The First Assignment - Hampton, Virginia

Boom! At the end of our last post, we talked about our journey accepting our first travel contract assignment. This post will be the trail guide on everything about the process from accepting our assignment to arriving at our contract destination for Day 1. In our opinion, this was the most “stressful” period. The period between acceptance of our contracts to the starting date. We hope this trail guide brings a mere-exposure effect for you when you begin your first travel assignment!

Accepting that First Travel Assignment

We actually accepted positions at the same hospital based outpatient clinic in Hampton, Virginia. A combination of being new graduates and the clinic never employing travelers before, we all mutually agreed that being in the same clinic would be the best option for all parties. We were comfortable working together for the first assignment because 1) we could discuss clinical management and interventions together, 2) we could help each other with the EHR system, and 3) it would give us answers if we could work at the same location if needed later in our careers.

Once accepting the positions, our recruiter and their team sent over a few emails with documents that needed to be signed within 24 hours. These included the contract agreement details and a tax home verification so we could get the lucrative tax-free stipends. On top of this, they sent a laundry list of action items we needed to complete from drug screenings and background checks to sending healthcare documents and payroll information. Also, do not forget that you need to find and secure housing for yourselves! Yes, your travel company can assist you with living arrangements, but that may mean less of that lucrative tax-free stipend in your paycheck. Thinking of all the things we needed to do has me sweating right now! We had 20 days to complete all the requirements before our start date and with a 4-day Las Vegas trip smacked right into the middle of this. 

Creating a List

We are both friends of creating a “to-do list” in order for us to see priorities and making sure they are completed and not missed. I love creating a game plan to be overly prepared than to be under-prepared. We recommend you create one yourself to have everything needed to be completed in one place. It can be stressful thinking of everything you need to do, in turn that stress may delay you from completing items, then making you more stressed and rushed. Also, it is quite satisfying crossing things off your list!

We first completed everything that needed to be completed within 24 hours obviously, and then where do you start? First, we started with items that would need a middle person/entity or 3rd party to complete items for us. This included the background checks that needed to be completed by a 3rd party online, registering for our drug screens and physicals to be completed, and attending a Basic Life Support class in-person (because ours was expiring during the contract and needed to be updated). We highly recommend registering and/or completing items that require a 3rd party service first, just in-case things are rescheduled, canceled, or having to wait on others. Since we had our Vegas trip, we completed the BLS course 15 hours before we flew to Vegas, baby!

Secondly, we completed the action items that we could submit immediately since we had them readily accessible. These included things like health records, SS cards, drivers license, diplomas, etc.

Lastly, finding housing that is suitable for you and your budget. Some things we considered were how big the space was, laundry, parking, safety, distance and travel time to the clinic site, places to grocery shop, and most importantly, gyms! We used a variety of sources when looking for housing, such as AirBnB, VRBO, Furnished Finders, and real estate companies that offered short term housing in the area. This assignment we used AirBnB with a travel hack. We found a little AirBnB apartment on the Chesapeake Bay. We contacted them to negotiate their price because those AirBnB fees add up quickly. The little AirBnB apartment was managed by a real estate company that agreed to send us a contract privately through them in order to avoid the AirBnB fees! We pretty much searched for housing during waiting periods or when we were relaxing.

Overview of List

1. Complete items needing immediate attention

2. Register and/or complete items needing a 3rd party entity

3. Send Documents that you have readily accessible

4. Search for housing between everything

Arriving at your New Home for the Next 3+ Months

Our recruiter and their team was a big help for us. They always responded promptly to answering our questions and making sure everything was A-OK when completing our required items so we could successfully start on time. Always reach out to your recruiter if you have any questions about submitting your documents, even if you are slightly unsure about something, reach out and they will be happy to help.

Once everything was completed, we were ready to make the trip up to Virginia from Florida. We both were going to drive our vehicles to Virginia. Alyssa just bought a brand new VW Jetta a few days prior to our trip. We recommend that you arrive at your housing location at least 2 days before you start your assignment. We say this to make sure you are comfortable and happy with your living arrangements for the next 3+ months. If you are not happy with where you are staying, it may be a miserable travel experience and make you quit early or never wanti to do another assignment. Pictures online may tell a whole different story and vibe than what it actually is. We’ve read some horror stories of travelers at some unclean and sketchy locations, creating a bitter experience. Truthfully, when we arrived at our apartment, it was not that clean so we asked them to come clean it again for us while we went out for a few small things to make the space feel more comfortable for us.

Another reason we always recommend arriving at least 2 days before your assignment is so you can check out the area where you will be working to create that familiarity of the drive and what to expect. Finding a grocery store to shop at (we love meal prepping our lunches and dinners!) Also, finding a gym and starting a membership (we love those early morning pump sessions before work!). We actually found out that the building we were working at for this 1st assignment had a YMCA inside the same building that made it even more perfect for us.

Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions!

Best,

ATB & AJS