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 [+]

As more nurses and physical therapists achieve a doctorate, median salaries climb to $90,000 a year In a recent New York Times article entitled: “When the Nurse Wants to Be Called ‘Doctor’ " author Gardiner Harris emphasizes the modern day struggle that exists over the growing number of registered nurses achieving a doctorate of nursing practice (DNP) degree and introducing themselves in a clinical setting as 'Doctor.' In the article, Dr. Roland Goertz, Chairman of the American Academy of Family Physicians, said nurses who do this can confuse patients. It’s a misuse of the term, he said. President of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, Dr. Kathleen Potempa, doesn’t see it that way. She told Harris the nursing doctorate is about staying current and advancing in the practice, not competing with MDs. “Professionals who achieve that academic level of education are entitled to be called doctor,” said Deborah Bacurin RN, Clinical Coordinator for American Traveler, a leading healthcare staffing firm. “With advancements in healthcare education and a system growing in complexity, we will see this issue either dissolve or be resolved.  Nurses are all about delivering safe and effective patient care.” Richard Hader, PhD and Chief Nursing Officer [+]

Get Your Top 5 Kitchen Do’s and Don’ts Here Travel nurses are busy people with places to go and people to see, but that doesn’t mean they can’t prepare, say, a pizza during a Chicago nursing job that takes its cues from Deep dish, or, during a Hawaii assignment mix things up in the kitchen with newfound Polynesian flair. With free travel nurse job housing featuring all the amenities (like great kitchens), and proximity to great shopping, R.N.s can pick up all kinds of in season fruits and veggies that make mealtime special. Just make sure the pantry isn’t lacking with this fail-safe checklist: Must Have Pantry Items Sugar and flour Nuts (peanuts, walnuts, cashews) Rice (brown, white, long grain and minute rice) Dijon mustard, mayo, soy sauce, ketchup Chicken and beef stock Salt, Extra Virgin Olive oil Canned fruit and veggie goods Marinara and pizza sauce Tuna and salmon, packaged in pouches or cans Whole wheat bread, and pasta Got the goods? Great! Now it’s time to get started on a delicious home cooked meal! Five Cooking Do's Do: Save yourself time by cooking extra batches of chicken, pork or fish and store for future use. Once you seal it and freeze it, [+]

Without the ability to effectively communicate with under-served minorities, healthy patient outcomes are in peril, say experts at the Pennsylvania Patient Authority. Their agency reported about 232 incidents over a six year period at Keystone State healthcare facilities involving accidents and near accidents that might have been prevented with video interpreters. Risk-related incidents included patient falls from not understanding care instructions, unwanted circumcisions and surgeon/patient disconnects. In some cases, language barriers made it difficult to obtain patient consent, delaying treatment and jeopardizing outcomes. Video interpretation services rely on a portable two-way video monitor system easily transported to the ER, bedside or visitor waiting area.  At a cost of about $0.80 to $1.00 a minute, the caregiver or registered nurse simply selects a language and the system conferences in an interpreter live via satellite almost immediately. For healthcare employers serving large urban communities, video interpretation systems are a godsend.  They alleviate high costs associated with on-site interpreters and enable better patient care through improved communication with Limited English Proficient, Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing patients. For career nurses on the front lines, a video interpreter means they no longer have to wait for a live [+]

Find Cost-Effective Ongoing Education with a Wide Topic Selection! 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 [+]

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has good news for America’s unemployed healthcare workers. Of the 19,200 jobs add to employment rosters in November, 8,000 were hospital jobs and 7,400 were reported in ambulatory care settings. Nursing and residential healthcare jobs increased by 3,800. Starting in October, leading travel nurse agency, American Traveler, saw a spike in monthly nurse job postings and allied health positions, indicating an uptick in client side demand, said a company official, bringing to an end the worst two years in healthcare employment in over a decade. Of the Bureau’s published list of 30 occupations projected to have the most job growth through 2018, registered nurses, therapists and physicians rise to the top, along with home health aides, personal care attendants and nurses aides. Though the increase in healthcare jobs promises to put thousands of caregivers back to work, job seekers face extreme competition, as nurses and therapists laid off during the recession look to get their jobs back. American Traveler has staffed over 75% of the USA's best hospitals as rated by US News & World Report. Want to learn more about available nursing jobs and therapist positions at American Traveler? [+]

If you’re a registered nurse, you will be happy to note the following: if your primary state of residence is included in the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC), high paying job opportunities are on the rise! You’ll see what we’re talking about when you visit our Go-To Guide for RN's seeking more job opportunities in Compact Nursing States; it's our newest career resource that lists the 24 states currently classified as NLC, in addition to criteria RN's must meet to hold a valid compact nursing license. Visit our new page, and bookmark it today! As a travel nurse, opportunities beckon in multiple places, so why not know everything there is to know about multi-state licensure? What is the Nurse Licensure Compact? The NLC allows a nurse to have one license (in his or her state of residency) and to practice, both physically and electronically, across state lines in any other compact nursing state, subject to each state's practice laws and regulations. This is great news for registered nurses, who will now find it much easier to qualify for travel nurse jobs that are posted throughout the country in compact nursing states.  For more information on multi-state nursing licensure, qualified [+]

Advance Your Nursing Career: Take a float shift, share your expertise and rise to all occasions! Nurse Managers and healthcare staffing experts agree that it’s a necessity—for any top-notch hospital—to have experienced registered nurses on staff, who float to departments experiencing staffing shortages and higher patient volume. In addition,  floating to departments experiencing staffing shortages assures hospitals that travel nurses really play an important role and can perform to the best of their ability. Registered nurses, among them travel nurses, approach their float assignments capably and with a high degree of adaptability and skill; further good news—as revealed by a study that looked into flexible healthcare staffing approaches, like travel nurse jobs—found that, surprisingly, more nurses are choosing to float in today’s healthcare landscape, rather than waiting to be asked. American Traveler checked in with Clinical Coordinator, Debbie Bacurin, R.N., a former Nurse Manager, to weigh-in on what drives this emerging trend for floating nurses. “We are seeing more and more facilities post float nurse positions, this lets the nurse know upfront that she/he may work on any unit for their scheduled shift. Resource managers are helping nurses on float shifts transition more seamlessly into Med/Surg, [+]

Nursing schools encourage advanced-practice nurses to earn DNP degree by 2015 A Doctor of Nursing Practice Degree (DNP) is proof of mastery in advanced competencies, adding prestige, as well as higher earning potential to a nursing career. While registered nurses trained at the masters-level provide excellent care, significant technological advances, healthcare reform, and need for bigger and better service recovery call for a doctorate—a consensus reached by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) in late 2004. The trend mirrors what physical therapists and others in certain allied healthcare jobs have been doing for some time—taking their continued competency to the max—until it results in a doctorate. Pharmacists and psychologists made the move long ago; while their title is pronounced “doctor”, most patients understand they are not physicians. DNPs do not complete a dissertation and the focus of their training is not as researched-focused; instead their training focuses on evaluation and use of research rather than conduct of research. Many DNPs are faculty members at teaching hospitals; whether they teach, work in leadership roles, or practice as specialists, DNPs are grabbing the attention of employers and job seekers alike, which paves [+]

Read about technical vs. professional nurse training and why it matters Its been said there’s more than one way to skin a cat. The same might be true of seeking licensure as a registered nurse; those on track to a permanent or travel nursing career can achieve success in several different ways—the interesting part of that statement being, no matter your chosen path to licensure, the examination at the end of your nurse training is exactly the same. The options for students interested in nursing jobs break down into these avenues: you can get a four-year nursing degree, or bachelor of science (in nursing) and be deemed a “professional nurse”; you can get an associate's degree, which takes two to three years—or you can go to a diploma school for about three years. It so happens that community colleges produce more than half of the country's new nurses; not surprising considering it’s the fastest and least expensive way to become an RN; should you go this route, you are deemed a “technical nurse” and may not get the same preferential treatment in hiring as professional and graduate nurses. The encouraging news for those new to [+]