R.N.s and physical therapists who work for American Traveler take every precaution to avoid the flu. They know their first and best defense is to get a flu shot or nasal spray. Like most top tier staffing agencies, our healthcare professionals must show proof of vaccination once a year, and are glad to provide patients with everything they need to know about protecting themselves during flu season, October through December. Spreading the word about the importance of an annual flu shot means you’re in good company with the Center for Disease Control. The CDC recommends that everyone 6 months-old and up get vaccinated. The 2011-2012 flu strain is identical to last year’s, including the H1N1 virus; that means if you were vaccinated last year, you need only receive 1 shot this go around. Click here to find flu shots near you and be sure to post a comment on our Facebook page when you’ve done your good deed for the day! American Traveler Encourages Flu Prevention Tactics For R.N.s Some controversy has surrounded mandating the flu shot for medical personnel. Interested Registered Nurses can read about this on a related healthcare [+]

This November puts med/surg nurses, the largest group of specialty R.N.s, in the spotlight as America celebrates Medical Surgical Nurses Week, November 1-7, 2011. American Traveler’s Med/Surg Nursing Jobs Cover Virtually All Areas of Practice We recognize the high demand for specialized medical talent, and put our recruiting experts to task in working closely with Med/surg nurses and placing them in America’s best hospitals. Here are just a few of the areas where med/surg nurses apply their skills and clinical training every day. AIDS/HIV Asthma Cardiovascular Endocrine disorders Gastrointestinal care Geriatrics Hematology/oncology Infection Military nursing Musculoskeletal disorders Neurological disorders Nutrition Wound care For the R.N. looking for career advancement in specialized work settings that can keep up with a penchant for traveling the country, start your med/surg jobs here. Travel nurse jobs have approximately 30% more total compensation than permanent positions; plus the allure of unlimited CEUs that advance your clinical skills. For a complete list of nursing practice areas in which med/surg nurses are changing lives for the better—or to send an e-card, print a poster for your healthcare facility and learn of other ways to promote this important nationally celebrated week in healthcare, visit AMSN.  There are decorative ribbons for R.N. name badges, ball point pens and [+]

R.N.s Help Spread the Word 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 [+]

Prevent Hair Loss During Chemotherapy Treatments 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.

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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 [+]

Nurses, this one’s for you! National Nurses Week 2010 gets underway on May 6, providing an opportunity to acknowledge the hard work and selfless care of  RNs throughout the country. This year’s nurse week theme, Caring Today for a Healthier Tomorrow, “exemplifies nurses’ caring and professionalism -- be it at the bedside or in the halls of Congress,” said ANA President Rebecca Patton in her National Nurses Week message. The theme seems particularly fitting in this era of sea change and unprecedented growth in the health care industry. And perhaps no one has experienced these changes more than the travel nurse, who is on the front lines of providing health care everywhere -- from hospitals to schools, clinics to home settings. “Nurses give so much to this society, and our travel nurses really step up to provide a crucial service,” notes  Deborah Bacurin, RN, clinical resource manager at American Traveler. “Nurses Week reminds us all to stop, and take some time to show our hard-working nurses their due appreciation.” These little celebrations are part of a movement that has been almost 50 years in the making. National Nurse Week was first observed in October 1954, but did not [+]

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, [+]

Karen Murphy, Ph.D. Pennsylvania, birthplace of American independence is famous for other things too, like the Pennsylvania Dutch and Liberty Bell; it’s also the childhood home of our sitting Vice President, but there are other Pennsylvania fixtures, CEOs, like Karen Murphy, R.N., Ph.D. who make their mark—using extraordinary education, talent and skill —on the great Steel State. Dr. Murphy’s career began in surgical nursing, when, in 1977, she received her diploma from the Scranton State Hospital School of Nursing. Soon after, she earned an MBA at Marywood University and, eventually, a doctorate in Business Administration from the Fox School of Business in Philadelphia. To say the least, Dr. Murphy has enjoyed a long and prosperous career, but her achievements are far from over. She has, as of this January, been selected as CEO of The Moses Taylor Health Care System. Read more about Dr. Murphy’s latest accolade here. It’s no wonder her nursing career is making headline news. Dr. Murphy is living the American Dream, a career idol and inspiration for all healthcare professionals, especially women in RN jobs. Balancing work and home life, Dr. Murphy has [+]