Expect the Unexpected as a Traveler!

Hello everyone! Welcome back to the Nomad Entrepreneur! Today we are going to explore some of the unexpected things that may occur when you travel! The very nature of being a travel requires great flexibility and ability to adapt to change randomly and rapidly. Contracts can be cancelled, housing arrangements can fall through, the contract you choose may not be a good fit for you once you arrive and much more! These issues are not common but I think it always helps to plan ahead just in case. I am currently on a 13 week in Punta Gorda, Florida doing home health. I am going to share with you below some of the issues on this contract I have experienced and how these lessons learned can help you on your contracts! 
1. Current Issues : The Bad: The executive Director for this contract is brand new in her role and therefore does not have a good grasp on any of the components involved with running this location. In week one my tablet had not been ordered, my name tag had not been ordered, I did not have a username or login to complete any of my facility specific onboarding and I had no access to the payroll system that this facility uses due to these issues. Now lets look at why some of these issues arose. The Good: I always require guaranteed hours before I take a contract. Due to the very unstable nature of home health and the often large fluctuations in case load I required a 40 hour guarantee on this contract. While a 32 hour or a 36 hour hour guarantee is more commonly accepted this contracted agreed to my 40 hour guarantee. The benefit of an hour guarantee is regardless of any facility issues I am still paid at my full weekly rate! My advise here is to always require an hour guarantee when you negotiate your contracts!
2. Executive Director: The Bad: The executive director and her team are all brand new at this location resulting in everyone being unsure how and what to do. In addition to all of the admin staff being new the field staff are also all new! I am the first traveler that has ever worked with this team also. The combination of an entirely new and inexperienced admin and field staff team is almost a guarantee that issues will arise. The Good: This situation is where it is very important to have a strong, diligent recruiter who has your back when issues arise! My recruiter immediately contact the  home health company and got permission to submit my pay role and expenses via paper payroll until the systems issues were resolved! The recruiter you chose to work with plays a central role in ensuring your contracts are fair and any issues are handled in a timely manner!
3. Lead PT: The Bad: The young lady that this team had flagged as the lead PT had been in her role since January of 2022. When I arrived I was informed that she would ride with me and check me off on my skills check so that I could treat, which is common practice in home health. The first day I met this young lady she tells me she is very overwhelmed, does not understand how to do an oasis and does not fully understand how to write orders to start patients in home health. This young lady was thrown into her role with no orientation, no training and no follow-up and is now feeling extremely burnt out.