Taking the step to quit your job as a staff nurse and take up traveling from job to job is huge and can be nerve-wracking. But for the adventurous, the globally-minded and the explorers who care about people, travel nursing is the perfect career option.
There’s never been a better time to become a travel nurse. You could earn significantly more money as a travel nurse than you did in your traditional staff nursing position simply because you can choose a location where the pay for nurses is higher, and the cost of living is much lower. Technology will also help you on your way. There are many new apps to make your new career more fun and efficient.
Here is an overview of some of the top technology tools to keep your work and home life organized while you are on assignment.
1. Bridging the Language Barrier
Whether your assignment is in Ronda, Spain, Mexico City, Mexico or Santa Fe, N.M., chances are good some of your patients won’t speak English. Using the Spanish-English Medical Dictionary by Vox will help you with proper grammar and gives you access to more than 75,000 medical terms instantly. At less than $50, this app will assure you are getting the right message to clients and will help you better understand their communication, too. This app does not require an Internet connection after download, so you will be able to use it even in remote areas. You can try before you buy with a free download in French, English, Spanish, Portuguese or German.
2. Planning Time Off
Since you have several weeks on each assignment, you might want to get out and roam around when you aren’t working. Most travel nurse assignments last about 13 weeks, so you have plenty of time to experience the sights and sounds of your temporary home. Most of the time, a traveling nurse salary includes a housing allowance, which means your budget leaves room for exploration and sight-seeing. Using Google Maps, Tripomatic, or Route 4 Me free app, you can plan your trip around your interests or nearby locations in a snap.
3. Medication Tools
A handy tool to have around in the event of a pill spill or patient confusion issues is the Pill Identification App from drugs.com. The downloadable, searchable “dictionary” has photo and verbal descriptions for more than 14,000 pills. Search by size, color, shape or imprints. The price is just under $40. Another drugs.com app that is handy for nurse professionals is the Pill Reminder app (99 cents), which allows you to personalize your own over the counter and Rx meds list with side effects, dosing schedules and refill dates.
There are plenty of apps today for mobile devices to help travel nurses work smartly, stay in touch with peers and family and plan activities while on assignment. So enjoy a little dose of technology and become a well-traveled nurse.
What mobile app would you recommend for travel nurses? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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