Many therapists are encouraged by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) to approach smart phone use with tips developed by OTs specializing in hand therapy and ergonomics.
Here’s how occupational therapists keep smart phones an occupational luxury rather than an occupational hazard.

The Top 5 Smart Phone Tips from Occupational Hand Therapy Specialists

1. Keep messages short! Abbreviate or use voice recognition when you compose email; learn to take advantage of auto correct and auto save features.
2. Use speakerphone mode or a hands-free device whenever possible.
3. Switch hands frequently!
4. Hold the phone in one hand and type with the other; this helps avoid thumb strain.
5. To avoid injury, do not use a smart phone while walking or driving.

The Occupational Therapist’s Guide to Ergonomic Smart Phone Use

Run into a lot of smart phone fanatics in your occupational therapy career? Skip the maladies of Smart Phone Thumb, Cell Phone Elbow, Cell Phone Neck, and/or PDA nails (that’s when nails become rigged and misshapen from all the typing and texting) by recognizing repetitive movements of the shoulders, neck, elbows and thumbs that overuse of these devices create; then make some modifications!

Start by upgrading to a phone with a larger screen if you read for hours at a sitting, and be sure to take frequent breaks by looking 20 feet away (from your phone) so that you can refocus your eyes upon returning to your work. You should also use these breaks to stretch your hands and remember to alternate fingers during single touch activities.

Smart Therapist Career Information!

The consulting team at 50 States Staffing stands behind the AOTA’s tips on using smart phones wisely. We encourage our OTs in therapy jobs to click their Health and Wellness Smart Phone link, print it, and post this information on bulletin boards, where fellow staff and patients can see and benefit from it. It’s a highly useful guide because it breaks down the different smart phone induced symptoms into categories, outlines prevention tips and targeted treatments.

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If you’re a registered nurse or therapist looking for the country’s best healthcare employers, it makes sense to align your talents with 50 States Staffing. Over 75% of our business affiliates appear in U.S. News & World Report. We staff in prestigious teaching and rehab hospitals, out-patient clinics, home health jobs, skilled nursing homes and more. Peruse our travel nursing jobs today for up-to-the-minute job opportunities in all 50 U.S. States!

The 100 Best Places to Work

The best 100 places to work include children’s hospitals, as well as networks of large hospitals and care services; these healthcare employers are in urban hot spots, like Houston, Atlanta, and Miami. 50 States Staffing is proud to offer your pick of travel nursing careers in these desirable locations, in addition to travel nursing jobs that sizzle in larger metro areas where plenty of travel-loving R.N.s may wish to live next.

Our top rated healthcare employers are located coast to coast featuring high pay and great benefits in Florida nursing jobs, Washington travel nursing, Ohio nursing jobs, Texas, and other states with healthcare facilities that made Fortune’s cut in 2011. Please refer to this article’s footnote for a direct link to the Great Places to Work Institute and get a complete list of all 100 best places to work!

Related page – List of Best Rehab Hospitals 2011-2012

A great healthcare employer is defined by what it can offer its regular employees—many of the same company perks that our therapists and nurses enjoy when they align their talents with 50 States Staffing. We provide free health insurance, and free private housing close to travel nursing jobs, cultural activities and so much more! Call 1-800-996-2206 or apply online today to experience the kind of workplace morale Fortune Magazine is talking about. Our consultants are standing by to connect your clinical expertise to the best travel nurse jobs in America!

Footnote: Click on Great Place to Work Institute to view a complete list of best companies to work for in 2012. This is the best place for motivated therapists and travel nurses to invite their current healthcare employer to compete for a top spot in 2013!

The Boulders – Las Vegas, Nevada

If a Las Vegas travel nursing job isn’t enough of an enticement to try Nevada travel nursing jobs, you’ll also have housing options like The Boulders, a gated community in the high-end Summerlin area. This apartment complex boasts a fitness center, pool, business center, playground,  in-unit washer/dryers, microwave, great views of the nearby mountains and is within easy access of shopping, dining and entertainment. Plus it’s pet friendly!

The Boulders Community	A Living Room at The Boulders

Makani A Kai – Maui, Hawaii

Naturally, Hawaii travel nursing jobs are in some of the most sought-after spots on the planet. And travel nurse housing in Hawaii can provide once-in-a-lifetime access to a tropical paradise. Luxurious and full of personality, the Makani a Kai apartment community offers lushly landscaped grounds within a few steps of the beach and within walking distance of dining and shopping. You can lounge around the freshwater pool or indulge in your favorite water sports like snorkeling, paddleboarding, fishing and sailing.

Makani a Kai Community	A Living Area at Makani a Kai

Treybrooke – Greenville, North Carolina

If you’re not yet aware of this southern state’s charms, you’ll notice them as soon as you take a North Carolina travel nursing job. Climate, culture and cuisine are all first class and there are also plenty of outstanding housing options, like the Treybrooke apartments in Greenville. The apartment complex has two pools, a hot tub, 24 hour work-out facility, tennis and volleyball courts, plus a pet park if you’re canine friends accompany you on your travel nursing job.

Treybrooke Tennis and Pool Area	Living Area at Treybrooke

Aventine – Boynton Beach, Florida

When the weather turns cold in most of the U.S., Florida travel nurse jobs start to look even better. A haven for apartment dwellers, Florida offers a wealth of deluxe travel nursing residences — like the Aventine in Boynton Beach. This travel nurse housing property is an easy commute to several nearby hospitals, and is within minutes of beaches, shopping malls, dining and entertainment. You’ll enjoy a pool, fitness center, clubhouse, jogging and walking trails, in-unit washer dryer and a private patio or balcony. Oh, and if you want to bring Fido along, it’s pet-friendly, too.

The Aventine Community	Fitness Center

If you decide to take a travel nursing job in one of these exciting locations, be sure to ask your 50 States Consultant to check availability on these travel nurse housing options. But wherever your travel nursing career takes you, our housing experts will work hard to find you a residence that meets and exceeds your expectations. Contact us today!

For allied health professionals eager to climb the therapy career ladder, it’s about jobs, jobs! 50 States Staffing offers high paying employment opportunities from coast to coast. Our rehab therapy jobs include rewarding permanent or travel therapy jobs and feature: physical therapist jobs, speech therapist jobs and COTA jobs in some of the nation’s best healthcare facilities; a fact we are proud to report, when over 80% of our client base ranks consistently in Americas Best Hospitals of U.S. News & World Report.

Rehab Therapy Jobs Benefit Both Travel and Permanent Lifestyles

Freedom and flexibility come in the form of travel therapy jobs from 13 to 26 weeks and permanent jobs. Members of our full-time team enjoy a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• Tax advantage plan
• Licensure Reimbursement
• Round Trip Travel Reimbursement
• Free Unlimited Online Continuing Education Credits
• Company matched 401(k) plan
• Referral Bonuses, and more

Rehab Therapy Jobs in Diverse Clinical Settings Span All 50 U.S. States!

Our consultants work closely with therapists to determine their preferences, and tailor the ideal living arrangement in exciting U.S. cities that span all 50 states; a wide range of geography also provides the chance to work in diversified settings that include top rated teaching hospitals, outpatient centers, rehab centers and skilled nursing facilities. Given the specific needs of your therapist career, and success in permanent or travel therapy jobs, arrangements can easily be made to renew rehab therapy jobs year after year.

View a sample of permanent rehab therapy jobs and travel therapy jobs.

Once thought to be a reliable measure of patient care and satisfaction, nurse-patient ratios may no longer be the prime indicator they once were. Emerging evidence suggests nurse work environments play an increasing role in quality patient outcomes, along with nurses’ perception of the type of facility they work in.

For instance, a survey published recently in Medpage Today* indicates that nurses who work in Magnet facilities perceive the level of care they provide to patients as being higher than nurses who don’t. In large part, said 50 States Staffing Recruitment Vice President, Mary Kay Hull, Magnet hospitals work hard at reducing nurse turnover by improving the quality of nursing life in the workplace.

“These exclusive hospitals tend to promote a high level of communication between nurses and doctors, deploy advanced medical technologies and are receptive to nurse input. Magnet facilities keep a close eye on nurse staffing burnout and typically offer health and wellness programs to enhance RN jobs satisfaction,” she said.

The nurse workplace is under scrutiny as of late, said Hull, with hospitals, academics and institutions all looking at ways to improve patient care levels by enhancing working conditions. One study, published in the Journal of Nursing Management, ** connects poor nurse work environments with low levels of job satisfaction, poor nurse outcomes and high RN jobs turnover.

“Creating better support services, work flow with less complexity, a nurse work environment that supports autonomous nursing practice and nurses who are committed to their care should be part of both rural and urban hospitals plans for change in order to recruit and retain nurses,” posts authors Marianne Baernholdt PhD, MPH, RN and Barbara A. Mark PhD, RN, FAAN in the study.

Hull’s company specializes in placing RNs with a track record of success in Florida travel nursing jobs, in particular at Magnet facilities. The Sunshine State is a popular destination for nurses looking to avoid Seasonal Affective Disorder common to cold weather states.

“50 States staffs one of the largest health systems in Florida and more than nine Magnet facilities across the state, including popular destinations Clearwater, Tampa and St. Petersburg. Nurses in search of hot RN jobs in ‘Paradise’ better get cracking, because travel nursing jobs are filling up fast,” she said.

** The nurse work environment, job satisfaction and turnover rates in rural and urban nursing units. Journal of Nursing Management, September 8, 2009.

50 States Staffing is proud to place R.N.s in travel nurse jobs that top honorary lists on U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals 2011-12: The Honor Roll. These registered nurses are trained in a wide variety of specialties, and include R.N.s in med surg jobs that are snagging extra appreciation this month as another National Med-Surg Nurses Week kicks off Nov. 1.

The Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN) is doing a fantastic job of bringing this important week in healthcare to the attention of the public at large, from hospital staff, to patients and the general public. Everyone should know the importance of med/surg nurses, as they are synonymous with urgent care.

Enjoy a Travel Nurse Lifestyle That Revolves Around a High Paying Med/Surg Job

Med/surg nurses in travel nurse jobs earn up to 50% more than R.N.s in permanent positions. They also treat a wide range of patients and focus on exciting areas like Cardiovascular, Hematology/oncology, Geriatrics, Wound Care and so much more! Perhaps the best part is the opportunity to work with groundbreaking technologies, described in some of the posts on the I love Travel Nursing blog; an important part of what makes the nursing career resources at 50 states Staffing stand apart.

Kick Off National Med/Surg Nursing Week by Calling 50 States Staffing Today!

If you’re trained for med surg nursing jobs and interested in launching a customized job search that can take you virtually anywhere in the U.S.A, offering, as part of the travel nurse lifestyle, free private housing, healthcare and other stellar benefits, call 1-800-996-2206 or apply online. The perfect Med/Surg nursing career is around the corner. What better time to get on a cutting edge career path, than during National Med/Surg Nurses Week?

Looking for Ways to Honor a Fellow R.N. on the Med/Surg Floor of Your Hospital?

Perhaps you are, in your own right, making rapid advancement on the nursing career path, and already increasing awareness about what med surg nurses bring to the healthcare landscape. Whether it’s staying ahead of the latest trends in medicine, keeping up with nursing certifications and CEUs, or going the extra mile by letting a nursing student shadow you for the day, your contribution counts!

Registered nurses and therapists nationwide know that October thru December marks another flu season. The best thing they can do, the best thing anyone can do, is to get a flu shot; then spend the winter months on increased alert, doing whatever it takes to stay healthy. The flu strains expected to circulate this flu season are identical to the 2010–2011 strains, including the H1N1 virus—so if you were vaccinated last year, only one vaccination is required this year.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that everyone 6 months old and older be vaccinated. Health professionals are expected to provide cold and flu prevention tips among the uninitiated.

CDC Approved Flu Prevention Tips for R.N.s and Their Patients

• Get your flu shot: This is your first and best defense!
• Daily Multivitamin: Take a daily vitamin, particularly one that’s high in Vitamin C, it does your immune system a favor.
• Use plenty of hand soap and antibacterial lotions on and after all of your shifts.
• Try a Little Garlic: This natural herb is great for maintaining a healthy immune system. Travel nurses on the go may find taking garlic in the form of a daily supplement is the simplest.
• Drink Plenty of Water: Up to 8 glasses of H20 a day are recommended year round, and even more important during flu season.
• Get Some Exercise: It’s a known fact that when your body temperature elevates, it helps your blood do a better job of cleaning out the toxins. So get moving!
• Try to Relax: When stress levels run high so do cortisol levels—not a friend to your immune system.

The Best Travel Nurse Jobs Require Proof of Vaccination

So, are you motivated to go out and get your flu shot? R.N.s who work for top staffing agencies are required to show annual proof of inoculation or flu shot via nasal spray. Find a flu shot near you by clicking on this government link. R.N.s may also want to check out flu facts, where a cool iPad app is available, in addition to other online features that let you track the rate of flu in your area, etc.

Call 1-800-996-2206 or apply online for travel nurse and therapy jobs in all 50 U.S. states that keep you healthy and wealthy during flu season and all year round. Bookmark our travel nurse career page and enjoy related blogs on maintaining a fulfilling and fit outlook. Stay healthy everyone!

GPS isn’t just for cars anymore; a similar technology is coming to hospitals, tracking patient locations within a 2-yard margin of error. Impressive? Sure, but registered nurses and therapists will be interested to note that the “intelligent T-shirt” behind it all, also monitors vital signs in real time, making the patient’s temperature, relative position, and level of physical activity clear to hospital staff without the gaggle of wires.

Known as the LOBIN, short for “Locating and biomonitoring by means of Wireless Networks in Hospitals,” this smart shirt was developed by researches in Spain at la Universidad Carlos III Madrid—and its making global headlines as a game changer, given the various areas it’s changing for the better, like early diagnosis of cardiac anomalies in athletes and monitoring patients in their homes; this last item is significant for patients especially, since it lessens their time spent in the hospital.

For a better idea of how it will affect your travel nurse job, click on the University’s site detailing exactly how the intelligent t-shirt monitors hospital patients’ vital signs and movements. For R.N.s looking for the abridged version, know that the intelligent T-shirt is washable and contains a GPS unit, thermometer, accelerometer and electrodes that measure and record bioelectric signals. That means, it knows if the patient is seated, lying down, running or walking!

Hospitals can utilize the smart shirt technology in two different ways: via fixed infrastructure, meaning it’s pre-installed in the facility where you work in telemetry jobs and travel therapy jobs, or as a mobile unit, wherein LOBIN moves with the patient. In either case, it’s a gadget we’re excited to blog about because LOBIN is capable of so much, including storing all of a patient’s information for future studies, improving electrocardiograms, and creating a more effective alarm system for patients when vital signs fall outside of pre-established limits.

Video about monitoring patients while wearing the “Intelligent T-Shirt”

Travel Nurses and Healthcare Employers Alike Learn More Here

If this all sounds like the stuff of science fiction, learn more here in the related blog entitled: New Training Programs Utilize the Virtual Hospital, and peruse our travel nurse jobs in the top rated hospitals in U.S., over 80% of our healthcare clients rank on the list of best hospitals in U.S. News & World Report. Call 1-800-996-2206 or apply online today for high paying allied healthcare and nursing jobs that come with amazing benefits and free private housing in all 50 U.S. States. Now that’s SMART!

Physical therapists and the PTAs working alongside them can agree that sports injury prevention across your lifespan is critical. This year the APTA has made this worthy goal the theme for National Physical Therapy Month, observed every October since 1982 and in full swing now. More than just a highlight on the calendar, National Physical Therapy Month is also a chance to get physical therapy—its benefits and availability—on the radar of the general public.

For many patients, physical therapy is a way to be proactive in staying fit, active and independent as we age. For those injured or recovering from illness or disease, effective physical therapy is an imperative to making a full recovery. Flyers, pamphlets and word of mouth reflect this now more than ever, as the Baby Boomer population reaches an age where allied healthcare services are imminent.

Map Your Future with Bright Spots in Physical Therapy Careers

If you’re looking for talking points that motivate patients, or for even more reasons to be optimistic about your physical therapy job, APTA has more than a few; here are some of the highlights:

• To date, more than 48 U.S. states permit physical therapists to conduct an initial examination without getting a referral from a medical doctor first. You can read about the law in this physical therapy career blog about seeking care without a referral.
• There were 33,800 Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) graduates as of December 2010. Healthcare employers are eager to hire these and other aspiring PTs, as demand for their services, predicted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, continue to rise 27% between now and 2016!

Mark Your Calendar with Physical Therapy Events October 27-29th, 2011!

During National Physical Therapy Month 2011, the APTA will team up with Pacers Running Stores to raise awareness about how physical therapists are helping runners prevent injury and improve their speed and performance; click the APTA link to find out more. But don’t delay in starting your most effective job search! Apply online or call 1-800-996-2206 today for high paying therapy jobs offered with top benefits and free private housing in all 50 U.S. States. You can trust 50 States Staffing to help you in your own race to the top!

Related Blog: Physical Therapists Celebrated by Patients and Colleagues During National Physical Therapy Month