Hitting the ground running in travel healthcare

Jose R, a travel MRI Tech at Northside in Georgia, spent close to 8 years working in healthcare before his most-recent travel assignment with Spire. After hearing from a friend who found the right footing with his assignment, he decided to jump in on travel healthcare as well.

I was previously working in Chattanooga and heard good things from a friend of mine, so he referred me.

I ended up speaking with Ryan, (recruiter) very shortly after the referral. We chatted about my experience and I told him what I was ideally looking for in a travel role. I received a call about 2 weeks later with a great assignment and I jumped at the opportunity — then not even 2 DAYS had gone by and my proposal was accepted and had the position! The process was very smooth compared to other experiences I’ve had. Once I was ready to start, the onboarding process only took a week and Ryan walked me through everything and kept in close communication throughout. Orientation even happened fast. Everything really fell into place and, overall, I’m really pleased with how thorough everything went!

I had spent a long time working in the medical field before I decided to try out traveling.

I had worked locally in X-Ray at another facility in Georgia before this assignment and I had spent time cross-training for MRI. This assignment has been a nice change of pace compared to other facilities I’ve worked in. We see a lot of inpatient and ER patients, but there are a lot of additional techs on the floor with me, so I have a lot of help. That being said, it is a very busy facility. I’m also the only traveler at my facility, for the time being, but the chemistry is fantastic with the entire team. There is a lot of established staff here and everyone has been great to work with, being the new guy and all. I absolutely love the facility, too. There is a lot of freedom to wear whatever color of scrubs you like, the organization is top-notch, and the equipment in up-to-date and what I’m familiar working with.

I’ve talked to a lot of other travelers, and one thing I’d recommend is to get a feel for commuting to your facility (if possible) before deciding to move immediately.

I like to get a feel for the drive first. I may find a good hotel or Airbnb for a night or two and get a feel for the area before committing to an apartment or house. Minimizing your commute is a good thing to do, though. Just make sure you get a sense of the area first — especially in a big place like the greater Atlanta area.