Go Northwest young man! The drive from Tampa to Seattle

Day One:

10 am, Monday, January 28th, 2008, I begin my 3,500 mile trek from Tampa to Seattle. Armed with a full tank of gas, a trusty new GPS navigation device and high spirits, I took that proverbial first step forward! I had a general plan as to how far I would drive and where I would stop each day. I was detiremined to make this an enjoyable experience despite all the head shaking and looks of disbelief from family, friends and coworkers when I told them I had planned on driving to Seattle on my own. A few people even threw in some nightmare stories while others offered up some really useful advice. My little brother and his fiancee even made a special "roadtrip survival package" for me consisting of a can of my favorite nuts, jerky, gum (for after the jerky) and some chocolate. All of which were instrumental to making my trip that much more fun. I also had a nice road atlas that a friend was kind enough to give to me as a going away gift. This too came in very handy in planning out my stops each day.

So aside from all the things obvious things I packed into my car to take with me on my trip such as clothing, shoes, my computer, here's a list of items I was glad to have with me:

• Portable GPS device (Garmin Nuvi).


• Mini Atlas of the United States.


• Cell phone, complete with car charger, holder and hands free device.


• Cooler/mini fridge for the car (thanks mom!)


• Water, Soda, Red Bull (for when you need to stay awake).


• Snacks (also important for keeping awake!)


• Cash - atleast 100 bucks for emergencies (You never know!).


• Music CDs (I took my whole collection plus a special roadtrip mix my brother made for me).


• Extra warm jacket.

The plan for the day was simple: drive as far as I could until I got tired. Ideally I wanted to stop in New Orleans that night for some dinner and sightseeing. The traffic gods must have given me their blessings that day because I was able to do just that. Burbon Street was great! It was a week before mardi gras and already the streets were full of tourists. I walked around for an hour after my seafood sampler dinner consisting of fried crawfish shrimp, scallops and calamari. Much too much to have eaten all of it and quite honestly, it really wasn't that good. I regretted not walking a little further and eating at a hole in the wall just down the street. I bet they had GREAT food there!

On a side note, I believe I was scammed not 10 minutes after driving into New Orleans. I pulled into a garage where an "attendant" asked for the parking fee of 5 dollars. I handed him the money and in return he gave me a small slip paper that looked suspiciously like it had been photocopied. Warning bells started to go off in my head as I walked away from the garage. I decided to listen to that inner voice and turned back around to find another place to park. Something just didn't seem right. A few minutes and a new parking garage later I saw the same "attendant" walking the street. Turns out this was just some random guy waiting in the garage and taking people's money for payment. I lost 5 bucks but listening to my gut instinct probably saved me from a more expensive parking ticket or worse, getting towed in a strange city - with all my belongings in the car! I have to admit, what a great little scam! Good for a few bucks anyway. Lesson learned!

Once I had my fill of Bourbon Street, I headed back out on the road to find a place to sleep for the night and ended up calling it a day outside of Baton Rouge. My little Garmin Nuvi came in handy with finding nearby hotels - complete with telephone numbers. It wasn't long before I was tucked in comfortably in bed after a nice long hot shower. Next stop - San Antonio, Texas!

Travel nursing. Taking the plunge!

After weeks, maybe even months of contemplating a new career as a travelling RN, I finally decided to take the plunge. Everything started to happen very quickly once I committed myself to this new venture. There were forms to be signed and sent, phone calls to be made and a myriad of other little things to be done before I was finally ready for my first travel assignment to Seattle.

For those of you who are thinking about a travelling RN job, it's true that it IS very easy to get these jobs. However, you do need to allow yourself plenty of time to get all the necessary paperwork submitted and processed. It took me at least two months to get everything sorted out and finalized.

First and foremost, decide on which city you want to start with. I chose Seattle because I have several friends there and have lived in the city a few years back. I figured it would be wise to start this new lifestyle on familiar turf. I also decided to travel with a good friend who also wanted to start in Seattle. A win-win situation for both of us!

The purpose of this blog to record and share my experiences during my travels. I'll do my best to keep it up to date and hopefully offer some tips for nurses who are getting the itch to travel. Scratch on!

So a quick and dirty list for first timers:

• Choose your city.


• Choose a travel agency (preferably one that offers assignments to the city you've chosen).


• Make sure licenses and certs are up to date (BLS, ACLS, RN license etc... )


• Contact the Dept of Health for the state you want to work and apply for state licensure (most if not all states have online application forms).


• Make sure all health records are up to date (immunizations, PPD, etc...)


• Obtain a current physical and bill of health from your doctor or ARNP.


• Obtain letters of references from managers and peers if possible. (You might not need them but they sure come in handy when you do!)

As I mentioned earlier, it took me about two months to get everything finalized. The longest part of the process was waiting for licensure in the state of Washington. I sent my application in right before the Christmas so I imagined it was sitting under a pile of applications to be processed after the holidays. I didn't receive my license until a week before I left. In hindsight, I would have saved myself a few sleepless nights by allowing myself a little more cushion by sending it in a week or two earlier.

Choosing an agency that will work for you is another VERY important step. I was lucky to have a travelling partner who was on top of researching which companies offered the highest salaries and which ones had the best housing options and stipends. Equally important is word of mouth from nurses who have had experience with these agencies. We went with Cross Country Travel Corps because of the positive feedback we received from other RNs and not to mention, their competitive pay rate and excellent housing options!

Once I signed and faxed my forms, it was mostly a waiting game as the agency looked for positions at hospitals in the area we were interested in. There were certainly several to choose from, but we had our eyes set on Harborview Medical Center, the Northwest's premier level one trauma center and a teaching hospital to boot! - an environment we were both accustomed to at our current job at Tampa General Hospital. It was exciting to finally get a call from an ICU manager about two open positions. A job! The biggest piece of the puzzle had finally fallen into place. So there we were! Ready to take on a new adventure. Start date: February 5th 2008. I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive about leaving my current job and starting at a new, strange hospital. But what did I have to lose? I could do anything for three months! The pay was right, this was a chance to visit some good friends in a city that I enjoyed. I braced myself for a new adventure.

From Tampa to Seattle! Did I mention we were driving?