thetravelnurse.org

When you are a travel nurse, then you need to have a pretty good understanding of per diem rates and how they might lower your taxes. Many travel nurses believe that per diem is only a tax benefit that staffing agencies offer and yet, surprisingly, others do not. This misunderstanding about what per diem is and how it may affect your taxes is an important financial issue that you need to understand. How you report your per diem earnings could mean the difference in thousands of dollars in tax savings.

Whether you are looking to maximize deductions, reduce taxes, or increase your returns, travel nurses should take the time to learn as much as possible about the IRS per diem tax rules. Certainly, one way to learn is to go to the IRS home page and download publication 1542 and read the rules so that you have a working idea of what to expect by tax time next year. Another great resource, especially, now a days is to do your taxes yourself, if you have a personal computer or laptop. Turbo Tax is a great software program. Not only is it inexpensive and tax deductible itself, but it is very easy to work when you use the step-by-step wizard. You can walk through your entire tax return, and file it electronically. You can get your refund deposited directly into your checking account in a matter of days.

A couple of travel expenses to have a heads up about include:

• The travel nurse has a permanent tax home
• The travel nurse takes a temporary (less than 12 months) assignment away
  from their tax home

Any travel nurse meeting the requirements outlined by the IRS can claim deductions for certain travel expenses or receive tax free reimbursements and tax free per diem allowance payments. These tax benefits are one of the great perks of being a travel nurse.

Unfortunately, one of the most common tax mistakes that a travel nurse makes is not being educated or even aware of the tax advantages to per diem deductions. Now that you are are aware that savvy travel nurses are eligible for per diem deductions for every day that they are on temporary assignment away from their tax home, pass on the work to your co-workers, or email them this article so that they can bookmark this overview and take advantage of these tax benefits themselves.

It is important to be aware that some companies don’t pay per diem allowance, pay too little per diem, or only pay per diem as a function of hourly pay. You can learn what these scenarios mean for you personal tax situation by consulting with a tax advisor or researching the IRS rules. You deserve to to get every dollar of per diem related deductions that you are entitled to, and we hope that this article has help you.

Note: while much care has been taken to make this article accurate, tax rules do change. Please be sure that you are up-to-date on the latest IRS rules. This article is meant for informational purposes only and is not meant to replace the advice of a skilled tax advisor.

Learn more about Travel Nurse Deductions and Financial Issues at the Travel Nurse Employment Portal. Or, to find Travel Nurse Jobs that updated every two hours from around the web . . . let
us help you find your next travel nurse position.

Preparing a nursery and purchasing baby bedding is a thrilling time for all parents. A nursery is so colorful and putting your baby to sleep in their little crib is one of life’s little pleasures.

When shopping for your babies crib bedding, the most important thing to bear in mind is your baby’s safety. There are numerous cribs available for us and all with varying prices. Fortunately every new crib that is sold in the U.S. today, as to be certified by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), it will be a secure crib for your baby.

However, if you are looking to buy or have been given a used or antique crib, then you are going to have to check the crib’s safety guidelines to ensure that is meets present guidelines. The crib’s slats shouldn’t be further than 2 3/8 inches apart; this will help prevent your baby getting his head entangled between them.

Perhaps you have heard of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), this is where a baby under one year of age dies unexpectedly during sleep. However, there are some simple safety measures you can undertake to protect your baby. Firstly, always set your baby to sleep on their back and be certain to utilize a firm mattress. There shouldn’t be any soft bedding in the crib, no pillows, stuffed toys, quilts or comforters. Nothing that is soft and no loose bedding. Your baby’s crib should only have a bottom fitted sheet and this sheet should be tight. Always ensure that it is well tucked in, so there’s no loose fabric that your baby can pull at.

You will find that there are two kinds of mattresses available for your baby’s crib, foam and innerspring. Foam mattresses are economical and also lighter, which helps when you are changing the sheets. The higher the density of the foam mattress, the enhanced quality it will offer to your baby. Innerspring mattresses are more expensive than there foam counterparts but as a rule they do last longer. If you are shopping for an innerspring mattress, then you should look to obtain a mattress with a minimum of 150 coils inside.

The crib will be used by your baby until he/she is 2-3 years old. Ensure that it is stable and be certain that it meets the above regulations. Don’t let you’re baby sleep on a bed and don’t let you’re baby share your bed, it just isn’t safe for your baby.

We hope you find this guide helpful to you. However, before buying any bedding for your baby, we do urge you to do some research on SIDS and learn the facts.

Mark Gardner runs the website http://www.at-bedding.com/ an online resource for everything you need to know about beds and bedding.

Forensic nursing, just like regular nursing is divided up into several smaller specialties. Nurses wanting to get an education in forensics have the opportunity to pick one or more of these specialties that they prefer the most. Here are three of those smaller specialties:

Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner

This nurse responds to notification of sexual assault, usually by the emergency room staff and obtains a preliminary history, conducts an in-depth interview and conducts the physical, including a pelvic exam to collect appropriate evidence.

The nurse maintains a verified chain of evidence and collaborates with law enforcement officials, which may include testifying in court. The role includes victim education regarding sexually transmitted disease and pregnancy risks and provides referrals for follow-up care.

The first SANE programs started in the mid 1970’s but it wasn’t until the late 1980’s that the programs got a major growth spurt as they grew more rapidly in the 1990’s when localities started to see the benefits of what these SANE programs have to offer. And by 1996, there were approximately 70 programs in existence.

Death Investigator

A death investigator is the first person at the crime scene with a forensic background. They must have a knowledgeable background in forensics to be able to approximate the time of death.

For nurses that want to get into CSI, they can become crime seen and death investigators. Nurses make exceptional CSI’s because they know the terminology, techniques, and pick up on signs of medical problems with the victim. Picking up on pre-existing medical problems in victims are easily noticed by a nurse, that might not be so easily noticed by a

Forensic Nurse Investigator

These nurses go by different titles, such as deputy coroner, forensic nurse investigator, or death investigator. Nurses are highly regarded for their medical background, investigative abilities and record keeping/documentation skills that they bring.

There’s a lot of responsibility that comes with this career. If they do their job out of the coroner’s office, the usually work on a schedule in the office along with taking on call time. Responsibilities for the forensic nurse investigator include responding to the scene, collaborating with detectives, examining the body, taking blood and tissue samples, photographing the body at the scene as well as the scene itself, keeping good records and arranging for the body to be taken to the morgue for autopsy. The help with autopsies and work side by side with the forensic pathologist in collecting evidence.

These are just a few of the specialties that all have to do with forensic nursing. There are more specialties than the three that I’ve listed. There’s something for any nurse that wants a career in the forensic sciences.

Larry Ford is the webmaster of Forensic Nursing Zone, a website dedicated to the new specialty of forensic nursing. You can find it at http://www.forensicnursingzone.com/.

Nursing software for the PDA has helped streamline many tasks for the nurse. With so much nursing software available for the PDA, doctors, patients and even the student nurse can benefit greatly because of instant access to information vital to many areas of nursing.

Some nursing software PDA programs and their benefits are listed below.

Frye’s 3000 Nursing Bullets for NCLEX-RN

If you’ve ever been in love, you understand the metaphor. But did you know that there are actual physical, measurable indications of that truth?

In studies using electrocardiograms (again, from information provided by Joseph Chilton Pearce, with his permission) it has been shown that a mother and child, when separated, will have different heart rhythms and rates, but when brought to close proximity, their electrocardiograms will match.

It’s not limited to Mother and offspring. Other studies have been done that showed a person in emotional distress could go to a person for comfort and, while being held, their heart would fall into rate and rhythm with the person holding them. The affected person, taking the “energetic” lead from the comforting person, would calm down.

This is called “entrainment.” Entrain literally means, “To pull or draw along after itself.” Metaphorically, that is one way of describing what healers do: pull or draw along people in need through a challenge or crisis.

On an energetic level, using heart-consciousness is a powerful force. On its own, the heart projects a measurable electromagnetic field surrounding the body for a distance of twelve feet or more. This field is so powerful that in a study it was found you could literally do an electrocardiograph reading of heart activity from three feet away — without wires! Further studies have shown that some individuals have control of how intense the field is, or how far it can project.

I’m sure you can recall many a time when you’ve walked into a room and suddenly been “drawn to” a particular person or group of people because there was, literally, the feeling of an energetic pull, or attraction. Something in you was naturally attuned to something out there and you needed to be close to it.

This is not a one-sided relationship. Whether we are conscious of it or not, we are both sending AND receiving signals from our hearts back and forth to each other. Witness how you can sometimes be walking behind someone and you know they are “in a mood.” We know it’s there, because we do get it in glimpses. It’s just a matter of strengthening our abilities to actively use heart-consciousness in our lives.

As a paramedic, I was “tricked” into a state of heart-consciousness by compassion. I would find myself in the midst of an emergency and some facet of the circumstances and/or patient would strike me so personally that I united my own will to live with theirs. I attained a deep connection to the other’s experience on a very primal level.

In that state I found myself able to juggle what appears to be two different worlds. While riding the waves of the other person’s emotions - which, essentially are expressions of their life’s force - I would also be able to sort and assimilate physical data, and then make appropriate choices for emergency intervention.

In an emergency, the key to effectiveness is getting the patients into a state to where they can accept the treatment you’re offering. The more receptive the patient, the more effective will be your treatment. One way is to overcome the body’s natural responses (abject fear, for example) by administering medications.

Another way is to connect with the person and, using the moment-to-moment cues you get, move his or her attention off of themselves and on to you as a sort of focal point for their hope. From there, you build bridges that help bring the patient into a more favorable state for healing to begin. In that case, you actually become “partners” in the healing process.

When I was able to attain a connection like that, I had some amazing experiences. If I had to put them all in a blender, the conclusion would come out that a part of me would receive information from a part of them that would help, if not lead, me to take the most effective next step in their care.

I’ve come to the conclusion that our hearts were in communication and telling each (and both!) of our heads what to do next.

This has been my same experience while working in personal growth workshops and counseling. After having established a connection with the person I was with, I found myself reaching into my past experience and pulling out an obscure “happening” in my life as an example or illustration. We’re talking something like “It popped out of my mouth” more than something that I consciously searched for!

In those times, whatever I brought forth was so on target with the person’s next step toward transformation/healing we were both astounded! Out of moments like those, I, too, experienced a form of healing — to realize that every moment of my own life can find its place to heal others.

When you gain practice in getting in touch with the consciousness of your heart, you will be able to strengthen what I call the “muscles of choice” that have to do with projecting and receiving that energy. With more practice, you can read what comes to you from others much better, and use that to influence how and when the intelligent energy that is your heart expands and contracts, and who it affects and how.

In our last installment, we’ll discuss heart-consciousness and the healer.

Russ Reina shares over 35 years of experience in the healing arts through his web site http://mauihealingartist.com . It is a potent resource for those wishing to deepen their abilities in connection and develop their powers as healers. For a powerful free tool to explore your inner world, please check out his adjunct site http://thestoryofthis.net

(Permission is granted to reprint this article, unedited, provided proper attribution is made and the signature line — the above resource paragraph — is kept intact)

There are many advantages of earning a degree in nursing online. Those of you that are considering this opportunity really have the ability to take it to the level that you would like to. There are various types of nursing programs offered and available to you to get into. All you have to do is to decide which the right one for you is and then get started.

So, Why Do It?

Why should you attend nursing school on the web? The advantages of earning a degree in nursing online are many. Consider these examples.

-It means you attend school when you want to. No longer do you have to meet the strict guidelines of making that Monday morning, 8am class. Now, if you want to sleep later, you can and still get the class in when it works for your schedule.

-It allows you to find the best method for getting your degree not for everyone, but for you. If it is more important to you to get through your courses quickly and obtain your degree faster, you can. If you need to take is slower, this is available as well. You pick what works for your needs specifically.

-Often times, it is less expensive for just the same level of education. You can definitely save one the costs of room and board and there are many other ways to save too even in tuition. You do not have to spend a fortune to get your nursing degree.

There are many more advantages of earning a degree in nursing online as well. If you are unsure if this is the right method for you to take, then by all means, audit a class or why not take some time to check out the schools on the web. Most of the information that you need to see if this is the right method for you is available at your fingertips. It may just be the perfect opportunity for your success.

To learn more about earning a degree in nursing online, Amanda Jones recommends Nursing Degree Guide. Please see http://www.nursingdegreeguide.org/articles/online_nursing/how_to_earn_your_degree_in_nursing_online.php for more information.

A nurse in many cases holds a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN). The implications of an RN receiving an MSN go beyond patient care. Their education in leadership, research, and understanding the current political framework of the medical system allows an MSN to achieve greatness in the field of nursing.

Changing Course - RN to MSN

There are major differences between an RN and MSN. The education attained by an MSN opens the doors to learning the field of medicine that is similar to the work of a medical physician.

An MSN may choose one of many different nursing roles. They may be a Nurse Practitioner who diagnose and treat patients, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist who provide anesthetics to patients in collaboration with surgeons, dentists, or childbirth procedures. Next we have Certified Nurse Midwives who provides primary health care to women, prenatal care, labor and delivery care, care after birth, gynecological exams, and many other care taking procedures necessary for women’s health. Lastly, there is the Clinical Nurse Specialists who specialize in education, research, consulting, case management, and leadership.

National Implications of MSN

Managed care, Medicare, Medicaid, and hospital reimbursement issues are all realities of the current health care system. Many new nurses are unfamiliar with the national crisis occurring each day; a cloud of financial and political challenges that are within the medical system.

For an RN who seeks to make a difference in the current structure of our political system, they will be motivated to receive an MSN. An MSN degree offers the opportunity to deal with these issues head-on.

As medical costs continue to increase astronomically, the challenge is to cut costs wherever possible. Studies show that the U.S. could save up to $8.75 billion annually if MSN’s were used in place of physicians (Thomson Petersons). Advanced practicing nurses with MSN’s will be at the frontline to save money and treat patients, to diagnose and replace the role of the physician.

In addition, MSN nurses such as clinical nurse specialists, nurse practitioners, midwives, and anesthetists, are in high demand, for the medically under-served areas of both rural and urban settings to serve as lower-cost primary care providers (U.S. Department of Labor). In rural settings in particular, there may be fewer physicians available and the MSN will replace the duties of the absent physician unless the patient requires the use of hospital facilities or advanced medical care.

Education, Admission Requirements, and Salary

In order for an RN to achieve an MSN and become an advanced practice registered nurse, most programs require a masters program lasting approximately 2 years following the Bachelor of Science Nursing degree. Some programs require at least 1 to 2 years of clinical experience as an RN for admission. In 2004, there were 329 master’s programs for nurse practitioners, 218 for clinical nurse specialists, 92 for nurse anesthetists, and 45 for nurse midwives (U.S. Department of Labor). Many programs combine the BSN and MSN degree for the nurse to graduate with two degrees together.

The education includes both classroom learning and clinical requirements. Admissions usually require scores taken from the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or the Miller Analogies Test (MAT). In addition, college transcripts, letters of recommendation, and essays, are usually required.

MSN’s generally receive a higher salary than BSN’s and RN’s. The average salary for a RN/BSN is between $43,000 and $63,000. The average salary for a Nurse Practitioner, for instance, is approximately $66,000 and can go up to $90,000 if the nurse owns their own practice.

Conclusion

An RN who is becoming an MSN has much to ponder for the field they are about to enter. It is no longer about just becoming a practitioner. Many RN’s become outstanding clinicians; however the doors are open to make a difference in the current financial, political, and health care system. Their training is in leadership, research, clinical learning, and communication skills. This is a formula for success in the dynamic field of nursing.

By Michael V. Gruber, MPH is a contributing author to My Nursing Degree Online, providing articles and resources for nurses looking for continuing education online. With a Masters of Public Health and two years of medical school, Michael provides a unique perspective on the current nursing shortage crisis on the Nursing Career Blog as well as comprehensive articles about nurse education and advancement.

Find more information about RN to MSN Online programs and job openings at My Nursing Degree Online.

Going to the hospital can be a traumatic experience emotionally, financially, spiritually. How would you react if were told that you or a loved one had to go into the hospital? Now think, what you would do if you discovered that you had to go to a hospital in a large city miles away from home. Suddenly your life would be turned upside down. Who is going to take care of your family, business, home, pets? How are you going to pay for your trip, and where will you stay? See what I mean? Going to the hospital opens all kinds of doors with unanswered questions. From infections, to just getting to the hospital and back home are hurdles that need to be jumped and cleared if you want a successful hospital visit. One of the greatest weapons that you can arm yourself with to answer your questions and concerns is knowledge. Knowledge that will empower you to work with your health care provider to assure a positive hospital stay. Knowledge that will get you in and out of the hospital so that you can go on with your life. The following are tips that could make your hospital visit less stressful and safer for you and your family.

Choose the hospital that you are going to based on medical references, state inspections and statistics. The Internet can provide a wealth of information that may help in your decision process. If you are going for Heart related issues, then see how many heart related procedures are performed daily at that particular facility.

Discover how to protect yourself from hospital spread infections. You may not be aware of this danger, yet two million Americans will be affected this year alone. The sad fact is that 90,000 will die. Die from an infection that should have been prevented. Simple steps can save your life.

Take the first step on the road to having some say so in your health care. Realise that dangers do exist and learn how to recognise them and how they can be avoided. Act now before you have to go to the hospital.

For more information on how to prepare for and survive hospital visits go to http://www.goingtothehospital.com

Thanks, Wayne Clark

My name is Wayne Clark and the information I provide is based on experience. Multiple hospital stays along with specific training has given me insight that I hope to share with you. Tips that can make your hospital visit safer and more successful. You will have enough stress as it is, so I hope to provide some relief that will reduce your concerns. Awareness is the key, Action is the force that will protect you and your family. Discover how to recognise danger signs, who to talk to for financial support, hospital security and other areas of concern that you may have not considered. At http://www.goingtothehospital.com many of your questions will be answered.

Do you have your nursing degree and are ready to take the medical industry by storm? Are you an experienced nurse looking for an exciting new challenge? Regardless of the level of your nursing experience, looking for a new job can be a time-consuming and frequently frustrating process. A big part of the job search process is knowing where to look for nursing positions.

The following tips and tricks are designed to take some of the headache out of your search, by giving you some guidelines on steps you can take to land your ideal nursing position.

1. Visit the recruiting departments of local hospitals, medical centers, and doctor’s offices to inquire about available positions. If there are no current vacancies, ask if you can submit your resume to remain on file should future openings match what you are seeking.

2. Contact recruitment and contract employment agencies. Aligning yourself with a recruiter can give you access to jobs that are often not advertised to the public. The great thing about recruiting agencies is that allow you to “apply” for positions at multiple companies simultaneously with a single resume submittal, since most recruiters will shop your resume around to all of the available openings.

3. Use the internet to your advantage. Searching for “nurse” or “nursing” on major job boards such as Monster.com and Hotjobs.com will unearth hundreds of available openings - just be aware that competition for these positions is stiff since hundreds of other nurses are looking at and applying for the exact same jobs.

4. Don’t be adverse to accepting a contract or “training” position. This are often a great way to get you foot in the door in the medical profession. It also gives you a chance to evaluate an organization and department to ensure it is a match before fully committing yourself to a long-term full-time position.

5. Colleges and universities that offer nursing degrees often have a database of available positions in the school’s Career Center. Career Center advisors are also excellent sources of information on how to network in the industry and get your foot in the door. Many schools limit Career Center resource access to current students or alumni, though, so you may be limited to your Alma Matar.

6. Network, network, network! Let friends, family, and casual acquaintances know that you are on the market for a new position. Since most companies are much more willing to interview (and potentially hire) candidates who have already been vouched for, it’s important to get the word out that you are available and seeking a new opportunity.

7. Don’t forgot to investigate often-overlooked nursing avenues such as:

o School nurses (contact the local School Board for openings)

o Health Department Openings (both local/county and state offices)

o Health insurance companies

o Assisted living facilities and retirement homes

o Universities and colleges seeking teachers for nursing school programs

o Mentorship programs

o Traveling nurse programs that place you on short assignments at different locations around the country

8. Searching nursing-specific job boards for available opportunities is a great way to target only those jobs that require your degree and background. For example, internet sites http://www.NursingJobs.org and http://www.NurseOptions.com offer free access to a wide range of nursing positions nationwide. There are many other excellent on-line resources for nursing job information.

Laura Adams is a qualified careers advisor with 11 years experience. Nurses Jobs Information - Resources, News, Tips and Views to help Nurses find their dream jobs. http://www.Nurses-Jobs.info

Copyright Nurses-Jobs.info This article may be reproduced as long as the resource box and live links remain intact.

For as long as there have been poets there have been voices telling us that the heart is a seat of consciousness. For as long as Anyone has received a message from the God that created them they have reported back to us to “listen to your hearts”. Each train of religious thought references the heart as a vehicle for discernment.

Ever see what the Dalai Lama does when he replies “I see.” or, “I understand!”? Why, he looks you right in the eyes and places his hands over his heart. Does he know something we don’t? How could he? Everybody and their Aunties have been telling us as long as we’ve had ears that the heart has a greater place in our consciousness than we allow ourselves to embrace.

It hasn’t always been like this. Somewhere along the line, though not exactly discredited, the thought of living within and using the consciousness of the heart took a major back seat to, well, the thought that the brain is the center of our ability to receive, process and assimilate information.

Lyrically, all the information is there. In fact, the concept is a part of our shared human experience, regardless the language, custom or orientation. What’s exciting is that today, science is beginning to cut loose and reveal to us empirically what we have always known — in our hearts, of course!

Dr. Joseph Chilton Pearce, a pioneer in the distillation of scientific research as it is applied to human development (and especially childhood education) is the author of The Crack in the Cosmic Egg, Exploring the Crack in the Cosmic Egg, Magical Child, Magical Child Matures, Bond of Power and Evolution’s End. He has been gathering information from scientific studies around the globe that provide strong evidence that heart-consciousness is much more than just a metaphor.

There is more than enough data available to begin using what has been learned and to begin to apply it to real-life experience. Much of my own distillation process I owe to the work of Dr. Pearce, who has given me permission to share information based on his lecture materials.

We hear of test-tube babies. In reality, that’s only where they get their very first start. Unless the fertilized egg is implanted into the womb of a mother-host very soon, it will die. Why? Because this new organism cannot become viable until, literally, the spark of life is passed on to it from another living organism of its kind. Life itself, the spark of life of which we all share, has been received by the offspring as passed on through the mother back to humankind’s first ancestor. The electromagnetic field, which lives inside the mother activates the pulse of the newborn.

That pulse is taken on by a clump of cells in just about the center of the new organism. But do you know what these cells are? Science has named them atrial-neural cells: cells that have the capability of functioning as either heart (beating - atrial) cells, OR Brain (information processing - neural) cells.

This is no tiny concept, but there’s a cute little visual that hammers it all home. After a period defined by phenomenally rapid cell-division within the developing organism, a number of beating atrial-neural cells “migrate” in two tiny streams (like horns growing out of a head) from that central clump to a position closer to the outer edge of the organism. There, they come together to grow to become the organ that we know as the brain.

Think about this a moment: The brain actually comes from the heart. It is, in fact, an extension of it. Now feel this for a moment. If you can’t differentiate between thinking about the concept and being able to feel the experience of it, don’t worry, you’ll be getting some tools to help you sharpen your abilities.

But the whole thing gets even juicier, because something more interesting develops. After a while, the cells that coalesce into what we call the brain stop streaming, stop beating and begin to differentiate into cells that specifically take on the function of information processing. But about 65% of the heart cells in your chest this very moment continue to function as neural (information processing) cells!

In a nutshell, atrial-neural cells that migrate to form the brain forget about beating and go about the process of information assimilation. Their siblings, who stayed at home, continue to beat, but they’re also processing and assimilating information.

Between now and the next part of this series, spend some time with this concept. Allow yourself to sense, if you can, the part of you that lies in the center of your chest that is, indeed, taking in information and distributing it. The next installment will offer you some clues and cues that will help you to become more familiar with the wonders of your heart, your most potent ally.

Russ Reina shares over 35 years of experience in the healing arts through his web site http://mauihealingartist.com It is a potent resource for those wishing to deepen their abilities in connection and develop their powers as healers. For a powerful free tool to explore your inner world, please check out his adjunct site http://thestoryofthis.net

(Permission is granted to reprint this article, unedited, provided proper attribution is made and the signature line — the above resource paragraph — is kept intact)