In ACO, registered nurses assume responsibility for a patient population and its advocacy; in this emerging role, RN’s educate and engage the patient to a point where some view it as a perfect storm of medical science and the psychology of nursing—a smart move in the wake of healthcare reform creating the need for more care at a higher quality, and lower cost. Nursing jobs that make up a successful ACO are primarily case management jobs, growing by leaps and bounds as technological advances improve patients’ experiences and clinical outcomes.

Travel nurses are using a blend of clinical expertise, financial and resource management skills, to earn top paying nursing jobs across the country. These R.N.s are skilled in data analytics, in addition to ensuring patients take prescribed medications, follow through with appointments and follow treatment guidelines. This results in fewer readmissions to the hospital.

Important Points for R.N.s Looking to Get Into Case Management Jobs

If you’re an R.N. with a background in care coordination and feel comfortable with technology, you could be part of ACO delivery models that include these amazing concepts.

• Shared visits: Patients have a chance to connect with other patients, ask questions and find a support group.
• Telephonic nursing: In patient centered medical homes, quality healthcare is administered entirely over the phone.  This tactic works well with point-of-care delivery models that let nurses give follow-up care, post discharge from the hospital.
• Resource management is another area of opportunity for tech-savvy R.N.s: these nurses work with patients as organizers and clinical leaders, managing their care so that the best expected clinical outcomes are achieved.

Tracking Growth in Case Management Jobs and Placing Talent Fast

R.N.s interested in applying for some of the highest paying nursing jobs should review why case management jobs are trending now for travel nurses. If you are skilled in care coordination, data analysis, and improving patient outcomes, your next logical step is to call 1-800-884-8788 or apply online today.

As a registered nurse among some 3.1 million R.N.s in America, you can always count on National Nurses Week as a time that brings pleasant surprises to the workplace—like a guest speaker who is a big advocate for nurses, commemorative luncheon or party, or other appreciative gesture made by your hospital employer. While it’s a time for some well-deserved celebration, countess registered nurses look forward to this week in May for its outreach potential as well.

Whether it’s nominating a colleague for a special award this week, or winning honor and recognition personally, National Nurses Week is something to look forward to, as hospitals across the United States focus not just on thanking hard working R.N.s in staffing jobs and travel nursing jobs, but on patient advocacy and innovation in times of healthcare reform and a nursing shortage.

Besides wearing an official “RN Pin” this week, these are some other things nurses can do to celebrate the profession in ways highlighted by the American Nursing Association.

• Be an innovator: Innovative thinking helps patients find solutions to their most troublesome problems; innovation can also reduce fall rates and instances of hospital-acquired infections. For inspiration, look to the American Academy of Nursing and its creation of The Edge Runners; these R.N.s have been recognized by ANA for their contributions to care strategies and health policies; for example, finding ways to help seniors care for themselves at home rather than skilled nursing facility.
• Read Up On the National Data Base of Nursing Quality Indicators: Described by the American Nurses Association as “for nurses by nurses”, the NDNQI is an important tool for healthcare professionals. 1,900 hospitals in the U.S.—which employ more than a third of registered nurses— have contributed their data, and lets R.N.s see how their healthcare employer measures up in every aspect of patient care. Visit the NDNQI official site to gain perspective on performance goals, nursing care strategies and retention.
• Learn More About Care Coordination: With healthcare reform well underway, care coordination is a career highlight for nurses committed to patient health and satisfaction; it’s very important, as well, for insurers and hospitals in controlling healthcare costs. For the R.N., care coordination entails educating patients and their families, developing care plans and doing your best to facilitate continuity of care; this cuts down on patient admission rates.

 American Traveler Extends Our Warmest Wishes for National Nurses Week, 2013!

Your healthcare staffing agency joins the chorus of voices praising nurses this week and all year round. We wish them well in advancing the nursing profession by fostering the highest standards of nursing practice, and promoting a positive and realistic view of the nursing career path. As R.N.s, you comprise the largest health care profession, and we thank you for your service, as well as encourage you to share your stories, inspiration and talents with our healthcare team! Call 1-800-884-8788 or apply online for nursing jobs in all 50 U.S. states.

Over the next 20 years, the average age of the R.N. will increase and the size of the nursing workforce plateau, as many nurses retire. The hope for filling these vacant positions is that nurses coming into them have strong clinical backgrounds, in graduate and baccalaureate programs in accredited nursing schools.

As it stands now, many American colleges are struggling to expand enrollment in nursing programs, and are getting help in collaborative efforts made by company partnerships, grants, and legislative initiatives focused on hiring more qualified nursing staff—enough to meet the needs of the current population. 30 million plus Americans have been added to insurance roles as healthcare reform takes effect.

BLS’ Employment Projections (2010-2020) released in February 2012, cites the registered nursing workforce as the top occupation in terms of job growth through 2020. Here are some of their projections for the year 2020 and 2025:

• It is expected that the number of employed nurses has grown from 2.74 million in 2010, to a projected 3.45 million in 2020
• The projections forecast a need for 495,500 replacements in the nursing workforce, bringing the total number of job openings for nurses (due to growth and replacements) to 1.2 million
• R.N. shortage will grow by 260,000 unfilled jobs by 2025, in part because by then so many will have retired.

Healthcare Staffing agencies recruit travel nursing staff as a way to fill these employment gaps, assured by statistics that show that approximately 4.4% and 13.7% of nurses work in states where they don’t reside. These are often nurses from impressive clinical backgrounds, equal to, if not competitive with permanent R.N.s.

Healthcare employers who bridge the nursing shortage gap with travel nurses may have the best solution during the growing pains of American healthcare reform. Hospitals in the following states are seeing the biggest surge in employment:

• California nursing jobs
• Texas nursing jobs
• Florida nursing jobs
• New York nursing jobs
• New Jersey nursing jobs

Full implementation of the Affordable Care Act and expanding roles for nurses in primary care will likely increase demand for nurses and result in future shortages.  Travel nurses are a smart solution to closing patient care gaps while healthcare providers adapt to these new laws and the positive changes they are having on quality of care.

“Improving patient outcomes has always been among the most important goals of nursing, which is why a bigger emphasis on patient advocacy works so well in the evolving nursing jobs we’re seeing.” said Debbie Bacurin, R.N., Clinical Account Manager.

American Traveler Staffing Professionals Help Close the Gap on the Nursing Shortage

If you’re a registered nurse, excited about the changes in the healthcare landscape and want to be a part of it, call 1-800-884-8788 or apply online today for nursing careers that span all 50 U.S. States. You provide the solution to the nursing shortage by sharing your clinical expertise with the patients who need you!

*BLS statistics and other percentages in nursing job growth came from a media relations fact sheet at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing

Healthcare professionals who work with patients following a traumatic brain injury or stroke will be excited to learn all they can about the BRAIN initiative, a 10-year-project that President Obama unveiled this April. Congress is deciding, sequester or no, whether to grant $100 million for this groundbreaking research initiative; it would begin in 2014, with the goal of creating new healthcare jobs and better treatment for patients with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, autism and wide spectrum of brain disorders.

The news from Capitol Hill comes on the heels of Mr. Obama’s February State of the Union speech, in which “Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies” (BRAIN) is expected to help neuroscientists understand how we think, how we remember, and how we learn. BRAIN is a collaboration between the National Institutes of Health, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the National Science Foundation, as well as private partnership with organizations like the Allen Institute for Brain Science—with backing like this, BRAIN is sure to take the healthcare industry by storm, just as mapping the human genome did last year.

Obama’s BRAIN mapping project differs from the brain research that precedes it because, rather than focus on a large population of brain cells, BRAIN will develop technologies that track activity down to each individual cell. The result will be to obtain a more dynamic picture of the brain in action—understanding the tiny details of cell connections and how these affect behavior. An additional benefit of BRAIN will be in providing leads for the development of better computers.

How will BRAIN affect R.N.s?

With the demand for nurses rising, redefining what an R.N. does, and opening up more case management jobs and data analytic jobs in nursing, this could be groundbreaking indeed—prompting healthcare employers to develop and stay competitive with neurotechnology emerging in the best hospitals in America; some of these are especially keen on BRAIN. States are anticipating money and healthcare jobs to flood their regions and keep Registered nurses and therapists very busy during the next 10 years.

American Traveler Has Staffing the Best Nursing and Allied Health Talent on the Brain!

American Traveler is proud to be affiliated with healthcare employers who top the lists for outstanding healthcare for patients of brain tumors and traumatic brain injury. If you’re an R.N. or therapist who wants to get in on the biggest thing in medical science since the Human Genome Project, finding everything you can about brain mapping is a bright idea. We have nursing and therapy jobs in all 50 U.S. states.  Call 1-800-884-8788 or apply online today to learn more!

American Traveler: We really appreciate you sitting down with us—especially since you just started your new travel nurse job in Virginia. It’s great to have you back!

Mike: Thanks, I remembered how wonderful the American Traveler team was, and knew that working with you again was a no-brainer, given that I needed to relocate.

American Traveler:  Can you tell us if your recruiter, Elizabeth Russell has helped you with this goal, and why you had to move from Indiana to Virginia?

Mike: Elizabeth has been just great! My wife, Amy, whom I met during my first travel nurse assignment, accepted an R.N. job in Virginia, and Elizabeth understood my urgency in following her out there.

American Traveler: Working in Virginia is going to be a big change! Take us back 10 years to when you began working in Ft. Wayne, Indiana and how that precipitated both your hiatus from American Traveler and your return.

Mike: Well, it’s a long story, but here’s the abridged version. In 2001, I was working in upstate New York and wanted to go home to Louisville, Kentucky. I came across American Traveler purely by chance while browsing online for agencies. I’m glad I did! They made the whole process very easy. Although there were no positions available in Louisville at that time, my recruiter found an OR nurse job for me at a great hospital in Fort Wayne.

American Traveler: Was it a good introductory experience to the travel nurse lifestyle?

Mike: Yes, it was. I loved the travel nurse housing, and my recruiter was a phone call away. The hospital turned out to be a great match too.

American Traveler: And you met your wife at the hospital, right?

Mike:  Yes! Amy was scrub tech there. Even though I was on evening shift and she was on days, she showed up around dinner time with leftovers saying things like “I thought you could use a home cooked meal.” And I thought “Gee, these Midwesterners are awful hospitable.” When my travel nurse assignment ended, I was offered the chance to hire on full time at my hospital. I accepted, after negotiating a recruiting bonus for Amy, and the two of us ended up spending the next 11 years in Ft. Wayne. Then Amy was offered a teaching position in Virginia, and so…we moved!

American Traveler: I’m sure you’ll miss Indiana. But the D.C. area should be interesting. Whereabouts are you living now?

Mike: Elizabeth got me a travel nurse job in Fairfax, not too far away from a little town called WASHINGTON, DC—a place I’ve always wanted to go if only I had the time. Now, I have 13 weeks!

American Traveler: Here’s to hoping you and your family make the most of that time, and that it leads to bigger and better things on the nursing career path! Our thanks to you, Mike, and every hard working healthcare professional out there!

Looking to Brighten Your Nursing Career Path?

Are you an R.N. or allied healthcare professional who loves to travel? Give us a call at 884-8788, or apply online. Our hot jobs are refreshed every day, leading to both travel nursing and permanent jobs. Start planning your summer by perusing nursing jobs in all 50 U.S. states today!

Says Debbie Bacurin, RN, Clinical Account Manager at American Traveler, “We are seeing a lot of early postings from Maine to Georgia—in Wisconsin and Michigan, too. Our nurses and therapists know that the best hospitals are posting their job openings right now. If you’re a healthcare facility looking for the best talent out there, post your openings now to find top candidates seeking spring and summer assignments.”

That being said, healthcare employers should know R.N.s and therapists have, when it comes to job searches, an understanding that:

• Hospitals post positions today for late spring and summer.
• Job candidates are now getting their state licensures ready for summer positions in locations that include compact nursing states.
• The demand is greatest in popular summer destinations, like New Jersey nursing jobs where R.N.s enjoy the art, culture and soaking up the rays on the Jersey shore.

Spring into Summer with American Traveler Staffing Professionals

So, what are you waiting for? Joint Commission-certified, American Traveler brings talented candidates together with healthcare employers located in all 50 U.S. States. We encourage all our hospital contacts to post your Hot Jobs today!

Since its creation in 1965, Medicare has long been one of the most beloved federal programs in the U.S. Now that program benefits are on the table for deep cuts, healthcare professionals and the patients they care for are optimistic that the Obama Administration and Congress can achieve small cuts to Medicare—just 2% across the board. Current healthcare reform proposes $500 billion in Medicare savings by exempting older patients from cuts, and relying on the lobbying and advertising clout of healthcare employers.  Endeavors such as these have led to Medicare Advantage plans that offer, in some states, programs like “Silver Sneakers” that encourage seniors to use the YMCA gym, free of cost.

Other Medicare Friendly Advice to Pass on to Patients

For registered nurses specializing in geriatrics, or for those who work in skilled nursing facilities, the state of Medicare seems fragile; with 81 million seniors expected to enroll by 2030, healthcare initiatives are becoming more popular. According to the CDC, heart disease and stroke, costs the United States $312.6 billion each year in health care services, medications and lost productivity.

In the lifestyles of those who strive for healthy careers, eating nutritiously and exercising daily is a free prescription that can stop the onset of costly health problems before they start.  Learning to cook with more healthful ingredients, i.e. the “5 a day” (servings) rule of fruits and vegetables touted by the National Cancer Institute is the reason every American ought to consider preparing healthy recipes; the cost benefits, both financial and mental are well worth it!

An R.N.’s Talking Points on Ways to Save Medicare

These are just some of the ways healthcare reform may save Medicare for your patients. Read through the list and see where you stand on making cuts.

• Require drug companies to offer discounts to low income patients
• Raise the eligibility age for Medicare from 65 to 67
• Ask wealthy Americans to pay a little more for healthcare prescriptions and coverage
• Eliminate waste, fraud, improper payments and abuse of Medicare
• Charge enough for medical services that patients carefully consider lifestyle, treatments and options, ultimately leading to better choices in healthcare

American Traveler and High Quality of Care: an Enduring Standard 

We provide nursing jobs in healthcare facilities that offer patients everything that defines the heart and soul of Medicare: healthcare that is universally available, affordable and of the highest quality. Come be a part of our legacy by joining the visionaries who continue to prosper in high-paying, recession proof healthcare jobs in all 50 U.S. States! Call 1-800-884-8788 or apply online. Make a difference in the lives of current and future Medicare patients, which will affect, one day, each of us. Nurses and therapists with opinions on this sensitive subject are encouraged to leave a comment and join the conversation!

**The USA Today article, 5 ways to squeeze Medicare was used in the research for this blog, as well as  a CDC article about National Heart Month and the National Cancer Institute.

 “Running into seasonal Maui residents like Steve Tyler
is just another day in the life of this travel nurse!”

When nurses consider joining forces with a healthcare staffing agency that could land them in any one of the fifty U.S. states, visions of Hawaii might not be the first thing that occurs to them; yet it is a vision that became OR nurse, Kim J.’s reality when she began her travel nurse job in Maui in the Fall of 2012. American Traveler got in touch with Kim, so she could share her story about living and loving life in one of the world’s most enchanting places.

AT: Hi Kim! Thanks for agreeing to do this interview. Kristin Zandee, your travel nurse consultant said that when asked if you’d be open to chatting with us you said, “Why not? I am only sitting on the beach listening to the waves lap on the shore today.” Do you have lots of days like that?

Kim: Yes, this Hawaii travel nursing jobs has been wonderful enough that I just started my second assignment here in Maui. I work in the OR as an R.N. First Assistant and I love it. I have been asked to extend or stay on as a full time staff member but am going to be a grandma in early June, so I am planning on heading back to Illinois.

AT: That’s wonderful news! From everything you’ve said, it sounds like you’re going to have lots of incredible stories to tell your grandchildren—for instance, how you keep running into a certain celebrity on the beach?

Kim: That would be Steve Tyler of Aerosmith fame, yes! He was very gracious to let me have my picture taken with him. Standing in line behind him at the local coffee shop was not something I could ever have imagined! He has a house in Maui and likes to get out just like everyone else. I’ve been to his concerts, so meeting him in person was icing on the cake, especially since I turned 50 in the 50th state, and it was my birthday month when I met him!

See more pictures of Kim and her celebrity sighting, Steven Tyler

AT: We could not have asked for cooler details! Aside from Maui being a great place for whale and Aerosmith sightings, what are YOUR top tips for enjoying yourself there?

Kim: Well, the #1 tip is to just relax and go with the flow! Things here are different than being on the mainland. No matter how bad of a day you think you’ve had, just step outside and see the sun and palm trees and go for a nice long walk on the beach—that’s my fitness regime. It didn’t take me long to realize I’d never run out of things to do: concerts, hiking, kayaking, shopping… My husband, who came with me on this travel nurse assignment, has joined me in seeing and doing it all!

AT: It’s great that you say that, because our next question is where a travel nurse can get a good meal in Maui!

Kim: My favorite places to eat are the ones the locals eat at! Everywhere serves HUGE portions! I’ve had the best seared Ahi and sushi here as well as some pretty good gluten free pizza and nachos that are to die for. My favorite treat is U’ulani’s. They have shaved ice with ice cream on the bottom…to die for yummy!

AT: You have been unbelievably helpful, Kim, in creating a clear vision in our minds of what it’s like to be a travel nurse in Maui. Congratulations. We’re jealous!

Could a Travel Nurse Job in a Coveted Tourist Destination Be in the Cards for you Too?

Call American Traveler at 1-800-884-8788 or apply online. We have nursing jobs as well as travel nurse opportunities that last an average of 3 months, from coast to coast, with the kind of flexibility to extend the assignment or move on to something even better. You won’t know into you apply. Hurry! Your story is waiting to be told!

Healthcare clients rely on staffing partners to engage with candidates via cyberspace since only 16% of hospitals, in the United States, are reported to be active in social media. This is a trend hospitals can easily improve by partnering with American Traveler, a healthcare staffing agency that is highly successful matching candidates with hard to fill jobs through our active social media presence and engagement with our Facebook fans and Twitter followers.

At American Traveler, clients top best hospitals lists in U.S. News & World Report. We staff these facilities with cutting edge nursing and allied healthcare talent; the continuous and on-point social media that goes along with that is simply a byproduct of our staffing services. With a purported 51% percent of consumers claiming that a hospital’s social media presence strongly influences whether or not they go there, positive company branding is our highest priority. We are experts at utilizing social media platforms to recruit top talent to fill client facilities’ staffing needs.

American Traveler’s Approach to Social Media

Popularity for our enduring company websites is also growing. Please click the social media links below to see what’s on our wall in Facebook, Twitter and more! Be sure to “Like” American Traveler on Facebook if you have not done so already. Personal travel nurse stories decorate our wall; with one R.N. in Hawaii posing with Rock star, Steve Tyler who she got to know on Maui Beach!

• American Traveler: Facebook / Twitter
• Travel Force Staffing: Facebook / Twitter
• 50 States Staffing: Facebook / Twitter

As anyone can see, living well is important to our audience, and why American Traveler launched Healthy Careers, a place where busy healthcare professionals can access dozens of healthy recipes, as well as contribute nutritious dishes of their own as part of a Recipe Contest. Healthy Careers covers a broad spectrum of health and wellness topics, including fitness. Our social media fans check in weekly to see new recipes, as well as “how to” blogs on staying fit and focused.

At American Traveler, Our Sites Are Set on You!

We value educating our audience, and marketing our services, not only with blogs about the travel nursing experience, but subjective articles that address topics like patient safety, universal health and wellness, continuing education, and so much more! Our sites are a vibrant social platform that help job seekers and team members alike connect with peers, recruiters and ultimately, healthcare employers with big jobs to fill. Pick up your smart phone or tablet today and peruse our mobile site, follow our Tweets and jump online to see what’s happening in healthcare. The like button is waiting for you!

5 Heart Healthy Ways to Celebrate!  

Here are the handful of tips you’ll need for thinking outside the (heart shaped!) box this February 14th.

• Skip the restaurant and pack a healthy picnic. Valentine’s Day has long been associated with the image of a couple sitting in a candlelit restaurant, ordering items like steak and Baked Alaska from the menu. Who needs long wait times and so many fat grams? Opt instead to pack a healthy picnic lunch, and enjoy it bundled up and overlooking the sunset. It’s easy to find low fat, heart healthy recipes that can be toted to favorite travel nurse destinations.
• Reinvent a Classic Dish … by making it heart healthy. Culinary school is not necessary to reach this goal. Visiting The American Heart Association’s Smart Substitutions and recipes pages, as well as looking at books like the bestselling Eat This Not That, makes cooking with the healthiest and freshest ingredients second nature.
• Make Your Own Chocolate-Dipped Treats. Those boxes of chocolate on the end-caps of aisles at your local supermarket are loaded with preservatives and transfats. So invest your time creating Valentine’s Day treats yourself. Chocolate-Dipped Fruit is a good way to start. Check in with Healthy Careers to see how easy it is to make Chocolate Dipped Strawberries. FYI: Any chocolate you do buy should ideally be dark chocolate, which contains antioxidants healthy bodies love!
• Instead of Dinner and a Movie… do something more engaging — like taking a cooking class together or learning a skill you’ve always been curious about. Your travel nurse community is brimming with opportunities to try a rock climbing wall, dabble in a new language or take a zumba class. Treat yourselves to a yummy frozen yogurt or parfait afterwards!
• Make a February Resolution! Valentine’s Day may as well be the day, if you have not done so already, to commit to a healthier diet and daily exercise regime. A good way to start? Join “One in A Million Hearts“, a nationwide initiative worth passing on to loved ones and patients. Million Hearts™ was launched by the Department of Health and Human Services in September 2011 to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes over the next five years. Get your personal health assessment by clicking on My Life Check; it calculates your risk of heart disease and helps you craft lifestyle plans to be on the positive side of heart health statistics.

American Traveler Wishes You a Happy Valentine’s Day with All Our Hearts

Consultants at America’s #1 healthcare staffing agency are wishing you a very happy February 14^th and encourage you to peruse our career resources and social media sites for the most current nursing jobs. The travel nurse lifestyle is an active and heart-healthy one that gets your heart pumping—find out how when you call 1-800-884-8788 or apply online today. And, so the beat goes on!