The Atlas Life #57 - Travel Tele Stepdown RN, Takashia Evans

Pete: Oh Takashia. How did we first meet? Takashia was on assignment at a hospital in South Carolina, and she was not getting the service from her current company she was with, and wanted to switch over. So we switched her over at that assignment and really, I mean the rest is history.

Pete: Well she was on assignment with a nurse that I had placed there on the floor, Tammy, and basically I guess they talked one night and Tammy told her how great Atlas was and then she got stuck with me.

Pete: The best part about working with Takashia is we've worked together for so long and we've become very good friends. I know exactly what she wants and everything that she needs out of basically any contract that she gets.

Pete: Takashia thinks she wants to go to Hawaii, but she really actually doesn't want to go to Hawaii. Takashia wants to stay in South Carolina, North Carolina area and I really believe that if I did send her to a Hawaii, that her parents and niece and nephew probably would not like me very much.

Takashia: My name is Takashia Evans. I have been traveling since December of 2016. My specialty is Tele Stepdown. I'm currently at Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina. I met a traveler at Palmetto Baptist in Columbia, Tammy. She actually referred me to Pete. I really do. I really, really, really enjoy having Pete as my recruiter.

Takashia: I started traveling because I had been doing bedside for about 15 years, and I was at my permanent job for 11 years, and I was beginning to feel kind of burned out. At my permanent job, I was living in Pennsylvania and all my family was in South Carolina. So basically after my sister died, it kind of just opened my eyes that I needed to get closer to my family. So just one day I just said, enough is enough. I'm done being so far away and I started traveling. Just gave my notice and said that's what I needed it.

Takashia: I regret that I didn't do it sooner, like way, way, way sooner. The best part is you have a lot of freedom. Like you have a freedom to take off when you want to. If you want to work, you can work, but if you don't want to work, just like I'm at the beach right now, I can say, "Oh I don't want to work for a month. I want to just stay at the beach." So you can do that. You can't really do that with a permanent job. I hate packing. Like I have so much stuff in my car. I have clothes in my car for every season. Like I could basically get dressed in my car for any function, right now.

Takashia: My current assignment that I'm at right now, Duke University in Durham has been the best hospital that I've been in. And at Duke, I'm PACU overflow, which is kind of different for me because I've never done anything with PACU. But it's the best one. I would recommend anybody go to Duke.

Takashia: It was difficult. It's not really difficult for me to learn. But as I left permanent staff to go to a travel assignment, when I would get to a travel assignment, I would always say, "Oh, this is how we did it at my last job." And I had to basically wean that out, because they don't care what you did at your last job. They just want you to do it correctly. You know?

Takashia: Pete already knows this. I want to go to Hawaii so bad. Oh my God. It just keeps, it's just all my heart, but I know I can not make any money there. But I have to find some awesome housing now, so you have to get to find me some awesome housing.

Pete: I'll work on that.