Frankenmuth

S: This past week my husband stayed at the hotel with me. We had a fun time going to do some sight seeing.

O: We went to Frankenmuth to eat and walk around the Bavarian shops. We had a delicious chicken meal at the world famous Zenders restaurant, enjoyed a stroll across the covered wooden bridge, and marveled at the beautiful flowers along walkways.

A: I'm glad my husband and I did a little sightseeing before the end of my assignment.

P: Next week may be my last week on this assignment.

Backyard BBQ

S: I have been very busy working during the week and going home on the weekends. I am enjoying my assignment a lot, but I've also missed my family a lot. In fact on Sunday I felt sad that I would be done with my assignment in 4 weeks and sad that I was leaving my family again to go back to work. I've been asked to consider extending my assignment 2 more weeks. If I stay I'll miss my family and if I leave I'll miss the people at the facility. My coworkers are so nice that one, Matt, invited everyone (including me and another traveler) over today for a backyard BBQ .

O: The BBQ was a relaxing way to end the day. Matt offered venison hot dogs, a swimming pool, a game of basketball, and lots of interesting conversation.

A: I feel blessed to have lucked out to having such a great assignment. I was a little nervous about traveling, but all of my worries were for naught.

P: My plan is to enjoy every day, no matter where it leads me......

July 4th fireworks

S: I've been so busy with my travel job, I've been neglectful of my blog! I've had a good travel assignment with nice colleagues, patients, and hotel staff. I've read in Health Care Traveler magazine that I would make new friends, but I didn't believe it. Now I've experienced it in the form of a patient who took pity on me when she found out that I was going to the Independence day fireworks by myself.

O: My husband didn't want me to go to them by myself and when she offered to meet me I jumped at the chance. Nice people do exist! You may never get a chance to see the phenomenal Bay City fireworks in person like I did, but I found a YouTube video of them. You can watch them at this link.

A: I had a great time at the fireworks. It would have been very lonely by myself (a side effect of traveling that I didn't expect).

P: I don't have a plan of what to talk about in my next blog. I'll have to see what comes to me!

First day

S: I started the travel job today. It went well except I was sent to the wrong address. I had the phone number of a person at the hospital and she told me where I should have been. I was glad I had that with me.

O: My tip for new travelers would be to try to confirm the address directly with the facility if possible. Also, today I had to repeat the TB test and drug screening. My other tip is to bring a binder full of the documents that had been sent to the travel company. I have with me all my medical records, diploma, licenses, certifications, and forms. I did need to refer to some of it today to answer questions.

A: My first day was spent being oriented, asking questions about procedures, getting all my questions answered, and going on tours. It seems like a good facility and nice people.

P: Tomorrow will be interesting.

Ready to roll

S: I have been terribly busy getting ready for my assignment. I couldn't believe the amount of paperwork that was required, but I'm excited to say I'll be on assignment starting in one week.

O: Here is a link to where I'll be. I will be staying in one city and working in another. I will be on an 8 week assignment at an outpatient facility.

A: I'm glad I'm finally going to be traveling. I'm looking forward to starting next Monday.

P: I plan to write the next blog about what was required for me to do before I got this travel position.

Summer Job

S: It has been a busy couple of weeks, but I'm happy to say that I've signed for a job for 8 weeks. The picture above shows what the harbor looks like in the city I'll be working in. It will be very nice and interesting.

O: There were more steps than I realized to getting to this point. After the phone interview with the facility, they offered me the job one hour later. I wanted to wait until the next morning so I could talk to my family. The job was still available the next morning and I accepted. Now I'm in the process of getting a physical, taking a drug test, filling out all the paperwork for benefits, and getting my many questions answered!

A: I'm excited to be starting a traveling job for the summer. My husband will come with me for part of the time and help me settle in.

P: The next step will be finishing all the paperwork.

My travel company

S: I'm happy to say that I heard from my account rep today and she asked if I would interview for another position. I was beginning to get a little worried because I've only got one interview set up for one facility.

O: I told my rep that I would be interested in interviewing for another position. I've already got one interview for Tuesday 5/7 and she will try to set up another one on the same day. I also asked her some of the questions that I had been meaning to ask regarding the pay and package. I asked if I was guaranteed to be paid even if the census is down and I'm sent home early. She said that her company guarantees a 40 hour work week even if I'm sent home early.

A: I was happy to hear this because although I'm expecting to work every minute I'm there, it would be bad for me if I was sent home early and not get paid. I wonder what the facility thinks about this arrangement though?

P: I plan to continue to read and ask questions about the benefits and pay package.