and check out local restaurants and hotels with rooftop lounges, especially in Arlington, Virginia, for terrific views and lighter crowds.

Question I am a Senior Nursing student in a BSN program and graduate next week. I am just curious if you currently have any travel nurse jobs available in Alaska? I want to travel nurse to Alaska within the next year. I'm just curious what the next step is in the process? Thanks, Tyler. Tyler thank you for your question and congratulations on your upcoming graduation! In order to start your career in Travel Nursing you will need to have completed one full year working as an RN; see our graduate nurse information page.  It's preferred that the majority of your experience be in an acute care setting, as that is where you will find the most availability for your specialty. The first step to getting started is to apply online at www.americantraveler.com .  Once your application is received you will be contacted by a consultant to discuss your plans and travel nurse career goals. Although you might not be looking at starting till next year, it's never to early to fill out the application and begin the process. The application skills check list is a great tool to use to see what [+]

Other states are watching California closely as mandated nurse-patient minimums in the state begin to redefine the standard for quality patient care in America. Surveys completed by 80,000 RNs over a two-year period aimed at gauging the effectiveness of California’s minimum nurse law showed that that an increase in RN hours per patient day could lessen patient mortality by as much as 14%, reduce the number of hospital falls and result in fewer hospital-acquired pressure ulcers, report University of Pennsylvania researchers. In addition to a spike in positive patient outcomes, said Clinical Coordinator Deborah Bacurin of travel nursing agency American Traveler, RN staffing has increased substantially in the state, alongside the average RN wage for California nursing jobs. “Nurse-patient minimums are good for patients and nurses,� said Bacurin. “They work to reduce the number of deaths following common surgeries, eliminate heavy workloads and improve job satisfaction. They also boost the reputation of preferred travel nurse hospitals.� In response to a decades old nursing shortage, Congress in 1993 called on the Institute of Medicine to investigate the impact nurse-patient ratios had on patient care. At the time, findings turned up insufficient evidence to support nurse minimums. Since, [+]

Last week, we talked to Patrice Ballard, MSN; a travel nurse working as a Clinical Educator and part-time ER nurse for 8 months in Globe, Arizona. Part I of our nurse interview clued us travel nurses—eager to blend our medical talents with the spirit of adventure—into Patrice’s exciting months working and traveling the Southwest over. We loved reading about the circumstances behind Patrice’s first travel nurse job and tidbits on her unique housing; this week’s segment dishes on what it takes to succeed as a traveling nurse and why husbands might just fall in love with the travel nursing life, too. Q: Is your current work as a Clinical Educator as rewarding in and of itself, as the compensation and excitement of travel? A: Absolutely! There’s nothing better than preparing my students for nursing careers that will be as rewarding for them, as my career has been for me. Q: What has been the most rewarding aspect of this assignment? A: This travel nursing job has reinforced the way I’ve always felt about life: that every person is given the unique opportunity to see the good in things or the bad. I’ve always chosen to see the good, [+]