Will there be a “Scrubbing In” Season 2?

The fate of MTV’s travel nurse reality show “Scrubbing In” appears to be up in the air. Rumors of cancellation swirled towards the end of the show’s run, but all 10 episodes were aired.

“I’ve traveled before, many times, and this was like no other assignment,” said Fernando in the season one finale, which aired in late December 2013.

And apparently, the show’s depiction was like no other assignment the majority of nurses had ever witnessed either!

Facing a massive outcry from nurses and nursing organizations, MTV eventually responded by agreeing to move the show’s air time to a less prominent slot, re-edit several episodes, and create features that better showcased nurses as professionals, among other efforts.

The network also ran this disclaimer at the start of each episode:

“MTV has the utmost respect for the life-saving work nurses do every day. Scrubbing In follows the lives of nine traveling nurses and is not meant to be representative of all nurses or their experiences.”

Travel Nursing Blogs contacted MTV regarding the future of the show, but MTV did not return Travel Nursing Blogs’ request for comment on the show’s status.

On Twitter, fans of the shows have been bombarding the network with hashtags like #savescrubbingin and #scrubbinginseason2. On December 30 the Save Scrubbing In Twitter account tweeted, “They said they were filming but planning to cancel and they said to keep tweeting if you want it to stay.” The account appears to have been created that same day, and, along with the fan page MTV Scrubbing In (not run by MTV), is encouraging fans to voice their desire for a second season via social media.

On January 5, Scrubbing In cast member Fernando Rodriguez posted a photo to Instagram of himself and fellow cast member Heather Ambrose with the hashtags #scrubbingin and #scrubbin2. Rodriguez did not directly address comments asking if that meant the show was on for a second season.

Cast member Nikki Cirrincione’s exchange with a Twitter follower was perhaps the most definitive answer available at the time of this posting — though not the most satisfying for those wanting to hear a yes or a no. When asked “So is Scrubbing In coming back for another assignment or what?” she answered, on January 8th: “Still waiting to hear!”

Travel Nursing Blogs will stay on the case and keep you posted when we hear a definitive answer to the question: Will there be a “Scrubbing In” Season 2?

Do you want to see “Scrubbing In” back for a second season? Let us know what you think the show’s fate should be in the comments.

What expenses are tax-deductible when travel nursing?

Ask a Travel Nurse Question:

I traveled with an agency for six months this past year. I worked for an hourly wage and did not get extra for mileage, meals, or housing. I do have a tax home and traveled 90 miles to the job and had an apartment there where I stayed three nights a week. I still had to pay by the month. Are the above mentioned deductible?

Ask a Travel Nurse Answer:  

I can tell you a little about what I understand to be deductible, but I am NOT a tax professional and would strongly suggest that if you are uncertain about any tax situation, you consult an expert. In fact, although I will write a small blurb on your situation, I would like you also to forward your question to Joseph Smith over at TravelTax.com (http://traveltax.com/html/EmailUs.html).

Joseph Smith is sort of a tax guru regarding traveling professionals, so much so, that I asked him to look over the tax section in my book before I published, just to make sure everything I was writing was correct.

Travel Tax does a great service in answering tax questions, and will also do your returns if you like, for just about what you’d pay any other tax professional. They don’t charge a lot for the peace of mind it may give you as a travel nurse to have your returns done by someone VERY familiar with the tax intricacies involving the traveling healthcare professional.

With that said, as I understand it, many company’s tax advantage programs do allow you more take-home pay. But even if you do not work with a company providing a tax program, that is a deduction that you would still qualify for if you truly qualify for a tax advantage program through your travel company.

The idea of the deduction is that you are allowed to deduct expenses you would have while working away from your home area (or “tax home”). A “tax home” is not a dwelling (although that does help establish a tax home), but rather, an area in which you normally do business. Other things that help establish this “area” are a place where you register your car, register to vote, or have earned an income.

I hate to expand on this too much and would rather direct you to the page on Joseph Smith’s website that is in my mind, REQUIRED reading for ANY traveling professional, which can be found here:

http://traveltax.com/html/TaxEdTravelling.html

So, you should be able to deduct your living expenses while on the road, your meals and incidentals, and your mileage (a detailed logbook of the actual odometer readings is a good idea). You will have to look up the going rates for meals and incidentals for the area in which you worked and how to claim this on your taxes. More info on that can be found here:

http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/101518?utm_source=OGP&utm_medium=print-radio&utm_term=mie&utm_campaign=shortcuts

Just remember that you can only deduct M&I on the days where you were away from home. On any days where you returned home, you would not have that deduction for M&I or likely even the housing (even though you pay on a monthly, rather than daily basis).

I hope this helps, but please use it only as a guide and research and understand all the tax implications with your specific situation.

David

david@travelnursesbible.com