The Atlas Life #59 - Travel Cardiac Stepdown RN, Hallsey Leighton

Aaron Biddle: My name's Aaron Biddle. I'm a recruiter here with Atlas MedStaff, and I've been with Atlas since November of 2016. Hallsey actually came over to me from another recruiter that went to the therapy division, and we just hit it off really, really well, right off the bat. That first phone call, it's always kind of a different thing, of introducing yourself and finding out what they liked.

Aaron Biddle: It was just night and day. We found out we have the exact same birthday on that call, which was really, really awesome. She's amazing. She's all that you want in a traveler. Extremely bubbly, very, very nice. Always has positive things to say about myself and Atlas. She tells you, "Thanks for working so hard for me. Thanks for doing a great job," and as a recruiter, that's the most that I can ask for. Just a very, very nice, genuine, warm personality.

Hallsey L.: My name is Hallsey Leighton. I am a Cardiac Stepdown Unit nurse, but I've done everything from neurosurgery to oncology now, and I have been traveling for about two-and-a-half years, and it's been the best experience of my life.

Hallsey L.: My other agency was great, but I had an experience where I was going to start in New Hampshire, and I guess they needed a background check that needed to be notarized and they never did it, so it was pushing back another three weeks of no pay. So I've reached out on Facebook: "What do people use for travel agencies?" And everyone was like, "Atlas MedStaff," and Aaron came in contact with me and we've been inseparable ever since.

Hallsey L.: When I started nursing school, it was always a dream of mine. I found out about it from other nurses, and I love that feeling of you have your suitcase packed and then it's time for the next trip. You just literally get back and you pack it again. So it's definitely all about the adventure of it. I've met the coolest people. I've stayed in touch with everyone, and it's fun because I've gone and visited them at new assignments and they've come and visited me.

Hallsey L.: My nursing skills have tripled, quadrupled. I can't even tell you. And then I've learned so many different computer systems, so I feel like it's just really well rounded me as a nurse. And I don't mind the three weeks off in between to take little trips. So it's just been the coolest experience. I don't plan on stopping any time soon. I have never had a bad experience. I can't tell you. Everyone's like, "Oh, some places you go, you'll get a traveler assignment." Never had that problem. Everyone's been so helpful. I've never felt like an outsider. Everyone's kind of become ... Each floor has become a different family to me.

Hallsey L.: The best part has definitely been what I've learned, because now I walk in onto a floor and maybe the first couple of days, something will be brand-new to me. I know I have so much more to learn, but I really feel like I can contribute a lot to a floor now. In codes and stuff, I'm brand-new. I really feel like I can take really good care of my patients.

Hallsey L.: What I didn't expect was probably how different each hospital's flow is and the policies. You think there's a universal way of doing everything, and it's not the case. It's so different. Certain floors hone in on certain things, and I think I've picked that up from each floor. It's just really different, and then once you learn that, it makes it a lot easier. But yeah, the flow of everything is so different at each hospital.

Hallsey L.: Well, I definitely have to say I have never road-tripped before, and definitely, road-tripping across the country to California has been one of my favorite things I've done. I guess I'm so excited to travel the United States. Everywhere is so different, just from Maine to South Carolina to Texas, to Missouri, to everywhere. It's been really cool to ... The culture and it's just been the adventure of it. I really wanted to do Boston, so the only thing ...

Hallsey L.: That's another thing just to tell travel nurses is, the more ... So I have a compact state license, but the more states that I have acquired, which I don't plan on getting rid of, in case I ever wanted to go back ... You just have to apply a lot sooner. But yeah, Boston is definitely next. So I have applied a little while ago, and you guys are awesome. So Aaron's helped me the whole way through.

Hallsey L.: If anyone was like, "Oh, I don't know. Three months sounds like a lot of time," it goes by so fast. If that's what discourages people, definitely need to try it, 100%.