On the Road Again: 6 Ways Travel Nurses Can Save Money on Gas

Between driving to and from an assignment and taking excursions on your days off, Travel Nurses can really rack up fuel costs. Travel Nursing Blogs is here to save the day and help you save, with these 6 ways Travel Nurse can save money on gas and reduce their carbon footprint!

License to Buy

Consider fuel-efficient car choices, now or in the future, depending upon what makes the most sense for you. Smaller vehicles and manual transmissions are money-savers. You can also look at hybrids. According to FuelEconomy.gov, some of the most fuel efficient, electric/hybrid cars on the market in 2014 include:

• Fiat 500e
• Chevrolet Spark
• Ford Focus Electric
• Nissan Leaf
• Honda Fit EV
• Toyota Prius
• Tesla Model S

Where is Oprah when we need her, to gift us all with new cars?!

Prep Your Ride

A high-functioning car is a gas-saving car. Be sure to:

• Check your air filter at regular intervals.
• Inflate tires to their optimum fullness.
• Check alignment. Bad alignment is hard on tires and also taxes your engine.
• Get a tune up. The whole engine should get a good once-over, with special attention to spark plugs, belts, filters, and fluids.
• Secure your gas cap. If it’s loose or cracked it can add to air pollution and subtract from your fuel economy.

Lighten Your Load

This one is a little trickier if you are driving to and from an assignment and pack everything into your car, but keep in mind that for every 100 additional pounds in your car you reduce your MPG by about 2%.

• Pack light. Of course, you will likely need to bring a lot of stuff on assignment, but perhaps keep this in mind when packing. If you’re on the fence about bringing an item, go ahead and leave it behind.
• Be sure to unload everything when you get there so you aren’t driving around your destination city with a bunch of extra weight in the car.
• Don’t haul cargo on your roof. Large, roof cargo boxes can lower your fuel economy anywhere from 2% in the city to 25% on the interstate. If you need to use a cargo box, find one you can mount on the rear of the car.

Plan Ahead

• Check out AAA’s fuel cost calculator to get an idea of the current national cost for gas and estimate your cost.
• Use GasBuddy.com to search your location for a map that shows you where the cheapest gas in the area is!
• When possible, avoid purchasing gas on the weekends, when it usually edges up in price. The best day to buy gas in general? Tuesday.

Strategize Your Drive

• Slow down, Speed Racer! It’s estimated that for every 5 mile per hour slower you drive, you will reduce your fuel consumption by 5%-7%. Keep in mind that with speed, fuel economy suffers — especially at speeds higher than 60 miles per hour.
• Take control with cruise control, which helps you maintain a constant speed and usually saves on gas mileage.
• Avoiding rush hour when possible will eliminate idle time for you and your car, saving you money and stress.

Be a Smooth Operator

Avoid jack-rabbit starts, abrupt braking, and any other quick, jerky movements behind the wheel. It’s estimated this could save you 33% on interstate/highway gas mileage and 5% in-city.

In addition to these 6 ways Travel Nurses can save money on gas, do you have any tips to share? Let us know in the comments.

Ask a Travel Nurse: Can I ask for flight reimbursement to get to my assignment?

Ask a Travel Nurse Question:

I plan on taking my first travel assignment this summer and I’m looking for a company to cover airfare from Georgia to California and to offer great housing that’s safe and close to work.

I’m interested in San Francisco or the Bay area and I know I may need to rent a car, however, if I can get away with only weekend rentals for exploring, then I’m good.

How feasible is it that I would get my little wish list of flight reimbursement and safe housing near work?

Ask a Travel Nurse Question:

Although traveling cross-country can be a great adventure, it’s not for everyone. But when traveling great distances, it’s no different than any other assignment as far as travel reimbursement goes.

Most companies pay a travel allowance to and from the facility (usually $200-$300). If you are not flying at peak times, you may certainly be able to find airfare that will fit into a one-way ticket at this price (on June 11th for example, Southwest has fares under $300 from Atlanta to San Diego). Up to the Bay Area may be more, but everything in your contract is negotiable and if you want to push for more travel reimbursement, then just ask. But remember that travel expenses are likely something that you can deduct on your taxes whereas taking money from other areas of your contract allocation may not yield any ability to recoup those costs.

As far as having a rental car, you can find companies that provide this, but nothing in life is free and you will also find that money allocated from another portion of your contract (most likely resulting in a lower hourly pay rate).

If you are in larger cities, you may need to look into mass transit instead of rental cars. However, if you are talking about working in the city of San Francisco, then you may be able to have your travel company find you a place close enough to walk to work. When I worked UCSF, my company provided me a one bedroom place that was a fifteen minute walk to work and even came with a parking spot since I chose to drive out from Ohio (something that’s usually a premium in SF housing).

For the times when you absolutely need a car, try Zipcar (zipcar.com) which allows you to rent cars for as little as a few hours.

In finding safe housing, many companies do this, but some are better at it than others. I tend to avoid any company that wants to put me up in an extended stay hotel, but if it meets your needs, so be it. Otherwise, insist on a one bedroom apartment and keep in contact with the company’s housing coordinator making sure they understand that you want to have an address before leaving for your assignment.

Once you have the address and the complex info, you can look up the place on the Internet and see what the neighborhood is like, the amenities, etc. I also always call the complex myself and make sure they are expecting me on the date I will arrive, a tentative lease is in place, and the address is correct.

Northern California is presently paying pretty good with some “crisis” needs depending on travel company and the facility. However, in these “cash cow” positions, you WILL work for your money. Also be sure you understand if your contract is for a specific unit or you will be required to float between units and possibly even facilities.

Your “wish list” is actually in line with what the better companies should be willing to provide for what is really a standard expectation of a trip so far across the U.S.

I don’t know what they are currently paying for SF assignments, but if you would like to take a look at the company with which I traveled to SF, feel free to email me at david@travelnursesbible.com and I can hook you up with a great recruiter there. You may not be the highest paid traveler working through them, but I trust them to offer a safe experience, in good housing, for your first long distance travel assignment.

Hope this helps

David

david@travelnursesbible.com

How much and what kind of experience do you need to work as a Travel Nurse?

Travel Nursing is such an appealing career path that Travel Nursing Blogs often hears from nursing students — and even high school students! — who want to know how they can get started on the path towards their first assignment.

First, of course, you must have the proper nursing school education, earn your RN degree, and pass the NCLEX-RN test. Once that’s taken care of you’ll need to gain some hospital experience prior to traveling.

So what kind of experience and how much experience do you need to start working as a travel nurse?

Before you ever hit the road, hospitals want to see 1-2 years current hospital experience in order for them to hire you for a travel assignment. The industry standard used to be one year, but now hovers more around two years. (Be wary if an agency tells you they can get you an assignment right out of school; it might mean they are misrepresenting your prospects and/or cutting corners.)

If you are just out of school, you’ll want to find perm or per diem work that will allow you to practice your profession and amass the necessary experience to begin traveling.

Another scenario is that you could have 10 years hospital experience, but if it’s not current you may not be accepted to an assignment. Say you worked in a hospital for 10 years but then spent 5 as an elementary school nurse, you should get some more recent hospital experience in order to travel. Per diem work is a great way to accomplish that.

Remember, experience in order to travel is not an arbitrary requirement, it is very important for you to be practiced in your professional game as Travel Nursing requires you to jump right in and succeed in an unfamiliar facility. Your license and reputation are at stake, and you definitely want to be able to perform well.

What great nurse apps do you use?

Technology has had a great impact in healthcare. When apps and other technology can help a nurse be more efficient that just leaves more time for improving other aspects of your already great patient care.

OnlineLPNtoRN.org recently shared a guide to terrific apps for nurses. These nursing apps are great for nurses, nursing students, and especially travel nurses on the go!

The list of 104 great nurse apps is broken down into the following categories:

• General Nursing References

Nurse apps in this category are general and can be of help to working nurses and students alike.

Apps include the American Nurses Association, Black’s Medical Dictionary, Nursing Flashcards, MRSA eGuideline, Nurse Helper, Medical Tools, MyChart, MedCalc, Medical Encyclopedia, Nursing Study Guide, and many, many more.

• Obstetrics/Maternity/Neonatal

This category focuses on apps for obstetrics and neonatal nurses. Apps can be helpful in terms of pregnancy tracking, breastfeeding, safe medication dosages, and more.

Apps include Breastfeeding Management 2, Pregnancy Contraction Timer, NeoDose, Neonatal Nurse, OBGYN Review, and more.

• Pediatric

For nurses working with children, these apps include help with consultation, toxicology, and more.

Apps include KidsDoc, PediSTAT, Pediatric Scores, Pedi QuikCalc, and more.

• Drug References

These apps can help nurses manage interactions and conflicts between thousands of medications, helping you perform efficiently and save lives.

Apps include Pill Identifier by Drugs.com, Nursing Drug Handbook, Epocrates, Nurse’s Drug Handbook TR, and more.

• Human Anatomy

Handy reference for working nurses and a great study guide for students!

Apps include Human Anatomy Atlas, Pocket Anatomy, Anatomy 3D – Anatronica, and more.

• Cardiology

Excellent reference and study info to help address quick-acting heart trouble.

Apps include Easy ECG, iPacemaker Pro, and more.

• Oncology

References to help keep nurses a great resource for patients with tumors. Having informed answers from a nurse they trust helps make each patient’s journey easier.

Apps include Oncology Visual Medical Dictionary, Smartest Oncologist, and Annals of Oncology,

• General Planning/Organization

Who couldn’t use a little more help getting organized?!

Apps include Evernote, Rounds List, INRIX Traffic, Maps & Alerts, and more.

Click here to check out the full list of great nurse apps.

What are some of your favorite great nurse apps? Please share them in the comments!

Ask a Travel Nurse: How do you handle licensing in different states when travel nursing?

Ask a Travel Nurse Question:

How do you get so many licenses when travel nursing? Are they all compact states? Don’t you have to have a home base to even apply for your first assignment and/or license?

Ask a Travel Nurse Answer:

If you do not already reside in a compact state, then you will have to obtain a license for each state in which you want to practice. However, many travel companies will reimburse for this cost, but you may need to obtain the license yourself, even before you start to look, because of some of the long turn-around times with the state boards.

Just check with your recruiter and make sure the company will reimburse you if you do end up taking an assignment with them, in the state in which you obtained the license.

I have never encountered anyone who did not have a license active in at least one state and although I do not know if it is strictly mandatory, I would think that you would want to carry at least one active license to show that you have passed the NCLEX and are able to work as a registered nurse.

Hope this helps.

David

david@travelnursesbible.com

Thank you, military nurses! And Happy Memorial Day to all!

With Memorial Day weekend on the horizon, Travel Nursing Blogs would like to say thank you, military nurses!

Perhaps the ultimate in a very serious, long-term Travel Nursing assignment, nurses in the military do their part for their patients and for all of us. Just like all nurses, their hard work is unparalleled, and with the extra badge of honor that comes with service to their country come additional sacrifices.

From very early on in American history there were always nurses right alongside soldiers, helping treat patient soldiers, civilians, and risking their own safety while they were at it. In 1901, the Army Nurse Corps was established and made military nurses official. The Navy Nurse Corps followed in 1908 and the Air Force Nurse Corps was established next in 1949.

For more info on the history of military nurses and the army nurse corps, click here.

Thank you, military nurses! We salute you this Memorial Day, and every day.

Ask a Travel Nurse: What type of degree do I need to be a Travel Nurse?

Ask a Travel Nurse Question:

I really want to go to school to become an RN and eventually a Travel Nurse. But, financially, college is going to be hard for me to afford. What type of degree do I need to be a Travel Nurse? Two year or four year?

Ask a Travel Nurse Answer:

As long as you have the initials “RN” behind your name, two, three, or four year program matters not.

Now, I will say that some facilities are now Magnet status and they usually like BSN nurses. However, even some facilities that require a BSN for you to work there, will make an exception for Travel Nurses.

Sure it would be great to have every single nurse in the hospital be a BSN grad (although I’m honestly not sure why), but with the baby boomers aging, and retiring from nursing, AND then needing healthcare themselves, you are looking at a looming nursing shortage that will likely make no mandates other than having your RN (which can be done through a two year program).

These 4 ways nurses can advance their careers will have you looking ahead with a smile.

As Nurses Week 2014 draws to a close, Travel Nursing Blogs would like share some tips on how nurses can keep their skills sharp and continue their career momentum.

Karlene Kerfoot, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, sent us these 4 ways nurses can advance their careers, in celebration of the Nurses Week 2014 theme: Transforming Healthcare Through Nursing Leadership. Kerfoot is the chief clinical integration officer at API Healthcare.

First, we asked Kerfoot how this Nurses Week theme relates to the advancement of nurses’ careers.

“As a professional, we must feel obligated to continually improve our care of patients and the community, and to advance our career so we are better this year than last year,” says Kerfoot. “The more skills we acquire, especially surrounding the use and knowledge of technologies to be more efficient on the job, the better we are at changing the future for the patients.”

Kerfoot says the theme of nurse leadership is essential, as nursing is such a huge occupational group, one which plays a huge role in the evolution of health care.

“With the leadership and involvement of engaged nurses, amazing things can happen in the future of patient care,” says Kerfoot. “Nurses are uniquely positioned in this era of health reform because they are equally credentialed to work in the areas of achieving and maintaining health, and in the prevention, management and care of chronic diseases across many care settings. With the involvement of nurses willing to lead, patient-centered interventions that are effective and achieve the goals of the Affordable Care Act are possible. Nurses who step up to the challenge will create a better healthcare future.”

Here are Kerfoot’s 4 ways nurses can advance their careers including a brief explanation on each tip from her:

1.   Never stop learning

“Nurses today have more opportunities than ever before,” says Kerfoot. “It’s vital to sharpen your various skill-sets throughout your career, no matter what position you’re in, so that you can take full advantage of new opportunities when they arise. Being proactive and developing new expertise will enable you to provide better, quality patient care.”

2. Develop your career to the next level

Kerfoot advises: “Asking yourself, ‘What’s the next challenge I need to prepare for?’ will help guide and advance your career over time. Too often, I’ve witnessed nurses who’ve become complacent with their jobs, and never step out of their comfort zone to try something new. This is a perfect time in the industry to not only hone the essential skills of a nurse, but to also develop your role as a leader.”

3.   Highlight your work in measurable outcomes

“Developing expertise with measurement is essential for career development,” says Kerfoot. “This includes measuring financial and clinical outcomes, as the healthcare industry moves from process-oriented activities to accountability. Justifying the value of our nursing work is critical as health systems are now reimbursed based on the quality of care provided.”

4.   Become comfortable using technology

“The rapid adoption of technologies has completely evolved the world of nursing and informatics. Without competency of mobile health tools and EHR software, nurses will find it very difficult to grow their careers,” says Kerfoot.

Thanks go out to Karlene Kerfoot, for sharing these great tips for ways nurses can advance their careers. And, Happy Nurses Week to all! Don’t forget to check out WeLoveOurNurses.com to celebrate!

A Day in the Life of a Nurse: Compassion is a huge part of great patient care.

One cool thing about Nurses Week is that it brings recognition to all of the awesome, hard work that Nurses do around the clock. An average person might not think much about the importance of Nurses on a daily basis, but whenever we or someone we love needs a Nurse, the power, importance, and sacrifice of what Nurses do is front and center. And it is so very appreciated.

But the neat thing is, on a daily basis so many people benefit from the care and compassion Nurses provide. While a Nurse may only touch each person’s life for a short amount of time, they impact so many people in so many ways every single day.

The University of Michigan Health System put out a really cool video “to recognize and celebrate” Nurses Week 2014 called “A Day in the Life: Nursing at Michigan.” Check it out and let us know your thoughts in the comments. What else that you would add to portray A Day in the Life of a Nurse?

Oh, and once again, HAPPY NURSES WEEK! We can’t thank you enough!

How is Your Travel Nurse Company Celebrating Nurses Week 2014?

Hospitals often do something to celebrate Nurses Week in celebration of their Nurse staff, and hopefully you got in on some of that this week — and/or will through next Monday, May 12, when Nurses Week 2014 draws to a close.

But as Travel Nurses it’s also nice to be recognized by your Travel Nurse Company too! Below are some of the ways that Travel Nurse Companies are honoring and/or celebrating with their awesome Travel Nurses for Nurses Week 2014.

• Medical Solutions sent Nurses Week cards with Starbucks gift cards to all of its Travelers, and is also doing a bunch of activities at WeLoveOurNurses.com. Everyone is welcome to join in The Real Nurses of Nurses Week gallery, Share Your Best Nursing Story (with a year membership to Massage Envy and a $250 Scrubs & Beyond gift card as prizes), and more fun. Also, you can enter to win their Nurses of Tomorrow scholarship contest through June 6.
• RN Network also sent out cards and gifts to its working nurses for Nurses Week, according to its blog.
• Atlas Medstaff partnered with Gypsy Nurse for a contest to nominate your “Gyspy Florence Nightingale.” The prize for the nominator and the nominee is two free admissions each to the 2014 Travelers Conference in Las Vegas in September 2014.
• Fusion held a #SCRUBSSELFIE contest, for current Fusion Travelers, to kick off Nurses Week. Prizes are also on the line in this contest.
• Soliant is hosting a My Special Nursing Moment Nurses Week contest, inviting Nurses to share their special stories and be entered to win a $100 SpaFinder gift card. Comment here with your story for a chance to win.

Please share in the comments how your Travel Nurses Company is celebrating Nurses Week 2014!