1. Fill out your W-4 correctly.
Even though you may be working outside your state of residency, you may still be obligated to pay state tax in your working and primary state.  Some states have reciprocal agreements with each other and some do not.  The safest approach is to speak with your tax advisor ahead of time.  If you find yourself in a state that does not have an agreement with your home state, he or she may advise you to withhold additional monies for each state, so you are covered come April. 

2.  Track your expenses.
This is an absolute must. Rest assured if the IRS audits your file, they would need documentation of the expenses, when they occurred, and where they occurred.  So, keep your receipts as proof of payment.  Here are some means to achieve that:

• Keep a folder for each assignment and place ALL your receipts in there. Your tax preparer can go through them and let you know what you can and cannot deduct.
• Use a single credit card dedicated solely for expenses on your assignments. You will then have one place you can access all your expenses. Online statements are a click away and you can go back quickly and view a long amount of time and transactions.  
• Keep track using a spreadsheet.  This method requires some time for input, but can be an effective way of tracking all your expenses. Again, keep your receipts; a simple spreadsheet is not documentation of expense, just a helpful tool for organization. 

3. Enjoy your deductions.
As a travel nurse, there are many. That’s the great news. Cell phones, excess mileage costs that exceed what your company reimburses you, uniforms, license fees, and many more may be deductible.  

Although the above are absolutely great strategies to prepare for the tax season, there is one important piecing that ties this altogether, a CPA.  Unless you are a traveling CPA (and yes they do exist), have your taxes prepared by a professional.  We’re not talking turbo tax or another online service. Although those are great tools for lots of people, your situation is not common. Try to find a CPA that has experience working with traveling contractors. The difference may amaze you.

For a few more helpful tax sites, click here. Good luck and happy tax season!

•  Nursing – East Branch devoted time to help the Salvation Army with Toyland, a program to assist qualified parents in selecting toys for their children for Christmas. The team split into two groups and served as personal shoppers for the parents, helping them pick out the perfect gift for each of their children.

• 

  Serving dinner for the Common Table Outreach Program.

  Nursing – California and Southwest Branches combined forces to provide Christmas dinner and act as hospitality volunteers for families through Common Table on December 19. They provided meals for over 125 people. As hospitality volunteers, they welcomed the guests and spent time talking with them during and after the meal. Common Table is an outreach program that supplies a meal for the impoverished and homeless people of Omaha. 

•  Nursing – Mountain West and Central Branches joined together to sort, box and shelve food for the Food Bank for the Heartland. Each of the 15 people from the two branches donated 2.5 hours of their time. Erin Anderson, Central branch manager, said, “Everyone really enjoyed being able to give back.”
• Various Medical (Nursing & Allied) employees stepped in to help when an email was received about a family in need. Five children had been removed from their mother’s care and placed with their 24-year old aunt. Social services informed the aunt that if she could not find appropriate sleeping arrangements for the kids they would be placed in separate foster homes. Employees started organizing how to get them bunk beds as well as donated toys, clothes, and gift cards for the family. The family wanted to pass along how extremely appreciative of everything they were.

One option you might have is to request the time off prior to starting your assignment. Now not every facility will agree to this, but it depends mostly on your approach.

Let’s say you were offered an assignment starting in mid-January. You might be able to say, “Yes, I would like to accept the contract, but I have already planned time off to spend with my family in early February.” It would then be the facility’s job to decide whether or not this was a deal breaker.

Now if you do take this approach, be aware that some facilities will not go for this and might even rescind an offer. However, if it is approached right, it’s rare that you will encounter problems.

The best time to mention that you need specific time off is in the interview before the hospital makes an offer. This way, you can often feel them out about the possibility of having that time off. If you mention it and their response is “that’s no problem at all”, then you are good. If you mention it and they hesitate and say something like, “I don’t know if that would be possible”, then you have to decide how important it is to you.

If you do have an agreement with regard to any time off, always have it written into your contract.

Another option to allow for time off on a holiday is to work a half shift with someone (if the facility permits this). One person will cover from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and then go home to spend the holiday with their family, while the other person comes in to cover from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Shifts that are “halved” like this often need to be approved by the manager or staffing office, so plan ahead.

Make sure to speak with your Account Manager if you should have any questions or concerns about requesting time off.

1. Make them realistic. It can be difficult to stick with a resolution if it is something that is very hard to accomplish.  Make sure to keep it reasonable and don’t set too many resolutions at the same time.  No matter how simple it is, if it betters you as a person it’s a step in the right direction.

2.  Write it down. Putting it on paper makes it official and gives you something to look at as a reminder.  Put it on your mirror to look at when you get ready in the morning and at night.  You can also write down a plan of action if it is going to take steps to accomplish.  This will make it easier to follow on a day to day basis.

3. Include your friends and family for encouragement. Make sure to let people know what you are trying to accomplish so they can support and encourage you along the way, it’s a great way to keep yourself accountable.  You can also set a team resolution by including family or friends to do it with so you can support each other.

4. Set goals and reward yourself during the year. Just saying you want to do something for the entire year can be daunting. Try to set goals throughout the year and decide on what you can do to reward yourself along the way.  Shorter term goals may be easier to accomplish and it will be more fun!

5. Don’t let a minor setback derail your resolution. Give yourself a break.  Resolutions can be difficult because you are trying to do something you have previously failed to do.  If you happen to have slip ups along the way don’t let that ruin your resolution.  It’s never too late to start over or begin again anytime during the year.

1.  Turkey – If you stick to white meat and peel the skin off, you’ll save hundreds of calories.

2.  Sweet potatoes – If roasted, sweet potatoes provide fiber, vitamin A, potassium and phytochemicals.

3.  Cranberries – Cranberries are loaded with disease-fighting antioxidants. Their fiber content also helps lower bad cholesterol levels.

4.  Stuffing – While stuffing is generally one of the most fattening dishes, a few changes to the ingredients can make a big difference.  Pack the stuffing with nuts, dried fruits, carrots and celery, and you’ll benefit from fiber and a range of vitamins.

5.  Collard greens – Collards are ultra-healthy except when sabotaged by greasy fat sources.  If you prepare these leafy greens in a steamer, you’ll leave out the unnecessary calories and gain a ton of vitamins and antioxidants. 

Add any of these items to your shopping list and you’ll spend more time with friends and family and less time sleeping on the couch! Happy eating!

What do bed bugs look like?
An adult bed bug is reddish brown, wingless, oval in shape, and about ¼ inch long. Some confuse them with ticks, but ticks have 8 legs and bed bugs have 6 legs.

Where do you look to see if you have bed bugs?
They do not live on people or animals. They do live in cracks, bedding, and voids near where people sleep or lie down (including headboards, seat cushions, and light switches). Pull up the corner of your bed mattress and look for live bugs, dark spots, or tiny whitish eggs.

How do bed bugs get into a home?
They can hitchhike or lay eggs in luggage, furniture, or any item that spent time in an infested room.

How do I prevent bed bugs?

• Anytime you check into a new hotel room, rent an apartment or house, or stay somewhere new, survey the room for infestation. It is not a sanitary issue – they can be found in upscale resorts or one star motels.
• Lift the mattress, box springs, any furniture where you will be resting, and upholstery to check for bugs.
• Pull your headboard away from the wall, especially if the headboard is made of wood.
• Elevate your luggage. Keep items off the floor. Make sure to inspect the hotel’s luggage rack – a metal rack is preferable to a wood rack. Pull the rack away from the wall.
• Check your luggage when packing and then again when unpacking at your next destination. Do this before bringing your luggage into your bedroom!

What do I do if I suspect I have bed bugs?
If you are on assignment, make sure to contact the building’s facility manager as well as your Account Manager right away. They can work with a professional to treat the infestation.

• Make a list of meals and shop according to what you need.  As a traveler, you are most likely cooking for yourself, maybe one or two others.  So if you are buying items such as meat in bulk, make sure to separate them into portion sizes.  Leave out what you need for the next 2-3 days in the refrigerator and freeze the rest. 
• Prep vegetables by washing, cutting and storing them in plastic storage containers or bags.  By having the vegetables ready to go, you’re reducing the amount of time needed to prep before cooking.  Besides, having fresh vegetables around is a great alternative to snacking. 
• Wash, clean and store lettuce in a tight storage container.  This will make salads easier and quicker to make.  Keep various toppings such as raisins, dried fruit, nuts and different veggies handy so that each salad can be made differently to fight boredom. 
• Think about cooking in bulk during the weekend.  I will make low-fat lasagna (with whole wheat noodles, lean ground meat, marinara, mozzarella and low fat cottage cheese) then cut it into portions to freeze.   Pack them away for lunch or take out what you need for a quick “microwaveable” meal.  You can also grill chicken breasts ahead of time and freeze those in portions or put them in the fridge to use for various meals such as salads, fajitas, or wraps. 
• Buy salad dressings such as vinaigrettes or Italian and use them as a quick marinade.  Simply put your chosen meat into a freezer bag, pour in dressing till it’s covered, seal and place in the fridge.  You can do this in the morning and when you come home, it’s ready to be put in a baking dish, grill or skillet.  Dry salad dressing mixes are great too!  Roll chicken breast in a dry ranch mix and then grill.  Slice thinly and put on top of a bed of greens with tomatoes, olives and bleu cheese. 
• Invest in a crock pot which can be easily packed and taken with you to each assignment.  While you are at work, you can put in a beef roast, chicken, or turkey breasts. Pour marinades, soup mixes, or your favorite sauce on top.  Add your favorite root vegetables and cook on low all day. 
• Keep fruit readily available for easy snacks. Make your own trail mix for a quick energy pick me up during the day.  Stick with raw, natural almonds but add dried cranberries or raisins for added sweetness.  Peanut butter chips add some fun as well as protein.
• Buy frozen vegetables that can be steamed in the microwave.  They are usually inexpensive and with some creativity, can be a meal in itself.  For a quick dinner, try pairing tuna with the steamed vegetables. Start by turning on the skillet and adding 1T of olive oil.  Throw the veggies in the microwave (follow the directions but usually five minutes).  While they are cooking, add a tuna steak to the pan and let it sear for 1-2 minutes on each side.  Take it out of the skillet, slice thinly and lay it on the steamed vegetables.  Drizzle low sodium soy-sauce over it and season to taste.  Simple and quick!

Eating healthy doesn’t require as much time in the kitchen as you think.  Be creative and have some fun with it.  I would love to hear your quick and easy tips or recipes so please share in the comments section.

Sun Hui (Sunny) Snook graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from Truman State University and received a Master’s in Human Services from Bellevue University. She has been in the healthcare staffing field for 11 years, first working with nurses before moving to a nationwide work strategies consultant where her key responsibilities were to coach staffers and hospital managers on effective staffing. In 2009, Sunny started with Aureus Medical as an Account Manager in the Rehab Therapy division, working with both clients and prospective employees. Most recently, she moved to Student Outreach Coordinator. Prior to working in healthcare staffing, she served as an addictions therapist and residential treatment coordinator for five years.

Sunny Snook / 800.456.5857 ext 6578 / ssnook@aureusmedical.com / Facebook / LinkedIn