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Blog
Wednesday, October 05, 2011
It’s About More Than Just Location
In the world of travel as a medical professional it is vital that you do your homework. Always know everything about the facility you are traveling about to work in. Many times over I have spoken with a potential contractor to discuss our current travel needs and review opportunities that will be good match. I have noticed in the midst of the conversation, in relation to seasoned and first time travelers, they want to know everything about the location and the pay every time without fail. However, very rarely will I have a potential hire ask me about the facility that they are applying for. This is one of the biggest mistakes and oversight a medical professional can make when choosing their next destination of choice in their travel career. Why? There is too high risk to walk in blinded and trust me, it’s about more than just location that will make the next contract a successful one.
Let’s look at it from this perspective: If you were searching for a job, and decided to apply for a local facility to a permanent “traditional” job, wouldn’t you want to know all the ends and outs of the facility and unit? Consider asking some very important questions besides pay, location and length of contract. For example: patient ratios, floating requirements, rotation of shift, on call process, orientation agenda and even ask about the "culture or atmosphere" of the unit. These are the things that have proven to be a deal breaker for a traveler, once she arrives on assignment. And can be too late if you are already miles away from home and you show up only to find out the circumstances are not a good fit for you.
When you sign an agreement or contract for a travel assignment your word is your bond. To be frank, it really is all that will matter when you are needing to find your next travel assignment and contract. References checks are a huge part in being selected out of hundreds of other contractors by facilities. It is a deal breaker if the last hospital or agency you worked with cannot say that they can depend on you to complete an agreement. I have seen very experienced travelers be rejected by facilities based on a poor reference alone. You must be willing to commit to the assignment until the end. The damaging result of backing out of an agreement is unfortunate including a poor history review, professional reputation and your relationship with the agency that is beyond repair. And the world of traveling is a very small. You have worked too hard to build a good name for yourself. So be ever so careful not to throw it all away very quickly because you simply were not prepared.
Remember, knowledge is power, ask questions and make sure you're sure before you sign up for 13 weeks.
Happy travels!
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