Traveling for Work as a Locum Tenens Doc

Traveling is glamorous.

Traveling for work: less so.

This blog post is a little different than my usual ones, but if you are thinking of doing locum tenens or travel nursing, here are some things to think about.

I've spent more time in hotels in my first five months than I had at home, and although it was exhausting, I've worked out some things that make it a lot easier.

Note: some of the links in this blog post are affiliate, which means I make a little bit without extra cost to you. If you prefer to search for the items yourself, you can usually find them by typing in the keywords. Brands don't seem to matter much for many of these, but the ones I liked are tried and true.

So if you're traveling for work (or thinking about it), these are some things that I picked up along the way that might help you.

Essentials

I have duplicates of most essentials. I learned this from my college best friend who had a separate "travel backpack" that she kept stocked with travel-sized versions of shampoo/conditioner. I took it one step further and have a travel setup which includes:

• charging pad for Apple Watch/my phone that lives in my bag with associated charging cable
• extra pair of driving glasses so I'm never accidentally without one
• full-size hair straightener (thrift store find)
• duplicate electric toothbrush + travel case + travel wall charger
• mini bottles to refill: shampoo, conditioner, body wash, face wash, acne cream, etc.
• travel medicine "cabinet" aka pill organizer which is always stocked

Note: I know this requires some initial investment but it's made my life so much more convenient that I would say it's worth it. I never have to scramble to look for a phone charger or my eyeglasses when I land at 10pm in a new city and have to drive to a new hotel.

I also never go anywhere without my power bank. Get one that is 20,000 mAh at least. My go-to is one from Anker that I've had for over 5 years and it still charges my phone fully twice (they've discontinued mine but this one is similar).

I used to travel for efficiency. Now I travel for comfort. I will bring a pair of slippers, comfy pajamas, a Bluetooth speaker to listen to music when I shower before my shift, workout clothes I feel motivated in, durable spill-proof snack containers for fruits, etc.

Flying Tips

I chose 2 airlines and worked to achieve status (through credit cards, status matches, etc.) and try to strategically fly only these two airlines, so that travel is more convenient: lounge access means free food, frequent flyer status means the occasional business/first class upgrade, and co-branded credit cards mean lots and lots of points for leisure travel. It makes a huge difference.

A suitcase that I almost never fully unpack: I just do laundry and refill my essentials bottles as needed. [I don't have a suitcase I love yet but when I do, I'll share it.]

• Quick note on carry-on only vs. checked bags: I generally traveled carry-on only for the ease of leaving the airport immediately upon landing. But lately I've been taking a checked (mid-size) bag for a few reasons: 1) less lifting them over my head, 2) less fighting for overhead space, 3) more space to bring comfort items (see below).
• Most airline cards will include a free checked bag, but many locums agencies will also reimburse for it, so it's never out of pocket.
• I also take 1 pair of scrubs, my stethoscope and my badge and stick it in my personal item. I have a specific work bag that I travel with that is large enough to have a compartment for this stuff and it's so worth it. I've seen many-a-locum doc come to work in hospital scrubs with disposable stethoscopes because their bag was delayed.

Hotels

I book hotels with kitchens: depending on the hotel chain that you prefer, they're all called something different. We often stay at Residence Inns or Home2Suites, depending on where we're going. It's helpful to learn which brands have kitchens/kitchenettes, and make sure to check if a 1-night stay at that brand is coded as 1 elite night (towards your status).

Grocery delivery (I use Instacart, usually) to order some favorites (fruits, baby carrots, some healthy frozen meals) to the hotel to arrive at the same time as I do, so I don't binge-eat hospital snacks.

• Chase Sapphire Preferred is a great intro card for hobby travelers and also gives you Instacart+ access.
• Meal delivery service: this one is a hit-or-miss, but if I'm going for a longer stint (5+ days) or if my partner is with me, we sign up for a meal kit that delivers healthy/ready-made food that we can store in the fridge and I can take to work with me.

Planning & Peace of Mind

A travel / itinerary tracking app helps a lot. TripIt is one option, and I use Tripsy (the latter is more aesthetically pleasing but can't auto-import your itinerary like TripIt (they say it's because they don't want to scour your email, which is a big privacy concern for many).

Security camera subscription: I leave two cats at home, which breaks my heart. It helps to see that they're doing okay. We have two cameras set up to see their food bowl and our bed (their prime sleeping spot). We do have two Ring cameras (much regret, don't recommend it, for a multitude of reasons, including that it's very expensive) and actually prefer our Tapo cameras. An annual subscription for our 2 cameras was $65 which is well worth it for the peace-of-mind it provides.

Locum physician/emergency medicine-specific:

1. A hard case/container for my stethoscope and all my badges so I never find myself at a site without appropriate ID. I take all the badges where I'm "active" at in case a shift bonus comes up and I have to fly straight there.
2. A small expanding file for storing all receipts if I don't have a chance to immediately scan them in.
3. A space heater because the ED can get freezing at night. I bought this one but don't love the shape (makes it hard to pack around it) so I will get one of these.

I will add more to this as I go through my journey. I'm thinking of getting the following items, but haven't invested yet:

• A travel yoga mat: the issue with standard roll-up mats is that they don't fit into a carry-on, so I've been eyeing this one (pictured below).
• A nice suitcase from Briggs & Riley or similar. I am starting to learn what I need in a suitcase but this is too much money to invest right upfront so I'll wait.