Category Archives: The Gypsy Nurse

01.23.14
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Talking Travel Nurse Taxes: The Regional Traveler

The Regional Traveler: What Happens When You Return Home Frequently During Assignments Many travelers take assignments significant distances from their home but there are some that journey shorter distances, traveling within a few hours’ drive. These assignments allow the traveler to stay close to home, spend time with family or attend to other priorities that preclude a long distance assignment. Most staffing contracts design tax free per diem payments for lodging and meals around a 7 day a week payment with the assumption that the traveler will be away from home overnight at the assignment location for the duration of the contract. This assumption creates some thorny tax issues for travelers that travel shorter distances and return home frequently – especially those that stay in hotels or only rent accommodations during work days. Before we explain how frequent returns home affect taxes, it may be good to discuss how per diem payments function. That will be the focus of this first part or the series. The Per Diem Payment – How it Functions In a perfect world, when an employee incurs travel related expenses for meals and lodging, they will submit their receipts to a designated individual who approves a reimbursement, or the employee has an expense account allowing them to use a corporate credit card which is reviewed at various intervals. When an operation has a large number of employees traveling, it can become an huge administrative task to track all the employee expenses. The IRS Allowance To reduce the […]

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01.02.14
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Specialty Nurse: Resource Float

This entry is part 17 of 13 in the series Specialty NursesThe Gypsy Nurse could not be successful without the support and contributions of it’s readers. Today’s Specialty Spotlight is from reader and Specialty Nurse Robin Williams, RN who works as a Resource Float. Name: Robin Williams, RN Job Title: Resource Float List your education/certifications: Where do you work: Hospital based facilities. Includes small town community hospitals to large teaching/trauma facilities. How long have you worked this Specialty? Proficient 2-5 Years How/Why did you get involved? Was there someone/something that inspired you to choose this specialty? Well we all have to start somewhere right?. I love everything I do from sitting with my patients to jumping in to help with serious conditions. I started out with the basics on MS/Tele and being a quick learner and a knowledge junkie I have promptly advanced to a resource float nurse that does various areas and handles minimal to critical situations. I am very versatile in this position and I love how it gives me variety. What do you do in a typical day? Depending on the unit I am in for the night it varies but I always address patient needs. After all this is why we are here. What can I do for them to ease their pain, decrease their anxiety, or lesson their fears. I use my assessment skills, critical thinking, a professional attitude, and problem solving skills regardless of what unit I may be on. I also strive to […]

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12.30.13
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Weekly Nursing Vital Signs: December 28, 2013

This entry is part 6 of 8 in the series Vital Signs Here are your weekly Vital Signs for week ending 12/28/13 Compiled and written by: Teresa Posthumus, RN Medscape Nurses > Legal and Professional Issues for Nurses Must I Read Work Email or Complete Mandatory Education on My Own Time? As a traveling nurse I know I’ve asked this question and think we have all asked the question: Must I do all this mandatory online education without pay?  I have spent hours doing mandatory online education for some jobs?  In the below article is a lawyer’s response to this question.  Checkout the website and find the legal answer to this question. The Great Healthcare Debate: Is Increased Autonomy for Nurse Practitioners the Answer to the Doctor Shortage? With 2014 come changes to healthcare:  there are many debates as to whether these changes will provide effective healthcare or not.   With these changes comes much debate on ways to fill the expected increase in healthcare provider needs. According to many surveys there is already a shortage of Family Practice Doctors; with an expected decline in this field of doctorial practice. Are Nurse Practitioners the answer to help fill some of the needs and at the same time increase patient care and satisfaction? The articles below have lots of information on predicted changes and needs; one article was written by a law firm but it covers a lot of facts and questions. Checkout the articles listed below. What changes do you expect in […]

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