It’s Hurricane Season, June 1st—November 30th! Here’s What You Can Do to Prepare For many healthcare professionals in nursing and therapy jobs across the United States, hurricane season registers as a far-away news story; however, for those living near the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes and tropical storms pose a very real threat—especially as Hurricane Season gets underway. National Hurricane Preparedness Week, May 26 through June 1st, is a good time to take stock of emergency resources in your home and community. These are a few guidelines for setting up an emergency plan. Build up Your Water Supply: A gallon of water per person, per day is recommended. Having a 2 week supply of bottled water on hand is highly recommended. In preparation for a serious storm, it’s a good idea to clean and fill your bath tub, in case a power loss cuts water off. You can use the water to wash up, as well as flush toilets. Make Sure you Have Plenty of Food and a Can Opener: A supply of non-perishable food that could get a family through at least 5 days is recommended. Consider canned nuts, beans, fruits, vegetables, soft [+]

How Brain Mapping Research Could Improve Patient Outcomes & Lead to More Jobs 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 [+]

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? [+]

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.