You Know You are a Healthcare Traveler When….

Let’s have some fun and laughs. Although being a healthcare traveler can feel lonely or isolating, you’re actually a part of a larger community. Believe it or not, the things in your life that you think only you understand, I get it. Here are some things that scream “you know you’re a healthcare traveler”. Share this piece with your healthcare traveler friends if it resonates with you.

You Know You’re a Healthcare Traveler When:

 

• When somebody ask you “where are you from?” they better get ready for a five-minute story because it is as never as simple as saying 1 place.

 

• You have told yourself that you can do anything for 13 weeks.

 

• You have counted down the days until the end of a contract.

 

 

• You have private health insurance or have signed up for COBRA at least once.

• Your travel pictures are the envy of your friends and family online.

• It is impossible to get your friends together at one place or time because they live all over the country.

• You are a pro at car Tetris.

 

• Your voicemail and inbox are full of messages from recruiters about “an amazing job opportunity”.

 

• You have a collection of employee name badges from buildings across the country.

 

• You do not know how to write your resume since you have worked in at least 15 buildings in the past 4 years.

 

• “Tax home” has meaning to you.

 

• You know the pain of filing multi state taxes.

 

• You own an RV (or have seriously considered buying one).

• You hike for fun.

 

• You have taken a contract for at least one of the following reasons: the money, the weather or because you needed a job and it was there.

 

• You have mastered the phone interview.

 

• You know multiple EMRs and have strong opinions about them. Epic is your favorite. When you hear “Meditech,” you cringe.

 

• You are a pro at drug testing. You probably have had multiple tests in the last year.

 

• You suffer through multiple TB tests every year. (My highest was 4 in a year).

 

• By the time you learn your zip code and way to work without GPS it is time to move.

 

• Mail is a headache. You might have a virtual mailbox.

 

• Every possession that you care about can fit in your car.

 

• You have mastered finding an apartment on Furnished Finders, AirBnb, Zillows, and Facebook.

 

• You are sick and tired of your family and friends asking when you are going to settle down.

 

• Putting 25K+ miles on your car in 1 year is no big deal.

 

• You have suffered through the “travelers abuse” of getting a high caseload or the “bad” patients. However, that has likely helped to sharpen your skills and made you a better clinician.

 

• You do not want to start working with another agency purely because the new hire/on boarding process is a nightmare.

 

• You do not understand how your peers can work with only two weeks of vacation a year.

 

• Your birthday never gets on the calendar to celebrate at work, but it is okay because every 3 months your co-workers throw you a going away party/potluck.

 

• Despite the ups and downs you cannot imagine your life any other way.