I signed my first travel contract yesterday! After 7 months of going through all the motions, collecting paperwork, hours and hours on the phone with different agencies, regulatory bodies, immigration people, and 3 different license applications.... we finally crossed that line into Travel Nursing!
So why do I feel so stressed????
On Thursday I received a phone call from the unit manager at one of the hospitals I had applied to through Trusted Health. This phone call coming literally moments after I had taken myself onto my back step, to enjoy the warmth of the sun in the chilly winter air. To really just breath, relax, and be grateful. I took a few deep breaths, felt the sun hit my face, heard a few chickadees playing in the trees. I closed my eyes. "Everything is working out for me". A mantra I have on repeat, especially in times of stress or unexpected events. My phone rang. The caller ID read "Minnesota".
It had been 3 weeks since I had started applying with Trusted, and 4 days since I submitted myself to this particular job. I was starting to feel defeated. I asked the powers that be for "a little break....something to keep me positive". Funny how slow time goes when you are waiting for something totally out of your control. Apparently they heard me.
It had also been 2 weeks since the recruiter at AYA had submitted me to a position that I never had a chance of getting. She strung me along none the less. Stating that my application was still in the running, each day getting closer... "3 applicants still being reviewed and you are one of them" 2 applicants left".... until that same day, after having a great conversation with my new potential manager, she updated me that this particular hospital won't take nurses without a ssn. A pretty important tidbit since she knew I didn't have one yet. A question that should have been directed to the vendor before, or immediately after my submission. Not 2 weeks later after she told me straight up I was being considered. Considering most of my interactions with this particular individual seemed to leave a bad taste in my mouth, this was the last straw for me. There are far too many agencies and recruiters out there to stay loyal to someone you don't trust. I don't see myself working with this company anytime in the near future, but it's true what they say.... the recruiter is more important than the agency.
The hospital is located in Edina Minnesota, a place I had never heard of, but turns out to be only 15 min from downtown Minneapolis. The unit sounds amazing! Much smaller than where I am, and the babies are a bit more stable than the 23 weekers we sometimes see here. A tight knit group of staff who never leave, where they don't have a constant influx of travelers. In fact, I will be the first one in a couple of years. People tend to stay where they are happy, so this a good sign as far as I am concerned. And on top of all that, the manager sounds so nice, supportive, and I could easily see myself doing great here. She told me at the end of the call that she would reach out to my company and extend the offer!
I am not even joking when I tell you guys that it only took a couple of hours for me to start questioning my sanity. Did I really just get my first travel job? Maybe I misunderstood? Is this really happening? It just seemed too easy considering the amount of energy I had to invest before I was at this stage. Could the really hard stuff be over??
I messaged my nurse advocate at Trusted to fill her in, and within 24 hours they had recieved the offer and my contract was signed by the end of that day. I called the social security office in Minneapolis to see how to go about getting my SSN upon arrival. Another big step in my travel nurse journey.
Everything I have read online states you can go in with the required documents, apply in person, and that's it. The woman on the phone told me a different story however......
She stated that I could only go to the particular office that I was calling, that I would need an interview and that an appointment was required. The soonest available time was Jan 26!! That's no good. Not when I'm contracted to start work Dec 27.
I could feel my whole body tense up. After all of this effort, money and time invested, was this going to impact my ability to work??
Disappointment started to set in. Along with alot of other negative thoughts. I felt...trapped, defeated, but not hopeless.
I immediately emailed my soon to be manager to let her know the situation and to inquire if I would be able to work while waiting for that number, and tried to keep the faith. Meanwhile scouring the internet to find out what the actual requirements are. So it turns out there is a 90 day grace period for new US employees, but I believe ultimately it's up to HR. She replied and told me she would reach out to them and her recruiter person.
It was about an hour after that email went out that Trusted recieved the offer, and that came from the hospitals recruiter person, so I assume that I have the ok as far as HR is concerned, otherwise I don't think they would have sent that offer. However, I still haven't heard back from the unit manager, so this is still a big question mark, a big, heavy one with alot of things riding on the answer. Send good vibes please
On top of that, I received my onboarding instructions from Trusted, and among all the timed competency exams, the health documents, the covid questionnaires, I am asked to provide a SSN.
I have been working with trusted every step along the way to be able to work with them as a Canadian. Nothing is really formatted for us on their site, but I love the values, the staff, the model.....so I kept with it, and they kept supporting me, making little adjustments, submitting me manually for jobs, responding with happy emojis and patience every single time......so I am cautiously optimistic that they will continue with this super supportive model, and allow me to provide my SSN as soon as I get it.
The other little bump is getting my AHA BLS. As I've previously told you guys, it's impossible to get this certification in Canada. I reccomend anyone looking into travel nursing , to book your required certs on your next trip to the US so you aren't in the same boat as me. I completed part of it online and am booked for my in person skills session for the week I arrive. Luckily my onboarding docs are not due until a few days after I arrive, and I'm already booked in to the skills session for it.
I will be anxiously awaiting confirmation from my potential new manager, as well as from Trusted health regarding the SSN situation. I'm currently 50 percent ridiculously excited, and 50 percent cautiously optimistic. Should be an interesting week! Never in my life have looked forward to Monday so many weeks in a row.
Xo
Alana
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