And, as you reflect on the past year, also think of the new one to come.

Because most importantly, this is a time of new beginnings and the celebration of life.

Happy New Year to all of our travel nurses, travel therapists, friends and family!

All compassionate people, which include R.N.s, doctors, therapists and travel nurses have a unique opportunity this month to help create more birthdays. Getting started is as easy as clicking a link to find a breast cancer awareness event near you, or spending some time on the National Breast Cancer Awareness site to connect with the most recognizable organizations in this fight.

We’re proud of our participation in breast cancer awareness events over the years, in efforts that include corporate staff making strides, or blogging about R.N.s’ revolutionizing work in preventing breast cancer patient hair loss during chemotherapy. We encourage our registered nurses to use their clinical training in helping to disseminate knowledge on the early detection of breast cancer, as well as tips on living a healthier lifestyle.

R.N.s Make Strides on the Right Nursing Career Path

American Traveler is your direct link to landing a permanent or travel nurse job in one of the nation’s best hospitals; 80% of our affiliates top the list in U.S. News & World Report, featuring the most prestigious teaching and rehabilitation hospitals where groundbreaking treatments for different cancers are on an uptick with survival rates moving in the same positive direction. If you’re an R.N. trained in oncology jobs or advanced practice nursing jobs in Med/Surg, be sure to look for your perfect career fit here!

Medical Surgical Nursing Job Search

American Traveler Helps You Make a Difference

Call 1-800-884-8788 or apply online today for a chance to improve the lives of the patients who need you! Great benefits, free private housing, bonuses and travel reimbursements await you in both permanent and travel nurse jobs that span all 50 U.S. States! Remember, you don’t have to be an oncology nurse to make a positive difference in the lives of breast cancer patients and survivors—every nurse who spreads awareness gets us that much closer to a cure.

Related blogs:  Travel Nurses Hope to “Make Strides” in 2010 Breast Cancer Awareness Month includes tips on how to stay healthy in your remission from breast cancer.

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

1. 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, all you have to do is let it thaw, nuke it with a side of veggies in the microwave, and you’re eating in minutes!
2. Do: Wash and cut apples and other fast-oxidizing fruits, and vacuum seal them with a Ziplock vacuum starter kit.
3. Do: Try to devote one of your days off to grocery shopping and a little pre-prep. Clean and cut fruits and veggies; then refrigerate (in airtight containers) at eye-level for easy snacking.
4. Do: Store fruits and vegetables susceptible to drying out in perforated plastic bags (you can poke a plastic bag with the tines of a fork); this maintains a moist environment and lets air circulate at the same time.
5. Do: Dress up leftovers with fun and tasty accents from your pantry—a handful of walnuts can dress up a sweet strawberry salad, and splashes of soy and hot sauce recreate last night’s rice.

Five Cooking Don’ts

1. Don’t: waste money on bad knives. Every travel nurse needs an 8-inch chef’s knife, 4-inch paring knife and 12-inch serrated-edge knife.
2. Don’t: Use more than 2 tablespoons of regular butter or olive oil for sautéing; save Extra Virgin Olive Oil for yummy, subtle salad dressing.
3. Don’t: get a skillet that’s too small; a good rule of thumb is to use a 12-inch cast iron pan.
4. Don’t: hesitate to substitute ingredients—it could work out even better than you thought.
5. Don’t: miss an opportunity to take cooking shortcuts. Watch cooking experts like Sara Lee in Semi homemade, that show you that you don’t have to wipe down mushrooms one by one!

At American Traveler, our registered nurses are right at home in travel nurse jobs that span all 50 U.S. States; with free private housing that includes all the amenities, there’s no excuse not to enjoy a little home cooking in states that inspire with their delicious reputations: New Hampshire nursing jobs, California and Colorado, we’re looking at you! Call 1-800-884-8788 or apply online today to get your nursing career cookin’ NOW!

For Maine travel nurses, it’s a very patriotic summer indeed in the blueberry capitol of America—a wonderful place for waving red, white and blue, taking in the fireworks and statewide festivals. Here are just a few state highlights.

Start Your Fourth of July off with pancakes and fun in Bar Harbor

If you’re a travel nurse with a hankering for flapjacks and sausage, get yourself down to Bar Harbor, Maine for their 4th of July pancake breakfast and festival—an all day affair that begins at 6am and includes a full day of crafts, lobster races, seafood, fireworks and band concert. Fireworks will be shot over Frenchman Bay at 9:15 p.m. Get starting times and exact locations for all activities planned by calling 800-288-5103. You may also catch a whiff of pancakes coming from Thomaston, Maine on the 4th of July; call 207-354-8763 for more information!

Maine Fireworks and Festivals

Perhaps one of the biggest to-dos is “Heritage Days” in Bath, ME. Starting July 1st and culminating in a lovely display of 4th of July fireworks over the Bay Waterfront (9:15pm), this is one of the best places to be in New England this summer. Events include a rotary BBQ with entertainment under a gazebo, carnival and boat parade on the Kennebec River, as well as a Chili Chowder fest among some of the area’s finest restaurants. Travel nurses will want to bring their appetites and eye for fine art and crafts—there’s Art in the Park!

And for the largest Celebration in Maine?

For travel nurses near Eastport, ME, the 4th of July is all sewn up.  Come out and enjoy a Grand Independence Parade, fireworks over the bay, free entertainment at Overlook Park, antique car show and more—you may even get to take a tour on a U.S. Navy ship! Visit www.eastport4th.com to plan your day.

Pops and Circumstance: Are You Working in New England Travel Nurse Jobs right now?

If the answer is yes, get ready to listen to some pops provided by a patriotic concert in Portland, Maine’s Stars and Stripes Spectacular, on July 4, 2011. Watch fireworks pop over Casco Bay, starting just after dusk. Call 207-756-8130 for more information—but, more importantly call American Traveler—with our high paying travel nurse and therapist jobs, there’s room to grow in the New England States and rest of the nation. Call 1-800-884-8788 or apply online today!

Memorial Day Planning Guide For D.C. Travel Nurses

What better way for travel nurses to honor courageous military than spending the long weekend exploring our Nation’s capitol? The 2011 Memorial Day event schedule for D.C. includes a Sunday (May 29th) free concert on the west lawn of the U.S. capitol. On this day, the National Symphony Orchestra will perform, as well as top-billed celebrities. Click on the Memorial Day event link to learn more about this event, as well as wreath laying ceremonies at D.C.’s best known Memorials, a GI Film Festival, marching bands, Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Rally and more!

Memorial Day Events For Our Florida Travel Nurses

Are you a Florida travel nurse with a taste for crab? Then take a trip to Palatka, close to the well-known destinations like St, Augustine and Jacksonville for the Blue Crab Festival, held each year on Memorial Day weekend.

Expect to find parades, concerts and other events that honor our fallen war heroes in big name cities with top paying Florida travel nurse jobs. Get everything you need to fill your calendar for Memorial Day weekend, by clicking on Florida event links for Miami, Daytona and West Palm beaches.

And on the West Coast, California Travel Nurses Find These Memorial Day Delights

Memorial Day events around Los Angeles (click on event link for times and dates) are in the most happening city in the Golden State—and set to include a seaside arts and crafts festival on Hermosa Beach, a Canoga Park Memorial Day Parade and Garden Grove Strawberry Festival on the Village Green in downtown Garden Grove; it’s time for travel nurses in California nursing jobs to travel to the city of Angels for some heavenly food and fun!

No matter where you go for your Memorial Day observances and celebrations, American Traveler—the premier agency for travel nursing jobs nationwide would like to wish our staff across the country a safe and happy holiday! Call 1-800 884-8788 or apply online today to connect with the best nursing jobs in healthcare today. Start living the American dream now!

For generations, The American Nurses Association (ANA) has supported and encouraged recognition programs for Nurses Week that embody Florence Nightingale’s pledge; in honor of the travel nurses on staff at American Traveler, we would like to expound on Florence’s words and commend our R.N.s for practicing their profession so faithfully and elevating its standards. Whether they work in hospitals, clinics or rehab facilities, R.N.s in our travel nurse jobs are devoted to the welfare of patients who rely on them nationwide.

Let’s Get Visible: Ideas for Celebrating National Nurses Week

Thanks to ANA and word of mouth, registered nurses, colleagues, friends and patients know just how to celebrate National Nurses Week this May. Travel nurses are encouraged to get involved at the state level, where they hold a nursing license, and may visit the State nursing boards in any of the 50 U.S. states where travel nurse jobs have taken them far.  All working registered nurses are more visible when they wear an “RN Pin” or nurse’s uniform during National Nurses Week. The official “RN Pin” is available by calling 1-800-445-0445. For more ideas like these, our travel nurses can visit the ANA site and read up on celebrating National Nurses Week.

“Nurses Trusted to Care,” Resonates as the 2011 Theme

With over 3 million registered nurses living in the United States, it’s not surprising the Bureau of Labor Statistics claims R.N.s as a top ranking occupation, with the largest projected job growth through next year. Beyond 2012, employment trends indicate as many as 1 million registered nurses may retire, creating a shortage that makes travel nurse jobs and other critical professions on the healthcare landscape more competitive and attractive than ever.

Read about Travel nurse jobs growth

As a premier travel nurse agency, it is our pleasure to offer qualified travel nurses the chance to share their clinical nursing skills in opportunities spanning all 50 U.S. States! Call 1-800-884-8788 or apply online today!  Now, more than ever, is your chance to drive change and shape the health care system of the future!

Fortune Magazine, well-known throughout the business world, has published this year’s results for the top 100 best companies to work for; not surprisingly, it includes 11 different hospitals and health systems across the United States—this is fantastic news for a leading nurse staffing agency that fills travel nursing jobs from coast to coast, and even better news for R.N.s who come to work for us!

Our healthcare staff enjoys luxury private housing and other comprehensive benefits with some of the best travel nursing locations in the country as the backdrop—and the cherry on top? American Traveler is proud to be affiliated with America’s best hospitals, ranked year after year by U.S. News & World Report and frequent spot-holders on Fortune’s annual list.

Need a Quick summary of Fortune’s list? Then feast your travel nursing eyes on this!

Several of the hospital systems that made the cut are in coveted U.S. travel nursing locations, spanning the sunshine state—where Florida nursing jobs employ tens of thousands of registered nurses —to the west coast, where California nursing jobs are also known for high rankings; but let’s not forget the American Midwest and Old West, where Ohio nursing jobs and Texas nursing jobs are setting blazing career paths that light up Fortune’s list this year! Get in touch with American Traveler today to make sure you climb the right ladder, and be sure to know all there is to know about great spots for R.N.s by checking in with our related blogs about travel nursing locations !

Travel Nurses Who Sign On at Top Rated Hospitals “Make the Honor Roll”!

Like the professionals who helped develop the tradition of listing the 100 best places to work, American Traveler also believes the foundation of every great workplace is trust between its workforce and management. Our recruiters work 24/7 to ensure that the candidates we hire for top jobs in all 50 U.S. states live a life of positivism, awesome productivity and great patient outcomes! Apply online or call 800-884-8788—it’s high time you made the honor roll!

Footnote: Click on Great Place to Work Institute to view a complete list of best companies to work for in 2011. Interested travel nurses may also visit this site to invite their employer to compete for a spot next year!

Travel nurse jobs give R.N.s the distinct advantage of exposure to a wide variety of charting systems, familiarizing many with what has today become a popular practice in surgical jobs: making checklists. Surgical checklists are creating a sizeable dip in errors and patient mortality—and it’s not just their content changing patient outcomes and hospital efficiency for the better—it’s also the teamwork required from everyone on the surgical team committed to seeing checklists work.

Borrowing a strategy from the aviation industry, healthcare is also using teamwork and briefings, to improve safety and efficiency during operations. Surgical checklists are a component in this, so effective they are becoming a new standard in healthcare; even the most highly regarded US hospitals are improving thanks to checklists.

Surgical checklists document every step of a patient’s surgery and hospitalization, from admission to discharge, and are reducing the risk of dying after surgery and suffering other types of complications. In one study that addressed a pool of 7,600 patients, surgical checklists decreased mortality by half and morbidity by one-third; these statistics were generated in six different Netherlands hospitals, on 11 separate checklists comprised of about 100 items each.

Summary of a Surgical Checklist

Surgical lists deal with pre-operative care, the operating room itself, Recovery, ICU and post-operative care, specifically with issues like:

• Ensuring blood is available during surgery
• Double-checking that surgeons operate on the correct site
• Ensuring the staff in the recovery ward or ICU are clear on how to take care of the patient after surgery
• Medication administration is being handled with speed and accuracy
• Deciding when a patient should be allowed to eat again
• Giving the right antibiotics before surgery

Healthcare Employers Look Toward Travel Nurses as Flexible Educators, Invaluable in Helping Train Permanent Staff in New Charting Systems

Since travel nursing jobs employ healthcare professionals in A-list facilities where cutting edge technologies are in use, they must adapt and learn quickly. With staff that has more than risen to the challenge, teaching hospitals rely on travel nurses to help permanent staff transition more seamlessly into new patient charting systems.

Clinical Coordinator Deb Bacurin is among the fray who appreciates great nursing staff and says, “when it comes to patient charting, travel nurses are every bit as conscientious as permanent nursing staff, as well as totally up-to-speed on computerized charting systems. When new systems are introduced on the scene, travel nurses view it, not as a burden, but as an opportunity to enhance their nursing skills set.”

At American Traveler, You Can Check “Job Search” Off Your List

If you’re a qualified operating room nurse looking for a top paying surgical job and generous benefits package, apply online at American Traveler ASAP! It’s your best bet for rapid career growth, as well as limitless exposure to emerging trends in healthcare. Together we set the benchmarks that better protect our patients. Our clients are largely made up of hospitals named as the nation’s best in U.S. News & World Report. Peruse our nationwide med/surg jobs, to see what we mean—not only is an exciting travel nurse job waiting to be filled, but patients are waiting for your skilled and efficient touch!

Footnote: OR nurses working in med/surg jobs with an avid interest in reading the latest on protecting themselves from medical errors can visit The Agency for HealthCare Research and Policy for tips.

According to a study based on surgical teams from hospitals around the country, safety techniques—similar to ones used by the aviation industry—cut death rates from surgery by an astounding 18%. This is compelling news for those in operating room nurse jobs and other healthcare professionals in med surg jobs, interested in the benefits of teamwork.

Known as “briefings” in the airline industry, the meetings are conducted before and after each flight, so that crews can anticipate and prepare for potential and/or future safety hazards. In a healthcare setting, “briefings” aided surgical teams in making important discoveries about the specifics of each patient’s illness or condition prior to and after each surgical procedure.

Checklists are a Must for Team Building in Surgical jobs

The aviation industry doesn’t like surprises and either should operating room nurses and professionals in med/surg jobs. So what kinds of tactics are being used to eliminate surprises, and strengthen professional relationships among the operating room team?

• Operating room nurses are asked (to learn) to recognize red flags
• Med surg and OR nurses are expected to challenge colleagues should safety risks come up
• Operating room nurses are expected to develop presurgical checklists

That last item on the bullet list resonated the most among med/surg and operating room nurses when research on check-lists appeared in a top selling book by Peter Pronovost, a doctor and safety advocate who wrote, Safe Patients, Smart Hospitals; proved using a checklist could prevent half of all surgical deaths.

In Safe Patients, Smart Hospitals, Dr. Pronovost raises the point that surgery and anesthesiology have a long-standing habit of focusing on the technical; they often fail to realize that some of the harm done in surgery is happening because of teamwork failure. Healthcare professionals in surgical jobs are well on their way to achieving goals from Pronovost’s study by encouraging operating room nurses to keep an accurate and unambiguous medical chart on every patient.

Even in the advent of Health IT, when computers keep electronic files on patients, nurses must remember to “double-check” and adopt the mantra: “If you didn’t chart it, it didn’t get done.”

America’s Top Hospitals Practice Many Different Tactics that Decrease Patient Mortality

At American Traveler we staff healthcare talent—which include travel nurses qualified in a wide range of specialties, from operating room and surgical jobs to other veins of graduate nursing—in hospitals consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report. Awarded The Joint Commission Certification, our staffing agency works with hospitals that are committed to excellence in high quality patient care—continuously improving levels of service. Our travel nurses in med surg and operating room jobs can expect to work in facilities with lower nurse to patient ratios and enjoy a higher morale that put travel nurses on track to landing the ultimate travel nurse job; call us at 800-884-8788 or apply online today to see what we’re talking about!

Travel nurses at American Traveler enjoy free healthcare insurance and should take advantage of that full coverage by getting vaccinated ASAP! Plug your current zip code into Take Care Clinics or your nearest pharmacy, where most insurance covers cost. Advise your friends and family that even without insurance, the price of a flu shot runs about $30—a small price to pay when you are guarding against the influenza virus, which factors into an average of 36,000 deaths a year in the United States.

Travel nurses, doctors and patients alike, this is your call to do the right thing. Get your flu shot today!