Travel Nursing: One Last Rant

I'm officially retired after 34 years as a Dialysis RN, and there are still a few bridges left to burn. Let's start with the end: my one and only stint as a Dialysis Travel Nurse.

Gazillions of companies to choose from, all of whose emails never ever go away. Wide variability in benefits, salaries, perks. I picked THE ONE company that didn't pay a completion bonus at the end of my contract. Go figure. Their website is classic bait and switch.

• Reimbursement for obtaining state nursing license. (Yeah, AFTER your 13 week contract is over.) But no reimbursement for actually driving to/from Phoenix, staying in a hotel, the required fingerprinting, the $30 internet charge to document current licensure in my home state...
• Actual travel reimbursement to and from your assignment. (Unless you live in Mexico.)
• There were $800 of unreimbursed medical expenses prior to actually signing, not mentioned anywhere on their website, and pre-employment medical screening is not covered by my private health insurance. They required a recent Medical Release (physical), blood tests to prove Varicella and Hepatitis immunity, and a Mantoux. Plus 2 days in a hotel to await the reading of the Mantoux. The only thing they covered was the drug screen. I have never in 34 years had to pay for my own Hepatitis Antibody test. Faxing all this from Staples? $30, unreimbursed.
• Completely furnished apartment provided. Seriously? The merchants of Show Low AZ benefitted greatly after my arrival there. You'll need lamps (you only get ONE), light bulbs, waste baskets, laundry basket, pillows, bedding, towels, plates, cups, bowls, glasses, cutlery, utensils, pots and pans, broiler pan, cooking and serving ware, toaster and coffee maker, ice cube trays, bathroom rug/mat, TV, DVD player, radio, a frickin' cable for the cable TV, flashlight and candles for power outages, shower curtain and rings, paper towel holder, and a hook for your bathrobe. Really, no light bulbs?
• It's RENTAL FURNITURE. Not new, not even clean. My recliner had a toddler's dirty sock and a  child's plastic watch in it, plus CheeTos. And my bed was infested with bed bugs, which led to 3 weeks in a cheap motel (because MY agency's "cap" on lodging was $70/day) while my building underwent extermination. That was a nightmare.
• 24 hour on-call support. My recruiter never once answered her phone, always voice mail. So you press 0 to get the switchboard, and that person says you have to go through your recruiter. I explain why I cannot wait for her to return my call (bedbugs, whatever) and that I need to speak to housing NOW. I get voice mail... I press 0...
• The job itself wasn't anything new. After doing this 34 years, I would hope not. They did have an even stupider-more-antiquated-computer-program to learn than the one I was used to. And while I was hired as a Charge Nurse, I worked 75% of my shifts as a Patient Care Tech. And when I WAS scheduled as Charge, I didn't get the promised $3/hour extra Charge pay that was in my contract, because that dialysis company doesn't HAVE charge nurses in Arizona. They have something called a Team Leader instead, who doesn't even necessarily have to be on the premises that day "but is always available for questions or help".  Yeah, right. Never did figure out who my Team Leader was. Probably the Clinical Manager (who is terrific), because the other RN was too new to be a resource. I did like the staff there, and the patients were mostly great (after they realized I knew what I was doing). Fairly even mix of Apaches, Mexicans, and affluent white transients who vacation there. One Apache woman taught me to say "How are you?" in Apache, which turned out to REALLY be "How're they hanging?" Very funny.

Would I do it again? Well, no, because I'm retired now. But yes, if I had to work again. I'd ask more questions, negotiate a better contract, and require a bed bug inspection before I move in. And now that I know what a Furnished Apartment is..This is pasted from their website:

  Your apartment will be in move-in condition complete with furniture and utilities all prearranged for you.
  When you arrive at your destination (usually two days before your assignment starts), you only need to pick up your key, unpack and start learning your way around town.

Like learning where to buy light bulbs so I can find the frickin' toilet...