Top Traveler Offers Advice for Keeping Your Enthusiasm
By Megan M. Krischke, contributor
January 23, 2012 -- Desiree McCracken, RN, BLS, ACLS, has an exuberance for travel nursing that shines through--so much so that her agency, Medical Express, an AMN Healthcare company, chose her to represent them in Healthcare Traveler’s annual search for the Top Travelers of the Year. She was honored, along with other travel nurses, in the magazine’s December 2011 issue.
In her nomination, McCracken’s recruitment manager, Beth Sease, described her as extremely committed to her assignments, with the flexibility and patience to handle any “hiccups” that might arise with grace and patience.
"I admire how passionate Desiree is about patient care, as demonstrated by her commitment and professionalism,” Sease wrote, adding, “I really value the relationship I have built with her over the last year. She is a daily reminder of what I love about my job."
McCracken finds many things to love about her job, as well.
“I don’t like staying in one place. I like meeting different people, hearing different viewpoints, learning different ways of doing things and seeing different places,” commented McCracken. “My husband and dog come along on all my assignments. We began traveling in 2007 and we pick out places we want to go and see. That is a great thing about traveling--if you want to go to D.C. and see the Smithsonian and all there is to see there, you have time to do it while you are on assignment.”
McCracken’s favorite assignment was in Lafayette, La., because she felt so embraced by the community. The food was also great, she noted.
“I have always enjoyed being wherever I am, for one reason or another,” she added.
Despite her enthusiasm, McCracken knows that nursing, and travel nursing, can be a tough job.
Although her warm personality gives one the impression she’s “never met a stranger,” McCracken reflected that perhaps the hardest part of being a traveler is to walk into a new assignment and face hundreds, if not thousands, of total strangers, and not be petrified.
“You need to have enough confidence in yourself and your skill set to walk in and say, ‘I can do this,’” she said.
She also said that getting lost can be a problem, claiming that for the first month she worked in a hospital spanning four city blocks she was unable to find the cafeteria.
When it comes to how she avoids “compassion fatigue,” a condition that can affect nurses and other caregivers over time, she gives much of the credit to her husband.
“We’ve been married almost as long as I’ve been a nurse. I talk to him and he keeps me grounded. And I love on my dog,” McCracken laughed. “I also find that contributing to things that are important to me, like volunteering at the animal shelter or making baby booties for the NICU, helps me renew. Also, a big hug can work wonders.”
“Dealing with compassion fatigue while traveling can be more of a challenge because when you are new to a place you don’t have a big friend-base of co-workers who can help you when patients or families are difficult. You have to handle that on your own at first until you establish a few good relationships,” she continued. “You have to take care of yourself in whatever way is best for you.”
McCracken advises travelers to take it a day at a time and remember that, even on a difficult assignment, “you can do anything for 13 weeks.”
“What keeps me excited about traveling is thinking about what we are going to do and see next. It is always an adventure for me, it’s not a job,” she effused.
Her love of learning also adds vibrancy to her work. After 20 years as an RN, McCracken is taking classes to become a clinical educator.
“Even just the few classes I’ve taken have made a difference in the way I approach my care,” she commented. “And that is another thing I love about traveling--getting to work in different hospitals and seeing the different approaches to care and what things are new and being developed. I’ve only been in my current assignment at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle for two weeks and, already, I’m so impressed with the care they give to their patients.”
“When I go in, I don’t feel like I am just going to work; I feel like I have the opportunity to really make a difference in the outcome of my patients.”
© 2011. AMN Healthcare, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
