By Christina Verduchi, Senior Recruiter
HEALTHCAREseeker.com
So, you’re looking for your next travel assignment and right now, your prospects aren’t exactly what you’ve been wishing for. You want big cities but there are only little towns you’ve never heard of. You want exciting New York City with all its glitz, but you’re being offered a job in the middle of nowhere… or so you think.
I’ve been a Healthcare Recruiter for the past 7 years and I can’t tell you how many times I have heard the sentence, “I absolutely DO NOT WANT (fill in any town/state name here).” But, what do you really know about that assignment or town when you say this? Have you done any research? The key to having the most memorable and rewarding travel assignment is to DO YOUR RESEARCH.
The first thing I tell my travelers to do, when researching an assignment, is pretty basic: Investigate. Do Google searches on the hospital to see what comes up. Go to the facility’s website and look under “Services” to see information about the various units they have. Some facilities have great information in this section and some don’t. Continue your search by typing the facility’s name in the “News” portion of Google to see what the hospital has been in the news for. You can also go to OnlineNewspapers.com to find the local news in any town. You can also go to the American Hospital Directory and click on Free Services to find out the number of beds and types of services each facility offers.
Now it’s time to start looking at the town you may work in. Do a Google search using just the town and state or you can add “Chamber of Commerce” which will give you great information and photos. You’ll find the police/fire/safety information and you’ll also find contacts for restaurants, hotels, parks and recreation. Not sure how safe an area is? Want to stay away from the “bad” part of town? Call the chamber of commerce or the local police and ask.
Now that you’ve done some preliminary research and the town seems like it is livable, it’s time for the fun part: find things to do in the area. Aside from the usual CitySearch, Discover America has an activity finder where you can check the box of the activities that interest you, the time of year you will be traveling, and the region in which you will be traveling to. After you have made your selections, detailed results will pop up right away! If using TripCart, simply type in your destination and a region, to find all of the area’s top attractions. Festivals.com is a website that lists festivals around the world! Also, if you are planning on driving to your assignment, don’t forget that the journey is sometimes more exciting than the destination!
There are some great websites out there that will help you map out a scenic route like: RoadTripUSA or RandMcNally. “Scenic drive” software can also be downloaded to your GPS system such as: the MAD Maps series from Garmin here. During the journey, why not stop off and check out some local tourist attractions. RoadSideAmerica is a guide to some unique (and odd) locations and sites. Want to sample the local eateries? Research first on RoadFood.com , this website has everything from pictures to user reviews.
If you are traveling by RV, ECampSite.com and KOA are must visit sites to help you find campsites along the way, as well as at your assignment location. No RV? You’ll need a hotel. Hotels.com and Trip Advisor are great sites to help get a perfect night’s sleep and they both contain user reviews instead of the typical star rating. Traveling with a four-legged friend? Check out Dogfriendly.com for links to pet friendly hotels worldwide.
Although you might not be traveling to your desired location, there are helpful websites and tools to make the journey an enjoyable one. Before you decide whether Boise, Idaho is the place for you, DO YOUR RESEARCH and try to remain open-minded about different areas across the country. HEALTHCAREseeker.com is committed to giving you a rewarding travel experience, so use your resources and be brave. Life is about the adventure! |
