Social Media is a lot of fun. It’s ideal for sharing photos and stories with family and friends and in the travel nursing world has become invaluable in journaling exploits and networking professionally.  But caution is to be had for nurses engaging Social Media, especially in nurse jobs search and communicating in online forums.

To help working nurses maximize the use of Social Media while protecting themselves from getting stuck in a permanent nurse cyber-rut, American Traveler benefits include FREE CEU Courses. Topics include Social Networking; Putting Your Best Post Forward, plus many more educational topics of professional importance.

The goal of the course is to inform nurses about the impact social networking has on their professional image and careers. With more healthcare employers searching Social Media websites everyday for potential candidates, the last thing any nurse needs is to be found unintentionally violating patient privacy or posting controversial comments or pictures on a Facebook page.

Even if a nurse deletes or edits compromising Internet content, it’s typically already cached on a server somewhere. By using legitimate channels, employers conducting background checks and the courts can harvest it, experts say.

“Taken in the wrong context, content posted to the Internet can do irreparable damage to a nurse career,” said American Traveler Clinical Liaison, Deb Bacurin, RN.

Learn More about the Social Media CE course – talk too an American Traveler consultant to learn how you can take this course for free. Call us at 800-884-8788

Related blog about CEU for travel nurses

Liability for nurses engaging Social Media is imminent and altogether can be unintentional. Next week American Traveler will list tips on avoiding conflict in the cyber nurse world. Your career may depend on it. Stay tuned!

What will nursing education look like in the future? Beginning this fall, The National Simulation Study (NSS) aims to find out. Researchers and volunteer participants spanning 10 different U.S. schools are familiarizing nursing students with SimMan, METIman, and Noelle with Newborn Hal; not actors but high-fidelity mannequins, with chests that rise and fall. Studies find that many nursing students prefer this to the traditional clinical experience of live patients. Just click on the Meet the Sims link to read more about why they appeal to faculty and students alike.

In Sim settings, nursing students make decisions and see the results without posing risk to a living person, as well as better predict how the patient will respond to care. The NSS study also revealed that Sim patients allow students to fully take on the role of a nurse, and that faculty like the option of role playing a doctor—or even a member of the patient’s family.

If you’re in med/surg nursing jobs you may know why simulation training is catching on like this. Using a med/surg environment as a clinical training site is a challenge, as the number of nursing students the faculty supervise impede the ideal clinical experience; it’s much the same in pediatric units where more nursing students continue to receive Sim training to eliminate risk. With all its advantages, hospital employers predict that simulation training is here to stay.

Video – NCSBN National Simulation Study Overview

American Traveler Reports the Latest Healthcare Trends, Offers Superior R.N. Jobs

Nursing students in the NSS study are evaluated for clinical competency and judgment, better preparing them for the PBDS test most healthcare employers give upon hire. Click here to read more about this important nursing test. Know that we report on trends, gadgets and technologies that are improving hospitals nationwide, like the mobile vans that will travel to schools and hospitals offering simulation training, and centers. It’s the shape of things to come in nursing education. You heard it here first!

A premier staffing agency, we welcome registered nurses with a minimum of 12 months acute care clinical experience, and urge you to learn more by liking us on Facebook. Remember that once you fill out an online application, it’s easy to return and update your skills in our database. Before you know it, a recruiter will be calling with travel nurse job opportunities from coast to coast. It’s a chance to reap the rewards of referral bonuses, as well as free private housing and other amazing benefits. Who needs Sim City when you could be working in the real life city of your dreams? Call 1-800-884-8788 or apply online today!

If you enjoy technology, you’ve often heard “there’s an app for that.” Well, get ready to hear it again. Registered nurses and their female patients will be heartened to know that, now, there’s a free app for tracking the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer. It is easy to upload, view and work with this app on their smart phone or iPads—just click on the Ovarian Cancer Symptom Diary App to register.

Once that’s done, you’ll notice the color of the app’s interface: a tranquil crystal blue; just like the ribbon for National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month in May, observed by American Traveler every Spring. Like the OC National Alliance, we’re eager to increase awareness on a cancer that has been called “the silent killer”; yet with as many as 21,000 women diagnosed with this disease every year, we cannot afford to be silent, or unknowledgeable. Please take the time to click on our related blogs about healthcare technologies and gadgets, doing their part to increase patient survival rates in the face of ovarian cancer, and wide range of illnesses.

R.N.s Will Love this Smart Phone App Because…

The stand-out feature on the ovarian cancer app is its ability to track symptoms on the day to day, and get an alert if the symptoms’ persistence warrants a visit to the doctor for further testing. Because ovarian cancer symptoms, i.e. frequent urination, difficulty eating and abdominal pain mimic a host of other illnesses, the app helps women create a consistent and more helpful report for the doctor. Users can create personal risk profiles, email full symptom reports, and update the account by phone.

Get a full tour of the app by watching the video below; hosted by a 24-year ovarian cancer survivor.

Use Your Smart Phone to Apply For A Groundbreaking Nursing Career!

We don’t have to remind our RN travel nurses and other healers on the nursing career path that knowledge is power. Take the short time required to register for the free Ovarian Cancer app today; a few minutes spent there may be worth a lifetime down the road. You can do it all on your phone! Dial 1-800-884-8788 or apply online for groundbreaking nursing careers offering free healthcare as part of a generous benefits package. We have opportunities in all 50 U.S. States! But no matter where you go as a compassionate R.N. or travel therapist, listen to your body and continue caring, just this well, for your patients and yourselves.

Florida Spring Appreciation Party Video Gallery, March 23, 2011

We invite travel nurses in all 50 states to click the video link and see pictures of their colleagues kicking up their heels in Florida. It was a night of sharing stories and fun from the nursing career path, over cheese & crackers, pizza, sandwiches and more. Camaraderie hung in the Spring air, thanks to our mix of impressive professionals, ranging from R.N.s new to travel nursing and on a first assignment, to Travelers logging ten years and counting with the company. More fun ensued when guests flirted with the chance to win an iPad2 for referring a qualified friend.

Vice President of Company Recruitment, Mary Kay Hull, was impressed by the high morale at the March party, which put “a spring” in every guest’s step. She later commented: “It was so nice to meet so many of our Travelers and to spend time socializing and getting to know them. Hearing about their various geographic and career backgrounds made for a very interesting evening.  We very much appreciate all that they do.  We are so proud to have them represent us.”

Mary Kay has expressed American Traveler’s sentiments exactly. Since Spring is the season of new beginnings and moving forward, we felt lucky to assemble our amazing Florida travel nurses and encourage them to keep up the good work! As a premiere travel nurse agency, it is our constant goal to continue striving, improving and exceeding the standard in all 50 states! Check out our travel nurse jobs, generous benefits and handsome referral bonuses! Apply online or call 1-800-884-8788 today! You can also fan us on Facebook and see travel nurses living large for yourself!

Get the Facts on the Penguin Cold Cap

R.N.s in oncology and med/surg jobs figure prominently into the care and treatment of breast cancer survivors; keeping patients’ morale high during chemotherapy is an absolute must—and that’s why compassionate professionals in registered nurse and travel nurse jobs should prioritize keeping up with the latest in alopecia solutions, recognized worldwide. The Penguin Cold Cap is such a solution, and grabbed the interest of the healthcare community at large, recently, when its related non-profit, The Rupunzel Project, which subsidizes the cost of cold caps for women with breast cancer, was featured on Good Morning America.

The reason Cold Caps are increasing in popularity; It’s good news for your patients!     

Cold caps have been around for decades, but are only recently achieving success and popularity. First introduced in 1994, with FDA support pending until more studies are run on the risk of developing scalp metastasis, Penguin cold caps recently calculated a miniscule 1.1% risk. These studies were on women with cancer in the early stages, and further showed an 80 to 90% success rate among patients whose treatments allowed them to use the caps correctly.

How does the patient use the Cold Cap—and what is it made of?

The current cold cap making headlines for its success, is really more of gel-filled helmet, and because it’s tightly strapped to the patient’s head, preventive measures must be taken to avoid frostbite on the forehead and around the ears—that’s why moleskin and Kotex—cut and set in place with the latter’s adhesive—is ideal for improving comfort and safety in the long hours the cap is worn; typically 2 hours while chemo takes place, and then for up to 4 hours following each round of chemo. The cold cap is priced at about $35, and must be replaced approximately every 25 minutes with a new cold cap registering at 30 degrees or below.

The patient featured in this video advocates bringing plenty of reading material and your best electric blanket. She likens the cold to “ an ache”—like being on a ski lift for a long time, but well worth the mild discomfort in the end. She made many insightful comments about the process, but the one that might capture the interest of compassionate registered nurses is this one: how, as a cancer patient, she realized much it meant to her family to have something to do. Participating in the transportation of the cold caps, fitting them and refitting them again, gave her spouse a valuable sense of purpose throughout her breast cancer ordeal.   

Work in a rewarding Med/Surg Nursing career that utilizes the latest trends in Oncology

American Traveler, a leading nurse staff agency, strives to keep the registered nurses and therapists in our employ on the tip-top of the hottest trends in healthcare. Our recruiters staff talent in America’s best hospitals, in med/surg and other specialty healthcare careers that have helped the facilities in partnership with us achieve their high rankings in U.S News & World Report. Call us at 800-884-8788 or apply online today to be part of groundbreaking patient care, where marvels like cold caps are just the tip of the iceberg!

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 of devices are particularly ideal for the travel nursing long haul. Say, for instance, you land the ultimate in California nursing jobs. While you’re more than ready for a travel nurse career in the Golden State, maybe you’re worried your Golden Retriever isn’t—that’s why we’re happy to point out appreciative feedback from registered nurses, who joined the American Traveler family with a pet.

Once you read these travel nurse testimonials, you’ll check your reservations at the door. These accounts describe the ease and convenience of travel nursing, where you’ll note a wagging tail, so to speak, of approval!

If you have a pet and are about to begin your travel nurse career, please read over this list. It will help you better negotiate the highways, rest stops, pit stops and gas stops you’ll encounter along the way.

Travel Nursing Do’s and Don’ts: a Pet Lover’s Guide

Travel Nursing Don’ts:

• Don’t let your pet hang his head out of the car window. Dust and debris can cause injury; some animals suffer ear infections from over exposure to wind.
• Don’t hold your pet on your lap while you are driving. It’s dangerous and distracting and may also lead to the animal being crushed by sudden deployment of an airbag.
• Don’t assume it’s okay for a pet to ride in a truck bed. Animals have been known to fly out of the backs of trucks or jump out. If they must ride this way, make sure they are in a carrier that is tied down securely.
• Don’t forget to attach your pet’s leash to a safe anchor point in the car when stopped. If your pet gets away from you, he could be bred by a stray animal or, even worse, run away for good.

Travel Nursing Do’s:

• Do book your hotels in advance, so as to be clear on whether or not pets are allowed.
• Do research the neighborhood where your new travel nurse career will take place, and have the name and number of its nearest veterinarian handy.
• Do take your pet to the vet before you depart for your travel nurse career, in order to get a bona fide health certificate, and proof of shots and or updated rabies vaccines.
• Do make sure the information on your pet’s tags is updated, so that you may be contacted right away.
• Do pack your pet a gallon supply of water from home to avoid the possibility of diarrhea; pack a cooler as well, with his favorite pet snacks and food.

We trust you won’t forget Honeybee’s toys, grooming materials and other comforts of home. Once you’re settled in your new travel nurse career, you and Toto will be saying there’s no place like a new home!  Call American Traveler at (800) 884-8788 or apply online today!

Surgery used to present two options for doctors and their patients: a large open incision or laparoscopy; in the case of the later, surgery was limited to a handful of simple procedures, but now there’s an alternative that can be used in a wide variety of complex surgeries—and the fun part? It looks a little like a video game in an arcade.

What are we talking about? The da Vinci® Surgical System, a hot topic in the medical community, and one that encourages Med/surg nurses to advance their education on medical robotics; just like their colleagues in OR nursing jobs, are encouraged to learn everything they can to better assist post-op patients.

If you fall under the OR nurse jobs or Med/Surg category, consider the da Vinci a buzz-word in your continuing education as a nursing caregiver. Chances are you’ll concur with studies on the positive clinical outcomes (like reduced pain) of this high tech surgery and understand why more and more hospitals are welcoming da Vinci in.

Created by the Intuitive Surgical company and named after Leonardo da Vinci for its precision in anatomy and 3-D images reminiscent of his drawings, the da Vinci’s minimally invasive approach is radically changing patient experiences and OR nurse jobs for the better. See it in action by watching the video below.

The da Vinci is comprised of 3 critical parts: the console, where the surgeon sits, looking through 2 eye holes at a 3-D image of the surgical field; a patient side-cart featuring 3 to 4 robotic arms that act as scalpel, scissors, sutures and endoscpic camera; and, finally, The Vision System, where operating images are enhanced, refined, and optimized to better guide the surgeon.

The cost of this sophisticated machinery—1.3 million—has yet to slow sales, now past the $600 million mark. Though da Vinci surgeries take longer than laparoscopy, this robotic technique creates less physical stress for the surgeon, who doesn’t have to stand, use long-shafted hand-held instruments or trouble him/herself to look up and away at a 2D video monitor.

The da Vinci, eliminates the need for the surgeon to rely on a patient-side assistant to steady the camera on target anatomy—it’s all right there in the console—and holds certain advantages over traditional surgery as well; the surgeon is spared from X-ray exposure that forces some in surgical careers into early retirement.

And further cause for those in Med/Surg nursing jobs and OR nurse jobs to pay attention to the future of medical robotics?

Patient outcomes are improved by shorter hospital stays and faster return to normal activities. The use of da Vinci also includes the unprecedented benefit of avoiding blood transfusions associated with surgery.

Regardless of your medical specialty, it’s always a good idea to stay current on the latest medical trends. Med/Surg nurses and those in OR nursing jobs are sure to notice a change in the operating room landscape, as more and more procedures are mastered by medical robotics; the da Vinci website’s FDA page lists every surgery it performs, but here’s a sneak peek:

• Radical prostatectomy
• Gastric bypass
• Hysterectomy
• Myomectomy
• Sacrocolpopexy
• Adrenalectomy
• Splenectomy
• Bowel resection
• Cardiac tissue ablation & Mitral valve repair

The da Vinci’s goal is to make surgical careers and OR nursing jobs easier by providing surgeons with superior visualization, enhanced dexterity, and, last but not least, greater precision and ergonomic comfort. OR nurse jobs just got more “cutting” edge!

For healthcare professionals working in ER nursing jobs this could be an ordinary day—or it could be a virtual training session that takes place on a computer. With a new millennium now well underway, hospitals are taking advantage of high tech software called “Second Life”, an online community computer program where participants create their own avatars and manipulate them using headsets, the keyboard and computer mouse. Training sessions mean you work inside virtual clinics and participate in their training drills. The possibilities are endless and the cost, surprisingly low. In fact, the software garnered the interest of Stanford and the University of Michigan, where medical training and education in the virtual world drove two very well-attended workshops.

Why is the medical community so excited? Because costs in training hospital staff used to cost tens of thousands, employing real flesh and blood actors or computerized mannequins. Second Life, the computer program from Linden Lab, costs just $1,000 with an optional monthly fee of three hundred dollars for administrative support; this translates into excellent news for the medical community because when hospitals save money in operations, they can turn around and invest that surplus into hiring more staff—a surefire way for a #1 nurse staffing agency to make a positive cycle come full circle.

When a leading travel nurse company helps staff a hospital, the result is a lower nurse/patient ratio and improved patient satisfaction; however, the real win-win in terms of travel nurses and their brave new world of virtual reality training, is the chance to work in top-ranking hospitals and experience the stuff science fiction is made of.

For a sneak peek at how Second Life works, see video with live demo of the software in use.

Here are the nuts and bolts of the program and what it can do:

Your avatar—a cartoon rendering of you—can walk through hallways, up and down stairs and through doorways, via your key strokes or clicks. You can make your avatar talk by typing (your words appear in a pop-up text box)—or by speaking into a microphone. When you train with your colleagues, headsets will allow you to hear each other, as well as register ambient noises from a virtual scene that looks so real, you’ll hardly realize it’s a 3 hour-long training session.

Our virtual world will teach or perfect these ER nurse job skills:

• creating a triage system
• assessing each patient
• deciding how to isolate the most contagious
• interviewing patients

It’s important to note that some of your patients in this virtual world are avatars voiced and controlled by instructors. It’s their job to throw monkey wrenches into smooth operations; for example, they might direct their avatars—a patient on quarantine—to wander the halls and risk exposure. Your virtual patients will say things like “I can’t breathe!” and it will be your responsibility, training for an ER nursing job, to click on the patients’ bodies, pulling up text boxes listing their vital signs and symptoms. More cool news? Patient avatars actually DISPLAY symptoms!

It’s a little scary that your instructor’s avatar has the ability to create virtual earthquakes, blackouts or monsoon type weather at the mere click of a mouse. But relax! We know qualified ER nurses are up to the challenge! Online or in real life, the goal is the same: improving your clinical skills, patient care and hospital efficiency.

Footnote: American Traveler’s Clinical Coordinator weighs in

Raves American Traveler’s Debbie Bacurin, RN, a previous ER Nurse Manager: “Second Life looks like an amazing opportunity! I remember what annual disaster drills and hospital wide disaster drills used to be like: they ranged from multi-car accidents, where you had an influx of 10 to 20 patients—to victims of terrorism, ranging in the 200’s. Needless to say, it  took a lot of time,  energy and money to plan, prepare for and run this drill—not to mention the added expense of paying staff on their days off to come in and participate; some on costly overtime. To have this on a computer, and have staff take it at their leisure…would be a dream come true! ”