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With the ever growing popularity of travel nursing, some are confused on what really is the job of traveling nurses. So what is travel nursing anyway? Well, in its simplest form, travel nursing refers to providing nursing services for a short term assignments to medical facilities that lack nurses.

With the shortage of nurses across the country, various hospitals and medical centers have introduced this alternative way that will answer the shortage issues. The assignments of traveling nurses are made through agencies that specialize in travel nursing.

The agency normally provides the nurse with top dollar paychecks as well as other very good benefits like housing and travel expenses, licensing assistance, and payroll services. The hospital temporarily fills the position and the traveling nurse gets paid above the market wages.

With this great option for nurses, they are given the opportunity to travel anywhere while still having to accomplish their nursing job.

In order for a travelling nurse to get good compensation, better assignments, and have a stable financial success, it is necessary to join a traveling nurses association. This association is comprised of members of the medical profession.

They will provide and protect the every need of a travel nurse, preventing them from being underpaid and all other unwanted cases. They shall be the one responsible for guaranteeing the welfare of every traveling nurse. Below are the basic roles of travelling nurse associations:

• Provide travel information to nurses.

• Provide information to nurses and health care professionals about their traveling assignments.

• Provide job placement opportunities.

• Offer substantial discounts for members at major hotels, car rental agencies, and resorts.

• Provide members with a complete list of approved travel industry suppliers such as travel agents, airlines, vendors, and cruise ship companies.

• Ensure that all nurses that are members of the association are licensed and registered.

The traveling nurses association generally follows the state’s Federal Regulations that requires hospitals that are certified to participate in Medicare to have sufficient number of licensed registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and other health personnel that are capable of providing nursing care to all patients whenever needed. This means that staffing of nurses is necessary and must be strictly done to meet the patient’s needs.

If you are a traveling nurse and wanted to get the best job and the location you want, let your traveling nurses association help you out. You can also do the smart move of finding a reputable travel nursing agency that will provide you exactly what you want.

Since it is a fact that travel nursing is a very competitive business and agencies do all the possible ways to make themselves known, it is not impossible to find and be on the job you want.

One way to get your dream travel nursing job is to ask for a recommendation to your colleague who has already worked a travel assignment. With the huge competition, it is an edge to get a good recommendation for an easy travel nursing job hunting.

Being a member of a big traveling nurses association, you will surely get instant access to the most powerful nursing job search database available in the internet. With just a click from your mouse, searching to find the best assignments that match your specialty will be at hand. Not just that, you are also guaranteed to get the advantage of excellent services and benefits that no other careers could offer you.

A nurse is a health care professional who is engaged in the practice of nursing. Nurses are men and women who are responsible (along with other health care professionals) for the treatment, safety and recovery of acutely or chronically ill or injured people, health maintenance of the healthy, and treatment of life-threatening emergencies in a wide range of health care settings. Nurses may also be involved in medical and nursing research and perform a wide range of non-clinical functions necessary to the delivery of health care.

Nurses develop a plan of care, sometimes working collaboratively with physicians, therapists, the patient, the patient’s family and other team members. In the U.S. (and increasingly the United Kingdom), advanced practice nurses, such as clinical nurse specialists and nurse practitioners, diagnose health problems and prescribe medications and other therapies. Nurses may help coordinate the patient care performed by other members of a health care team such as therapists, medical practitioners, dietitians, etc. Nurses provide care both interdependently, for example, with physicians, and independently as nursing professionals.

According to the US Department of Labor’s revised Occupational Outlook Handbook (2000), “Registered nurses (R.N.s) work to promote health, prevent disease, and help patients cope with illness. They are advocates and health educators for patients, families, and communities. When providing direct patient care, they observe, assess, and record symptoms, responses, and progress; assist physicians during treatments and examinations; administer medications; and assist in convalescence and rehabilitation. R.N.s also develop and manage nursing care plans; instruct patients and their families in proper care; and help individuals and groups take steps to improve or maintain their health.”

The nursing career structure varies considerably throughout the world. Typically there are several distinct levels of nursing practitioner, distinguished by increasing education, responsibility and skills. The major distinction is between task-based nursing and professional nursing.

In various parts of the world, the educational background for nurses varies widely. In some parts of Eastern Europe, nurses are high school graduates with twelve to eighteen months of training. In contrast, Chile requires any Registered Nurse to have at least a bachelor’s degree.

At the top of the educational ladder is the doctoral-prepared nurse. Nurses may gain the PhD or another doctoral degree such as Doctor of Nursing Science (DNSc) or Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), specializing in research, clinical nursing, etc. These nurses practice nursing, teach nursing and carry out nursing research. As the science and art of nursing has advanced, so has the demand for doctoral-prepared nurses.

Registered Nurses generally receive their basic preparation through one of three basic avenues:

Graduation from an Associate of Science in Nursing degree-granting nursing program (two to three years of college level study with a strong emphasis on clinical knowledge and skills) earning the degree of ASN/AAS or ADN in Nursing.

Graduation with a three-year (Diploma in Nursing) certificate from a hospital-based school of nursing (non-degree). Few of these programs remain in the U.S. and the proportion of nurses practicing with a diploma is rapidly decreasing.

Graduation from a university with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (a four – five year program conferring the BSN/BN degree with enhanced emphasis on leadership and research as well as clinically-focused courses).

There are also special programs for “LPN to RN”, for people who hold undergraduate degrees in other disciplines, and for paramedics or military medics. Graduates of all programs, once licensed, are eligible for employment as entry-level staff nurses.

A typical course of study at any level typically includes such topics as:

Anatomy and physiology

Microbiology

Pharmacology and medication administration

Psychology

Nursing ethics

Nursing theory

Nursing practice

Legal issues in nursing practice

All pathways into practice require that the candidate undergo clinical training in nursing. Care is delivered by the student nurses under academic supervision in the hospital and in other practice settings. Clinical courses typically include:

Maternal-child nursing

Pediatric nursing

Adult medical-surgical nursing

Geriatric nursing

Psychiatric nursing

While in clinical training, student nurses are identified by a special uniform to distinguish them from licensed professionals.

In many nursing programs in the United States, a computerized exam is given before, during and upon completion to evaluate the student and nursing program outcomes. This exam upon completion of the nursing program is done to measure a student’s readiness for the NCLEX-RN or NCLEX-PN state board licensure exam. The exam identifies strengths and weaknesses and provides the need for remediation prior to taking the state board exam. This is not a requirement of all nursing programs in the United States, but has increased its usage in the past three to four years.

It is common for RNs to seek additional education to earn a Master of Science in Nursing or Doctor of Nursing Science to prepare for leadership or advanced practice roles within nursing. Management and teaching positions increasingly require candidates to hold an advanced degree in nursing. Many hospitals offer tuition reimbursement or assistance to nurses who want to continue their education beyond their basic preparation.

Many nurses pursue voluntary specialty certification through professional organizations and certifying bodies in order to demonstrate advanced knowledge and skills in their area of expertise.

All U.S. states and territories require RNs to graduate from an accredited nursing program which allows the candidate to sit for the NCLEX-RN, a standardized examination administered through the National Council of State Nursing Boards. Successful completion of the NCLEX-RN is required for state licensure as an RN.

Nurses from other countries are required to be proficient in English and have their educational credentials evaluated by an association known as the Council of Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools prior to being permitted to take the U.S. licensing exam.

Government regulates the profession of nursing to protect the public. In the U.S., the individual states have authority over nursing practice. The scope of practice is defined by legislative and regulatory laws which are administered by State Nursing Boards.

Many states have adopted the Model Nursing Practice Act and Model Nursing Administrative Rules created by the National Council of State Nursing Boards (NCSNB). In addition, many State Nursing Boards model their licensure requirements on the Uniform Core Licensure Requirements which set forth competency development and competency assessment principles.

Nurses may be licensed in more than one state, either by examination or endorsement of a license issued by another state. In addition, the states which have adopted the Nurse Licensure Compact allow nurses licensed in one of the states to practice in all of them through mutual recognition of licensure.

Are you interested in stepping into the healthcare field and don’t know where to start? 

Who are Phlebotomists? Who are LVNs? What is the difference between LVN and CNA?

In this article we will focus on two different Healthcare professions in order to help you get basic information before you make an important career choice.

Let’s look at the careers of LVN, Licensed Vocational Nursing (including difference between LVN and CNA) and the PHL, Phlebotomist.

Phlebotomist (PHL)

Phlebotomy is mostly concerned with the collection of blood samples and the drawing of blood which will be later analyzed in the clinical laboratories.

To become a Phlebotomist, you will require minimum qualifications of high school diploma or equivalent education. 

Phlebotomists are trained to work in laboratories, clinics and other related medical facilities. They work under the supervision of doctors and nurses. Phlebotomists usually have dual responsibilities of Medical Assistants/ Managers (if in a small office) and Phlebotomists. 

The certification of Phlebotomy would require you to get trained on how to use the vacuum tubes, syringes and needles as well as develop the people skills and some clerical skills. 

As a Phlebotomist you will be in direct contact with patients and therefore will be trained on how to professionally handle patients. You will be undergoing the training for necessary medical terminology as well as socio-cultural skills in order to interact with patients.

Some laboratories hire Phlebotomists to also maintain patient records and therefore you will either need to be familiar with the applications used for storing the database or be trained on that at the specific site, if hired.

The salaries of Phlebotomists are around $10.00 to $12.00 per hour. Various careers that you could pursue as a Phlebotomist are Phlebotomy Technician, Blood Bank Manager, Laboratory Technician and as a Blood Bank Technician. The academic courses for Phlebotomy would last anywhere between 9 to 30 months depending on the specializations that you prefer.

Some schools and academies offer Phlebotomy training within 10 – 12 weeks, including internship and lab. 

Licensed Vocational Nursing (LVN)

An LVN is licensed by the state to provide routine patient care. Some states use the term LPN or Licensed Practical Nurse rather than LVN. 

LVNs usually work at hospital, long-term care facility, convalescent homes, doctor’s office or surgical center, providing many of basic services also performed by Registered Nurses (RNs).

The LVN, however, usually are supervised by RNs or Doctors. LVNs also have help. Certified nursing assistants (CNAs), also known as nurses aides, orderlies, patient care technicians, and home health aides, work under the supervision of a nurse and provide assistance to patients with daily living tasks.

Working closely with patients, CNAs are responsible for basic care services such as bathing, grooming and feeding patients, assisting nurses with medical equipment, and checking patient vital signs. CNAs give patients important social and emotional support and also provide vital information on patient conditions to nurses. Sometimes LVNs are required to do clean ups, usually this occurs in hospital settings.  Also they are involved in: preparing rooms for new patients, bathing patients and so on. In other places CNAs take the above responsibilities and LVNs supervise them.

The job roles and responsibilities of LVNs include, but are not limited to, the care of the sick and recovering patients. LVNs take care of the patient’s health by administering injections, collecting the samples for analysis, dressing applications and in some cases also performing laboratory testing and other lab work. In some states, an LVN never starts an intravenous line (IV), while in others; they may be able to obtain IV certification to perform this procedure. In areas where they do not start IVs, most LVNs can take blood or administer injections. 

The LVN is usually trained for a year to two years in anatomy, physiology, and patient care, differing from the RN, who has several more years of advanced science and frequently a four-year education. Thus it takes less time to become an LVN than RN. 

Many LVNs are interested in furthering their career to an RN and/or NP. It takes time, experience and dedication. There are public and private schools that offer bridge programs for their students, where a student after becoming an LVN and working as such can return back to school to the Bridge program. 

The salaries of the licensed vocational nurses vary between $16.00 to $20.00 to begin and go up depending upon the work experience and the job responsibilities assigned to them by the health organization which hires them.

We hope that the above information will help you to decide on your nursing career and we are glad that we could be of assistance to you.