Where To Next?

My husband is a medical traveler.  He fills in at hospitals all over the United States that are short-staffed. Contracts typically start at 13 weeks long, but sometimes they can get extended for up to a year.

It's a very different life. It's a little like a substitute teacher, only with a temporary relocation. Sometimes, those locations are amazing, and sometimes, not so much, but it is always interesting. I have discovered so much beauty in areas of the United States that some people might think they would never want to visit.  We have also been fortunate to get some great locations, so I have no complaints!

Everything is backward for us; we never really "go on vacation." Our life is like being on a permanent vacation, at least on the weekends. If only work didn't keep getting in the way, it would be the perfect life! That's probably called retirement! LOL 

A vacation for us is going home to see family. It also includes unpacking and repacking, lots of shuffling of belongings in preparation for the next assignment, doctor's visits, and good food.  I'm Italian, so you can't forget the food! Also, toss in working an odd job or two and, in a couple of very rare instances, a lot of praying that the next assignment will come through soon.  While it is always great to see the family, our "vacations" are a bit stressful and aren't as much fun as the ones I remember taking so long ago. Quite frankly, it's always complete chaos!

There is only one thing I can count on with every trip home. It hasn't changed in our 11+ years of traveling.  I call it THE QUESTION.  The question normally shows up right after the obligatory hug and kiss from any family member or friend we haven't seen for a bit. It sounds so innocent, "So, where to next?" but for a traveler, it's a "deer in headlights" moment!

We seldom know where we are headed before a contract ends, and it's not unusual to be home for a week and still not know the answer. The hunt for a new assignment normally starts about two weeks before the current assignment ends. That's typically how far in advance a hospital knows they have a need. If you plan to take a week or two off between assignments, like we like to do, job openings for those dates may not even start posting until the last day of the current contract. 

When we were so new to traveling, and our first travel assignment was finishing up, I wrote this cute little story to tell my friends where we were headed next. Two things are very obvious: I didn't understand the process myself, and it was and still is a very stressful time.

A month before we left Montana, a job opening came up for Maui.  We were very excited and asked to be put in for it.  Paul's recruiter told him, "There's no way you will get that job. Six companies are fighting over it; each has at least ten applications submitted. You haven't been on the job long enough for the needed experience."

Those were pretty strong words but very true. At the time, Paul was only 18 months out of school and was completing his first four-month assignment. Paul told him to put him in any way. We tried not to get our hopes up and were both downright sad. We quit talking about Maui and started looking for other interesting places to go.

Three weeks before we were set to leave Missoula, the travel company started forwarding all the job openings. For the first week, every job Paul put in for was taken. We put in for Nashville, Tennessee; it was taken. Kansas City, Kansas; gone. Another location between Nashville and Memphis never even received the okay to hire after they had notified the travel company. There weren't any good jobs left. I was panicked! Please remember that this was our first experience with the process. But, to be honest, it hasn't gotten any easier. I just don't panic as quickly now.

Finally, he put in for Bangor, Maine, and Syracuse, New York. We didn't hear anything for another week. When they finally responded, Bangor wanted at least two years of experience, and Syracuse was a government job in a bidding war. There was no way they would decide by the time we needed a job. By now, I'm frantic! In a week, we won't have a job, and we'll live in a box—translation: homeless!

Three days before we are due to leave Missoula, the recruiter calls. There's an opening in Muncie, Indiana; that's a sure deal. Paul agrees to take it. We aren't very excited; quite honestly, that's not one of the locations very high on any traveler's bucket list. A friend who had traveled for a while told us to always take the spots near home since we never knew how long it would take to get that close again. At only 6 hours from home, Muncie seemed like the thing to do.

Zach told Paul an interview would take place the next morning. Thursday morning came and went with no call.  Paul calls Zach mid-day. Zach said, "Don't worry; they wanted to call your references first. They'll call you later in the day. The contract is ready, and the interview is just a formality."

Paul's schedule is packed, and he doesn't even have time to take lunch. Therefore, the interview is pushed to Friday.

Late afternoon Thursday, Paul gets another phone call from Zach.

Zach: "You got a minute."
Paul:  "I can give you five max. I have a guy on the treadmill."
Zach: "You want to go to Maui?"
Paul:   Silence
Zach:  "Hey, man, you still there?"
Paul:   "YES!!"
Zach:  "Yes, you're still there, or yes, you want to go to Maui?"
Paul:   "Both!"

Zach said that Maui had filled the contract but discovered that the guy they hired didn't have the correct license while completing the paperwork. Paul was the fastest traveler they could get there with the proper credentials.

Paul had his interview that evening on the drive home from work. I didn't even know about it until he arrived home that night.

Friday at 6 am, the phone rings and wakes us up. We didn't catch it before it went to voice mail. It was Zach. Paul rolls over like he's returning to sleep, "I'll call him when I get up."

"Up...what do you mean...UP!" I could kill him! I know what this call is about! I'm wide awake, and there is NO WAY I'm going back to sleep!

At 6:05 a.m., the phone rings again. Paul answers this time; it's the recruiter for the Muncie job. "Muncie is ready to do an interview. Have you talked to Zach?"

Paul says, "No," and gets transferred to Zach.
Zach: "Maui wants you."

TOO BAD, MUNCIE, I'M GOING TO MAUI!!!

Here is the catch... We have to be on a plane in six days. Paul still has to finish his last day in Missoula; we must pack two cars, drive them over 1800 miles home, unpack, condense everything into two suitcases, and hop on a plane by next Thursday. And I thought I was stressed out before!

So, in the future, if you ask me THE QUESTION, I hope you'll understand a little better because sometimes I don't know where I'm going until I get there.

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