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Alison Hruska,Clinical One Nurse Recruiter shares her knowledge and advice for making life on the road a bit easier and a bit more adventurous!
Packing for your Travel Assignment
After you’ve accepted your first travel assignment you’re going to have to decide what to bring. If you are renting an apartment through your travel agency, then the main furniture items – such as a sofa, dining room table and chairs, bed, etc. – will already be there waiting for you upon your arrival. I’m sure you’ve already laid out the necessities such as bed linens, towels, pots and pans, dishes, and silverware, but there are a few items that are often left at home and dearly missed by travelers. Here are a few things that you should consider bringing to make your move in quick and easy, and more importantly to make your home away from home feel a little bit more like “home.” Be sure to check with your travel agency to see if upgraded furniture packages are available to help take care of some of these things that you may not want to pack and bring along.
- Shower Curtain – This is the #1 thing travelers forget to pack!
- Toiletries – if you arrive at your new assignment late at night, you may be too tired to run out for toilet paper or toothpaste so be sure to have a few of these items with you!
- Ice trays
- Toaster
- Coffee pot
- Trash can
- Can opener/bottle opener
- Iron and ironing board
- Hangers
- Extension cords and a power strip
- Handy kits – Sewing kit, first aid kit, and travel size tool kit
- Alarm clock
- TV
- DVD player
- Vacuum
- Small oscillating fan/space heater
- Copies of important documents – licenses, degrees, certifications, medical records, tax papers, etc.
- Assignment paperwork and First Day information
- Extra memory card for you camera…and your camera cord to upload pictures and keep your camera charged!
- Comfort objects – photographs, books, collectibles, movies, a favorite stuffed animal, etc.
- Address book with important phone numbers…just in case you loose your cell phone
- Ice scraper for cold climate locations and a sun shade for warm climate locations
Alison Hruska is a Travel Nurse Recruiter with Clinical One. Visit Clinical One at www.clinicalone.com for the hottest travel nursing jobs.
Comments
Date Posted: Aug 16, 2010 at 1:31 PM
Check with your recruiter regarding the TV. I have traveled primarily with American Mobile and am now with Travel Nurse Across America. Neither provide the tv with the basic furniture package. You can have one added for an extra monthly fee. And if you are in an extended stay hotel or a vacation rental, they are usually there. I have a 20" flat screen tv that I travel with. It is lightweight and easy to pack in and out of apartments. Beats the old tube style which I used to travel with!
Date Posted: Aug 15, 2010 at 2:41 PM
I have been traveling for 11+ years now and have cut down a lot on the stuff I bring with me. Dishes and pots and pans have made the cut out list! I buy an inexpensive set of each at Big Lots, thrift stores or Wal Mart and then donate them to Goodwill at the end of the assignment. That way I don't have to deal with packing them and I get the tax write off for the charitable donation. I bring my iron, but find an ironing board at a local thrift store. Garage sales are also a good option for that kind of stuff, plus it helps you to get to know your way around a new area. For bakeware, just stick to foil pans which are really inexpensive in dollar stores and the disposable plastic containers are great for food storage. You can also find very inexpensive mixing bowls in dollar stores.
Date Posted: Aug 15, 2010 at 1:24 PM
Lately I've found that by the time I get to my apartment on assignment, I'm tired, hungry, and in an apt that's bare-bones empty. When I pack, I put a roll of TP (they don't usually come with any!) and some kind of food on the top of my box marked kitchen. Hormel has a line of "Compleats" that doesn't need to be refrigerated - just remove the lid and microwave ... even a mediocre meal like that is delicious, and takes some of the stress out of settling in.