Surviving a Disappointing 13-Week Travel Contract

Let's face it. As someone who has been traveling 3 years as a dual MRI & X-ray technologist traveler, some contracts are not the vibe. Sometimes the hospital is not run well. Sometimes your coworkers are just plain rude and dislike their job which rubs off onto how they treat you. Sometimes the equipment is old and going backwards from newer equipment back to the dinosaur age is tough. Maybe you moved to a city you just don't fit into. Sometimes your expectations of what you were getting into was not clear and you find yourself bummed out by the fact that you are stuck in this place for 13 weeks. 

As someone who has dealt with this type of situation before, this blog post will go over: The challenges I faced, how I overcame these challenges, and some tips for avoiding disappointing contracts in the future.

Picking up your entire life and moving to a completely new city is already a lot. Now add into the mix that you are starting a new job at a hospital that is hurting for staff (for whatever reason that may be). As humans, we like to be in a routine. So, as you can imagine, with the travel life, your routine is completely thrown out of whack every time you move for a new contract. Adding that stress/uneasiness on top of a completely new job can be mentally challenging. 

Some challenges I have faced as a traveler: 

• Not having access to hospital programs (i.e. EPIC, PACS, etc.) within a reasonable amount of time - in turn, this does not allow me to be able to fully do my job without access to the online hospital information systems which is how we begin/end patients, how we know what protocol to scan, why the patient is here, etc. 
• Being given vague first day instructions - I'm not sure why this is such a big pet peeve of mine but I feel like I am coming into your hospital to help you and do a service... If you set me up for failure with vague, terribly detailed first day instructions then that makes me feel that the department may be falling apart and whomever sent the instructions from the hospital doesn't care about their staff. 
• As an MRI tech - this one bugs me - HAVING TO TAKE OUT MY NON-FERROUS JEWELRY. I will NOT put my patient in danger. I will not wear any non-ferrous jewelry while on duty at the hospital. 
• UNSAFE working conditions - what do I mean by that? Imagine a hospital/imaging facility that has no policies, no protocols, no procedures. Nothing is written down anywhere. It is a free for all. To some, this might sound nice... but consider this situation: So little policy/procedure that everything you learned in MRI school about safety is not followed, whatsoever, and there are no policies to say which way is right. So you end up arguing with your coworkers instead of the policies. Coworkers put patients in danger. This one weighs on you..... 
• RUDE COWORKERS - I feel like this is a given. This can be the sole reason that the hospital cannot keep staff. Because they have one bad egg in the department that they won't let go, and in turn, it causes all of the good staff to quit. When I say I have been in the front row seat of watching this happen. Trust me, the bad egg has to go. Enough said. 

How to overcome these challenges, or any that you may be experiencing 

1. Find joy outside of work - I know this can be challenging because you are on the road and you may not have a huge support system at your contract. But that is ok! Use this time to get to know yourself. Do things that make you happy - try out a new coffee shop, facetime a friend from home or family member that lifts you up, go for a walk at a park, hit up a local shop and grab something new, binge watch a new show. The point is to get your mind out of work mode and into 'life" mode. When we bring work home... we aren't truly "clocked out". So find a way to disconnect that works for you. 
2. Remember that your contract is only 13 weeks - I always tell other newbie travellers "you can do anything for 13 weeks." Truly, you can. Even the worst of the worst hospitals you can stick it out. Of course, there are some extreme exceptions like if you were being harassed or truly unsafe then PLEASE PLEASE contact your recruiter, explain your situation, and they should be on your side and help you find a solution. Beyond that, remind yourself how much more money you are making than your staff job or maybe there is one good coworker that you DO get alone with. Focus on that and get excited for your next contract when the time comes near. 
3. Find ways to be flexible - this one is relating to the situation where you have a rude or a lot of rude coworkers. Just find a way to blend in. Don't cause conflict. Become a chameleon. It will get you much further. 
4. Don't be afraid to speak up to your lead/manager about unsafe situations - I had to teach myself this one. I was working in a MRI department that had no superiors that were MRI techs. So the lack of knowledge was apparent. The support from management was lacking. Eventually I had to speak up about the severity of the situation. It was received, but in reality, this is beyond what I should be doing as a travel technologist..... Overall, just a reminder that you should speak up. Even if you feel like you don't have a voice or shouldn't because you "don't actually work for the hospital."

Some tips for avoiding disappointing contracts in the future: 

• Speak to the manager/lead/someone actually in your department! - I cannot stress this enough. My worst contracts were at places that I didn't speak to someone directly involved in the workflow of the department. So learn from my mistakes and speak to the lead or manager that actually is involved in the day to day of the department. Pick their brain in your interview - ask about equipment brands, expectations of you, confirm your shift, will you have to take call?, how many other technologists are there, what are the demographics of the other staff?, how many exams do they do a day? Have they ever had a traveler before? 
  *If you are an MRI tech - ask about safety! Ask things like "what is your MRI safety program like?" "Who is your MRSO, MRMD, MRSE?" If they don't have these titles, it may be important for you to ask about their MRI safety policies and procedures. Do they have blanket policies for implants? 
• Jobs that you see posted all the time, throughout the year, may not be the best place to work. If they have THAT high of turnover, or maybe they just have THAT high of volumes, you need to consider how that may affect you. Trust me, you can get some pretty cushy assignments and those repeat hospitals are not that. 
• Don't just look at the big cities that everyone has heard of - Think "New York, Washington D.C., Boston, Massachusetts, etc." I have actually fallen more in love with the smaller, more niche contracts that I did with the ones in big, well known cities. Of course, if you are set on seeing and living in a certain big city, by all means, go for it. But just because you don't know anything about "Louisville, Kentucky" doesn't mean it won't be the most fun contract you have had in a while! Trust your gut on these. 
• Make realistic guesses on how much housing will cost. Can you afford to pay that much? - This is a big one, especially if you are travelling with pets, sometimes that can make your options even more limited. You might find yourself paying an arm and leg for housing and not being able to save much of your travel money. A risk you may be willing to take if it is truly in a city you just want to live in and experience. But if you are going to a contract to make money and save money, then you need to be realistic about the price of rentals and security deposits to make sure it is all aligning. 

I hope this can help at least one person avoid some of the mistakes that I have learned along the way. 

#beRAD