Explore Your Travel Assignment. Fun, Excitement Await

Florida was nice, but now we are in Lynchburg, Va. The nice aspect of going to Virginia is that medical health travelers don't need a state license, as least not for certified occupational therapy assistants. That makes getting here easy in that it doesn't require a lot of prior planning. Other medical health disciplines may require licensing. it varies from state to state. Check with a recruiter or go to www.querycat.com and put in your question in the search box.

We came to Lynchburg because this was the nearest to our home base in Matthews, NC that she could get a travel job. My wife has some family business to take care of that will take several months and may require her presence from time to time. Florida was just too far away.

But back to prior planning. For instance, if you want to go to California to work, you better get your paperwork in four months prior to leaving. We have been told by various recruiters for medical staffing companies that it takes that long to get approved to work there. .

As a traveler one measure you should always take is to spy out what there is to see and do in the area around you. After all, this may be your only chance to see a particular state on someone else's dime.

After we have been some place for a couple of months my wife will talk to co-workers about what we have seen and where we have been in a state. They usually reply with something like, "I live here and I've never seen any of that," with "that" being whatever scenic wonder, or event there is to do.

As an example, the Virginia Highlands Festival, which has been going on in Abingdon since the 5th will end this Sunday, the 12th.

The Traveler and I plan to drive over early and visit for the day. There are plenty of arts and crafts, antiques, photography, creative writing, youth events, fine foods, drama, concerts, nature walks, historical tours, and hot air balloons, to mention a few activities.

The Festival has been named one of the Top 100 Events in North America by the American Bus Association and Top Twenty Events in the Southeast by the Southeast Tourism Society. Please go to www.vahighlandsfestival.org for more information.

We have only been here for about two weeks but we have explored Lynchburg and nearby Roanoke some. There seems to be a lot more activities to do here than I would have thought.

They have a great walking, biking running path that is pretty level to walk on. Afterall, Lynchburg is known as the "City of Hills" and believe me there are plenty of hills. The path alone is a fine attraction that people visiting or living here should take advantage of.

More about Lynchburg later. See you in Abingdon Sunday.

All Health Care Fields Needed to Fill Shortage

Get Paid Well To See The Country

Today's article on traveling nurses also applies to nearly every medical health field specialty. If your field is in physical therapy, occupational therapy, PTA, COTA, pharmacy, physician, or radiology to mention a few, then you are needed as a traveler.

As mentioned in previous articles, traveling is a great way to see the country on someone else's dime and get paid a great wage with luxury housing provided. The article below, courtesy of NewsUSA, emphasizes the shortage in the health field.


Traveling Nurses Ease Staff Shortages


(NewsUSA) - With the acute shortage of nurses nationwide, travel nursing has come into its own within the health care profession.


Today, a well-qualified nurse with experience in a high-demand specialty can find short-term placements almost anywhere in the country - including exotic resort locations like Hawaii and the Caribbean - throughout the year.Amazon.com Widgets


Registered nurses with at least 10 months of clinical experience and good references are eligible. These temporary assignments, typically lasting 13 weeks, are often staff positions in critical care settings in locations ranging from rural areas to cruise ships and resort areas.


Travel nursing offers something for everyone at every career stage: the allure of travel and unique settings; rewarding positions at top teaching hospitals and research institutions; and challenging work in hard-pressed, underserved areas.


"For a nurse or nurse practitioner with a flexible schedule, travel nursing can be a very appealing career option as it offers higher pay, flexibility, variety and often the opportunity for business travel," said Andrea Higham, director of The Johnson & Johnson Campaign for Nursing's Future, a public awareness and image-building campaign that is addressing the nursing shortage through nursing scholarships and nursing student recruitment activities. "It's one of the many areas of specialty where current demand far exceeds supply."


Those interested usually get their start with placement companies to determine openings. Candidates complete an application, discuss their plans and interests with a recruiter, and conduct telephone and in-person interviews with potential health care facilities.


If the candidate is offered a position, the travel company helps with the details of travel documents, credentialing and licensure, hospital orientation, housing (some provide free or subsidized apartments) and even arrangements for furniture and utilities.


For more information on travel nursing, visit www.discovernursing.com.

Part II. Question Health Staffing Firms In Detail

Medical Staffing Company Loots Traveler's Pay

by George M. Newton
(This is the second of two parts concerning our poor experience in dealing with one particular travel staffing company and is not reflective with all staffing agencies.)

On each new assignment the Traveler signs a new contract. This document protects the travel professional as well as the company, though in truth, the contracts leans more toward the staffing company than the worker.

In the previous article my wife had some questions about what she perceived as lack of agreed upon pay with the staffing company. It was quite a bit lower than expected.

The Traveler gets her check sent direct deposit so we knew the pay was short of expectations, but until she received her pay record, which is sent to her in the mail, she wasn't sure why.

Carol figured that since the housing was not any more than her last assignment, her pay would not be any smaller even though her hourly pay was reduced. She would recoup it with lower than expected housing costs.

This didn't happen. After looking over her pay record, she talked with her recruiter who was confused that she wasn't getting the money back in her check. He investigated and said he was still unsure of what to say because he didn't understand the answer and would try to get a better explanation.

Next thing you know, he is no longer with the company and the company is not standing by his verbal agreement to put any pay not spent on housing back into the Traveler's pay.

So not only did the Traveler take an unncecssary pay cut of more than $1,100 a month, the staffing company was also taking out enough money each pay period during the contract term to cover the cost of breaking the lease. The company signed a seven month lease to get the cheaper rent and would have to pay a penalty fee if the apartment was not rented. That was not our problem. Taking out this fee was not specified in the contract.

Furthermore, my wife specifically asked her recruiter, who is no longer there, prior to taking the assignment if she would be responsible for paying any penalty fee if she didn't stay longer than her specified contract time. She was told, "No." That was the company's responsibility.

To make a long story less long, company representatives dodged her queries for two months until she finally cornered the finance officer and was told that the penalty fee was her responsibility and that she was not getting any money back. None of this was spelled out in her contract.

After considering a number of options, our main recourse was to change to another staffing company and tell everyone we could what crooks these people are. I won't mention their name here, but if you want to know it, send me an email and I will tell you.

The problem here is not that we object to travel companies making a profit, but that we want all details spelled out in the contract and then both parties abide by them.

We are aware that travel staffing agencies sometimes get the crappy end of the stick when a traveler does not live up to their agreed upon contract. We just want staffing companies to treat travelers like they would want to be treated, ethically, honestly and don't take out money not spelled out in the contract.

Choose Medical Staffing Company Wisely

Medical Staffing Firm Took Out Money Not Specified In Contract

From time to time medical travelers will switch staffing companies for various reasons. Sometimes it's for better pay and benefits. Sometimes it's because they changed recruiters on you and you have a personality conflict with your new contact. There can be a lot of reasons.

The Traveler, my wife, has changed companies because her last staffing company LIED to her. That hasn't happened before. We've had some that lied to us about the amount they could pay, but that was business on their part and she agreed before hand to the contract. We've had one that kept lying about not being able to find another assignment when in fact they were dropping their travel division and didn't want to tell my wife - until the last day of her contract.

Here's a tip. If everyone in the company you have dealt with is suddenly not there anymore, something is wrong. What can I say. We were new to traveling.

Frequently, a company may offer you hourly pay, plus per diem (usually based on the rate for a particular area you are in) and paid housing or a housing stipend. The stipend, theoretically, is what their maximum allowable rate for housing in a particular area. Heavy tourist areas will usually have higher housing costs.

A lot of health workers want to do their travel time at the beach. We did, and still do. But because housing may be more costly in areas where housing is at a premium, your housing cost may be higher, but your hourly pay may be reduced to cover the increased costs.

We came to Naples from Pensacola. We had heard it was costly to live here and that it was the Palm Beach of West Florida Coast. They were right. But we wanted a warm winter for a change.

Now a recruiter, for example, may tell you they can pay you $35 an hour and depending upon your medical specialty - i.e. whether you are a nurse, therapist or therapist assistant, you may get more or less. But what a medical staffing company may not immediately explain is that the $35 an hour is the total costs including housing and per diem.

For example, you may get $20 an hour for hourly pay, $10 an hour for housing and $5 an hour for per diem. By the way, you only get the per diem if you maintain a home or apartment that is more than 50 miles away from where your assignment is and only if the company offers this
benefit. Many don't.

So if you go to an area with high housing costs, a staffing company may tell you that you will have to take an hourly pay cut to help offset the cost of housing. You will still be paid the $35 an hour, it's just that some of the money allocated for hourly pay will go to housing. You may, for example, get $15 an hour instead of the $20 you received at the prior assignment, and $15 an hour going toward housing and $5 per hour for per diem.

Fine. The traveler understood that. This is something a company will frequently do. She was also told that what funds that were not spent on housing would go back into her pay. This is a little unusual from our previous experience with other staffing companies.

As a result, to come to Naples, FL., the Traveler took a $7 an hour pay cut, but she thought she would make it up by taking low cost housing and not renting furniture. This was a cut in pay of more than $1,100 a month.

Unless you're Microsoft founder Bill Gates, that's a lot of money. We let the staffing company get the apartment. Previously we had taken the stipend. They were allowing $2,200 for housing in Naples. That's about right for luxury accommodations. But we asked for something less costly - because she was told by her recruiter that funds not spent in housing would go back into her paycheck.

Rented furniture was going cost another $188 per month. We turned it down and decided to buy some used furniture from a thrift store. For about $100 we got enough fairly nice furniture to furnish a one-bedroom apartment. Again, the saved money was supposed to go into her pocket.

All in all, we had housing expenses down to less than $1200 a month by our calculations. This includes apartment rental, utilities and cable.

When the Traveler got her first paycheck it was much lower than she expected. When she got a look at her company pay receipts, she had a lot of questions for the company.

(To find out the name of this medical staffing company and the result of our pay dispute, read the next entry coming soon.)

So You Want To Be A Medical Health Traveler

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly About Being A Medical Health Traveler

by George M. Newton

Being a medical health traveler is not a bad life, either for the short run or the long run. My Traveler, who is an occupational therapist assistant, and I have been doing this for almost three years now and have found some great places to work and some not so great places. At one facility she actually worked with a traveler who had been doing this for 18 years!

At my wife's most recent travel assignment she met a young man who was only 20 and a traveler. He went to a two-year course right out of high school and is now earning a good living as a physical therapist assistant.

So why travel? First, the money is great. When you factor in benefits a travel staffing company may offer, including per diems, housing, travel reimbursement and various other incentives, a health traveler with just a two-year degree can make about $60,000 a year or more depending upon your degree and experience and the staffing company you sign up with. They are not all the same.

Second, you get to see the country on someone else's dime and get paid for it.

Third, you get to see parts of the country you might like to settle down permanently.

And finally, though not exhaustively, it can feel like an a small adventure that can last as long as you want. In the photo above, the Traveler and I share a kiss on the East Coast of Florida, Vero Beach, on the sunrise of the first day of the new year in 2006. The day before, we saw the sun set on the last day of 2005 on the West Coast of Florida at Madeira Beach.

So what's the drawback?

• If you are a very social person, your contacts may be limited. People you will be working with are frequently married and very often will not socialize after work. Frequently, people unconsciously don't form a close friendship with a traveler. Why? Because you are temporary. People don't want to invest time getting to know someone who is leaving. Usually, you will do an initial 13 week contract. You may be offered the opportunity to extend after the 13 weeks are up, if the facility still needs you, likes your work ethic, and can afford you.


• Sometimes your contracts are cut short, as my wife's was in Avon Park, FL.. We had just arrived in Florida planning to spend the winter in a warm climate and not too far from beaches and were expecting to be able to stay at one facility for about six months.
  
  In just about every rehab facility Carol had a contract with, the company asked her to extend. We were one month into the assignment when the facility she was working at gave a one-month notice that they were cancelling her contract. They had hired a permanent COTA to take her place.
  So the travel company had to dash to find another place for us in Florida. It was up in the Northwest corner of Florida next to Alabama and in another time zone, and it was pretty chilly compared to where we had been. Moreover, we weren't dressed for it. We only had a couple of sweaters and light jackets. And it got really cold, by comparison to Central and South Central sections of Florida. To illustrate this, the Traveler and I were at a roadside fruit stand one cold Saturday morning and were outside shivering. An elderly woman standing nearby and all bundled up said, "I'm from New York and it's as cold here as it is up there. Is this really Florida?"
  
• You don't always get to go where you want to. There may not be an opening if you want a particular city or even a state. North and South Carolina have been particularly hard for the Traveler to get a travel assignment. You can only get an assignment if one is available and hope there is not too much competition for the opening. That's not to say permanent jobs are hard to get. They are plentiful everywhere. But not travel jobs.


• While the pay compensation may be different from travel company to company, there is one thing they all have in common. They are a business and they look out for their best interest, not yours. I don't care what they say. You need to watch them like a hungry hawk looking for a fat mouse. (In my next blog I will tell you some of the ways a company will either take money from you or not pay you what you are worth.)


• If you are married and counting on your spouse to bring in some money, unless they are self-employed and can work from home, jobs for them will be difficult. If this bothers you, it would be a good idea to reconsider being a medical health traveler. If on the other hand, your spouse is a budding novelist or artist, this is the perfect lifestyle to help them perfect their craft. (In a future blog I will give nonworking spouses of travelers ideas for work.)
  
  There you have it. These are just a few of the drawbacks to being a traveler. Next time, how travel staffing companies take advantage of you and how to keep your nonworking spouse employed.

Travel Fitness Secrets Part 2

Secrets To Keeping Fit While Traveling

by George M. Newton

For a short time I worked at a senior living rehabilitation facility doing computer data entry and bringing clients to the therapists for treatment.

Almost time after time the residents and people who were there short term recovering from surgery showed one glaring aspect that promoted their loss of physical activity. They had done little or nothing to maintain even a moderate level of fitness from their youth.

A factor that almost no one tells you when you are younger is that some sort of exercise and proper nutrition is required all your life, which will, in most cases, be long and healthy if you follow this regimen. It only takes about 30 days to make something a habit. Eat properly and exercise regularly and it will become second nature to you, not something that gets in the way of your life.

Tom Venuto, author of the best selling "Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle," continues with his top 10 tips to stay healthy while traveling. Moreover, if you are in the medical profession you should be setting the example of how people should live. Most of his tips are for people on short term travel, not medical travelers who may be gone from home for months at a time. But the principles can be adapted.

Continued from part 1

6. Cook portable foods and bring meal replacements or healthy snacks for drives, flights and day trips

I love to drive, so for my trip last month I packed everything up in my car and hit the road. Naturally, I cooked for the road trip and my food came with me! I’ve learned how to make a variety of portable foods including several different types of oatmeal pancakes, tuna burgers and healthy sandwiches. Some of these “portable foods” can be even eaten with your hands while you are in a car, on a plane or sitting in a seminar room.

On my recent trip, I knew I had a long drive, so I calculated the number of hours on the road and the number of meals I would need and simply brought them all with me. For two of my on-the-road meals I had oatmeal-egg white-apple-cinnamon pancakes and one of my “meals” was simply a high protein meal replacement shake and fresh fruit. It’s not difficult at all when you plan and pack food in advance.


7. Choose your gym or check your hotel fitness facilities in advance

Many people work out right in their hotel rooms with a body weight exercise program or even portable equipment. Since I’m a bodybuilder, I refuse to go without a fully equipped gym.

Unfortunately, on-site Hotel gyms are notorious for sounding great in the advertisements and then when you arrive, you find that the “gym” is a room about the size of a walk in closet, with a few pieces of (mostly broken) archaic equipment from the 1970’s. There are a few exceptions, but having learned my lesson a couple times, I now use the Internet to locate a gym prior to my trip.

Call in advance and ask if there are daily or weekly rates.
You can also ask if your hotel has an affiliation with a local health club. During my last trip, the hotel was affiliated with a Bally Total Fitness Center that was just a 10 minute drive away and use of the Bally’s was included with the price of my room.

It turned out to be an excellent club, so I was a happy camper.

If you are already a member of a gym in your local area, check to see if your gym has an affiliation with other clubs around the country or if they belong to an organization such as IHRSA (international Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association).

Some clubs are part of a network which allows you to train at other clubs when you're traveling - all you have to do is show your membership card and you will get access to train at other clubs that are part of the network. IHRSA has more than 6,500 clubs in 67 countries in its network.

8. Pack your workout gear and plenty of workout clothes

When you pack hastily at the last minute, things can easily be forgotten and left behind, so be sure to pack plenty of workout clothes with you and bring any other gym gear you might need (belt, lifting straps, etc). For extended trips, inquire with your hotel to see if they have laundry facilities. (The hotel where I recently stayed had an onsite laundry room, which came in handy with my 2.5 week stay).

9. Change up your workouts as you change up your gym

Some people get accustomed to their hometown gym and they’re upset or disappointed when they don’t have access to the same equipment when they travel. They feel that it cramps their style or hinders their results.

However, this can really be a blessing in disguise. Your body adapts to any workout, often in just a matter of weeks. We tend to be victims of our own habit patterns in life and that includes our workouts.

You might want to take advantage of it when you have new and different equipment at your disposal.

After “scoping out” the gym’s facilities, design an entirely new workout program for a change. Do something 100% different. Sometimes a simple change of exercises is enough to stimulate new progress. The club I trained at during my last trip had a full line of “Strive” machines which are not available at my hometown gym.

These machines allow you to choose three different resistance curves on each exercise. Very cool. Since I had access to this equipment, I did a totally new routine and used more machines than usual. Although most fitness experts these days generally advise you to use more free weights than machines (and I agree for the most part), using these machines was a great change up and I could feel and see the difference.

10. Walk, bike or make physical recreation part of your travel plans

Personally, as I am already in very good shape, I usually don’t count casual walking as part of my “formal” workout (cardio) program, although it certainly might count for other people.

However, it never hurts to get some extra activity and all physical activity burns calories and provides some health benefits. I’ve found that more often than not, when I am on the road, whether for business or pleasure, there are plenty of opportunities to get some physical recreation and see the sights by foot.

On a trip last year, I spent an entire afternoon hiking in the hills of a beautiful national park. On another trip, I rented a bike and rode for miles along a beachside bike path. On my recent trip, I spent an entire day walking through museums and then sightseeing. I walked for hours.

I also couldn’t help but notice other people (mostly conspicuously unfit people), tooling around outside on those stand-up scooters. Funny thing too, because right next door to the motorized scooter rental was a bike rental. Which would you choose – foot, bike, or “lazy-person’s chariot?”

About the Author:
Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder and author of the #1 best selling e-book, "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to burn fat without drugs or supplements using the little-known secrets of the world's best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and turbo-charge your metabolism by visiting: www.burnthefat.com.

Travel fitness secrets

The Secrets to Keep Fit While Traveling
by George Newton

As a medical health traveler your company will put you up in a variety of places. Naturally, they will try to find the best possible accommodations, but sometimes what is available is not very palatable.

For example, one apartment complex we were living in when in Fayetteville had a nicely equipped 24 hour access weight room containing both free weights and machines. Very nice!

But the place we are in now, in what is supposed to be the Paradise Coast here in Naples, FL., is a joke. There are about 4 or 5 aerobic machines and none of them work. In fact, someone got so angry at their not working that a few of them have their control panels smashed.

The only equipment that works is the three weight machines. I guess that's because there are no electronics involved.

We pay a lot of money each month for this apartment not to have the health center equipment work properly. I am sure there are a lot of reasons why the aerobic machines have not been repaired. I am not interested.

Sorry, I am backing off my diatribe. The main idea of this entry is to impart some important tips to help you keep in shape while on the move. Medical travelers generally stay longer in one area than people who are merely on a trip or perhaps travel and stay in various hotels as a result of their jobs. But the information is just as valuable.

And who better to give this information than fitness expert Tom Venuto. Tom has the Number One fitness book on Clickbank and for good reason. "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle" is not a book about weightlifting nor is it just for guys. Women can benefit too. It's a book about proper nutrition and making your metabolism work for you and not against you.


Tom Venuto's Top 10 Travel Fitness TipsBy Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCShttp://www.burnthefat.com/

I recently read two articles about travel fitness. One said that while you're traveling, you should keep up with 50% of your normal training and the other said you should keep up with only one-third.

Both were written by well known fitness professionals and both said that you should NOT expect to keep up your regular exercise program while you are traveling. That struck me as kind of "lame" and I said to myself, “Why the heck not? Why do people have such low standards and demand so little of themselves? Why do they let themselves off the hook and scale back?”
Sometimes, of course, traveling is purely for a vacation – including a vacation from training.

Occasional time off from intense training is beneficial and necessary to let your body recover and rejuvenate completely from chronic training stress, just as time off from the office is needed to disengage your mind for a while. It’s also true that it really doesn’t take much to maintain fitness once it is developed, and an abbreviated, but still effective, workout routine could certainly be used, if you choose, when you’re on the road.

However, you still have healthy eating to think about and just because you’re traveling doesn’t mean you can’t follow your regular exercise regimen. Why settle? If you want to continue to improve your physique while on the road, you can! Here are 10 ways that I did it on my last extended business trip that you may find helpful as well. It begins with a simple decision.

1. Decide to improve while you’re traveling and to come home in better shape than when you left

Nearly every time I travel (the exception being if it’s a complete rest and relaxation vacation), I set a goal to come home in better shape than when I left.

The only reason most people usually come home with lower fitness and a few extra pounds than when they left is because they didn’t make a decision to do otherwise.

In fact, many people hold a belief that it’s “impossible” to stay on their eating and exercise program while they are traveling! Why not get in better shape no matter where you are? The truth is, all it takes is a decision and some planning. I find it a fun and exhilarating challenge to improve myself no matter where I am in the world.

2. Write out your workout schedule in advance


There’s nothing like writing your goals down on paper to keep your mind focused and keep yourself motivated. In addition to writing out goals regularly, preferably every day, you should also commit your training schedule to paper and especially when you are traveling. Write down the days, the time of the day and the exact workout you plan to do and you will be amazed at how easy you will find it is to get to the gym and have great workouts.

3. Get a hotel with a kitchen

The single most important part of my travel arrangements was to book a hotel with a kitchen. For me, not having a kitchen is not an option.

If you don’t have kitchen, you will be much more likely to skip meals, it’s very difficult to eat 5 or 6 times a day (as required by any good fat burning or muscle building nutrition program), and you may end up at the mercy of restaurant, hotel or convenience store food.

For my most recent trip, I stayed at Homestead Studio Suites, one of several national hotel chains in the USA which includes a full kitchen including a refrigerator, microwave, stove – the whole works. Extended Stay America and Marriott Residence Inn offer similar accommodations.

On previous trips, if there wasn’t such a hotel with a kitchen in the vicinity, I searched the internet for apartments for short term rental. You may be surprised at the type of lodging you can find and often you will be pleased with price as compared to hotels.

I once booked a luxury condo for 7 days and it ended up costing less than the hotel I was first considering, and the hotel didn’t even have a kitchen. Nothing beats a full kitchen, but you may also find that many hotels will provide you with a microwave and mini-refrigerator if you ask for them.

4. Go food shopping immediately after checking in

The FIRST thing I did after checking in was to make a beeline straight to the local grocery store. I took a shopping list with me because on past trips I found that I nearly always seemed to forget one or two small items if I didn’t have the written grocery list. Once you have a fully stocked refrigerator and kitchen, your meal planning and preparation is NO DIFFERENT than it is when you are home.

5. check the local restaurant locations and menus and commit in advance to making healthy choices when dining out

Since I had a kitchen at my disposal, the majority of my meals were just business as usual. I cooked them right in my hotel room and brought them along with me wherever I went. However, when traveling, it’s likely that you will probably be having quite a few restaurant meals.

I make it a habit to scope out the local restaurants in advance and even check their websites. Most have their menus online these days. I make a decision in advance whether it will be a regular meal or a “cheat meal.” If it’s a cheat meal, I enjoy whatever I want, but I always keep portion sizes in mind. For example, last time, I split a slice of cheesecake with a friend. Was I guilty? Heck no, it was my planned cheat day, I only ate half a slice and it was the first cheesecake I had in 12 months!

If you walk into a restaurant without having made a decision in advance whether you are staying on your regular meals or having a cheat meal, you are much more likely to have a “diet accident” and make a poor choice on impulse, especially if you’re influenced by non-healthy-eating companions (don’t under estimate the negative peer pressure factor). All it takes is one unplanned cheat meal and that can often lead to guilt. Then “all or none thinking” tends to set in and you may tell yourself, “Well, I blew it,” so the next meal and then the rest of the week tends to completely fall apart as well.

Continued in Part 2

About the Author:
Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder and author of the #1 best selling e-book, "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to burn fat without drugs or supplements using the little-known secrets of the world's best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and turbo-charge your metabolism by visiting: http://www.burnthefat.com/.

Health Travelers Eat Their Way Around The Country

With each new assignment we find a new place where we like eat. Me and my wife are breakfast people, we often like to go out to breakfast on Saturday. We don't go out too much during the week because eating out often can can deplete your disposable income faster than a banker can say overdrawn.

But breakfast is relatively inexpensive. I'm not talking about McDonald's or any of the other fast food places. Nor am I talking about chain restaurants. We like to hit the local restaurants that serve a great meal.

To that end, the following are some of the places around the country we have eaten that impressed us.

• In Winston-Salem, a great place to go if you can get a medical travel assignment there, is at Billy Bob's Silver Diner, located near Hanes Mall on Hanes mall Blvd and across from the movie theater. The breakfast was always good, there was plenty of food and the price was around $6 each for eggs, bacon, potatoes toast and coffee. It had a nice '50s feel to the interior. Outside the diner is a throwback to an earlier time. It is covered in shiny aluminum and is a real eye-catcher.
• Up next is B.B.King's Blues Club. To be honest, we did not eat breakfast there. I don't even think they serve Breakfast. The Traveler and I strolled over there after visiting the Peabody Hotel to watch the ducks walk through the lobby. It was about the coldest night of the year for Memphis. After not getting to see the ducks because of the huge crowd that packed the lobby, we froze looking for some entertainment on Beale Street. We wandered into B.B. King's Blues Club. There were quite a few people in there waiting for the entertainment to start. While waiting we had a barbecue spare rib dinner. The - tastiest - we - have - ever - eaten, bar none. I am sure there are plenty of other places in Memphis that serve just as delicious food, but we didn't eat there. So what I can recommend, medical travelers, are the ribs at the Blues Club on Beale Street in Memphis.
• The next place to eat, should you find yourself in Fayetteville, N.C. is the Quality Inn Ambassador on Eastern Blvd. There is a restaurant separate from the Inn that serves a great breakfast. Lots of well-prepared food, hot coffee and fast service for a low price. A lot of locals eat there.
• From there, should you find yourself in Beaufort, S.C., the place to east breakfast is Boundary Street Pizza on Boundary Street. We would occasionally drive by the business in the morning and see the parking lot packed with customers. I'm thinking they must put out one heck of a breakfast pizza. One day we decided to stop in a see what was going on for breakfast. It's a place the Traveler and I will never forget. It's not a big place inside but the food was well prepared with eggs to order, breakfast potatoes, bacon or sausage, toast, pancakes, and hot coffee, all for about 9 bucks! For both of us. Moreover, the owner is an extremely friendly guy who quietly boasts that many of the town's movers and shakers frequently eat there. I can understand why. Oh yeah, the pizza is really good too.
• Beaufort gets a double nod for places to eat. The second place is Barbara Jeans on Ladys Island. Great Southern food that is to die for. We ate outdoors on the porch that wraps around the building, an old-fashioned farm style home.
• From Beaufort we head farther south to Milton, FL. We didn't actually like living in Milton, but they did have a couple of places for great breakfasts. One was Ace's and the other was Reggies. Both serve a full breakfast line and good hot coffee. Get there early because they both get packed quickly on the weekends.
• Next up is Pensacola, FL, home of the Blue Angels. The place for breakfast is the Scenic 90 Cafe, aka the Shiny Diny. Like Billy Bobs in Winston-Salem, Scenic 90 is a diner-style cafe serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast choices are not plentiful, but what you do get is really good and fairly cheap. The interior is a '50s style ambiance. Get there early if you want a seat.
• Heading east from Pensacola to the blue waters of Destin is Another Broken Egg. A little pricey but the food is really scrumptious and you get a lot of choices.
• Also in Destin is the Donut Hole, a very popular restaurant that serves a wide variety of well-prepared breakfast foods. Also a little pricey but worth it.
• This time we head really far south to Naples, FL. The place to eat here is Joe's Diner in Naples Park, right on the Tamiami Trail. I have never seen such a large variety of breakfast foods. We eat there frequently and everything is well prepared and hot. Plus, if you buy an "Eat at Joe's" T-shirt or cap, each time you wear it in to eat, you get 10 percent off your meal, which is fairly economical already.
• One last place that has to be mentioned is the Dockside Sports Pub in Ft. Myers Beach. We stayed there one night on our way to Naples. The Traveler and I were in the mood for pizza. But when we called a few places, they had no one to deliver the food. Couldn't find the help. Cutting the story short, I walked to the nearby Dockside, which is a sports bar and karaoke lounge that serves a variety of short order items and entrees and award winning pizza. I bought a cheese pizza. Talk about good! That doesn't begin to describe the taste. A large cheese pizza ran about $13 but well worth the price.

Pet Obedience A Top Priority For Travelers

Being a medical traveler can be a lonely life regardless if you are single or married. You come into an area where most of your co-workers are already established and may have lived in the community for many years. Breaking into that circle may be nearly impossible.

Part of the reason for this is because they know that you are only temporary. Many people, yourself included, will not expend much energy on someone who is going to leave in a few months.

That's not to say you won't make any friends, because you will. Just don't expect to get invited to a lot of after-work events.

One step many medical travelers take to combat lonliness is to have a pet to keep them company.

This next part is important: if you have a pet you will be discriminated against when trying to get housing. You will not be able to get into the better apartments or condos. In some cases there may not be any available housing that takes pets, of any kind.

Moreover, if they do take your pet, they may charge you an additional monthly fee of 25$ and a nonrefundable pet deposit ranging from $250 and up. But to be honest, there have been enough incidents of people living worse than their dogs and severely damaging the apartment that landlords have had to resort to these sorts of near extortion tactics.

If you really want a pet as a medical health traveler, the smaller the better. More living accomodations accept pets under 25 pounds than larger pets, primarly dogs.

With that word of warning out of the way I will get on to the meat of this article, obedience training for your dog.

Dogs are social animals and need proper training to fit into human socienty. Until they are trained, they wil use your home like a backyard, bark until you wonder why they aren't hoarse, fight other dogs and even try to chew on you. That's because they don't recognize you as the alpha dog, the guy in charge, and no, phycally punishing the animal is not the answer.

In researching information on controlling animal behavior, I have come to the conclusion that there are as many different methods of training an animal as there are animal trainers.

As a result, and to help those of you who have a new dog you are trying to socialize into your household, I will give you some major tips for basic dog training that have been culled from various animal training experts. This current tip is one of the most important: How to train your new canine to relieve itself outside, not in the house.

Housebreaking Your Dog
Four aspects of housebreaking to remember are, praise, reward, be consistent and observe your dog's behavior.

Soon after eating the new puppy will need to relieve itself. Take it outside frequently until it defecates or urinates. Then immediately give the pooch a small treat and praise it. Tone of voice carries a lot of weight with animals - as it does people. This lets the new joy in your life know that relieving itself outside is acceptable bahavior.

Eventually, the dog will associate praise with a treat and soon praise with only the occasional treat will be enough to reinforce the behavior.

Initially, the use of a pet keeper, i.e. cage, as Poochie's Pad, can be beneficial in training your new Wonder Dog to go potty outdoors. Though not always true, dogs seem to refrain from relieving themselves where they sleep. But this will only be true if the cage is just big enough for them to turn around inside. If it is much bigger than that, they will use a corner to dump in and the other corner to sleep.

My dog Sebastian was a Pound Puppy, meaning I rescued him from the Animal Shelter, and at the start he was kept in a pet keeper. His cage was just large enough for him to turn around in and he seemed to like it.

More importantly, he never relieved himself inside there. We would let him out to play around the house and frequently took him outside. We rewarded him with praise and sometimes treats if he used the outdoors as a bathroom.

Eventually, we left the door of the pet keeper open and he could go in or out at will. Before long he outgrew the cage and we sold it at a yard sale.
Keep the same daily feeding schedule and begin by taking the Fido out soon after eating.

Over time begin taking longer and longer to take the Wonder Dog out until you get him on a schedule you are comfortable with. If an accident occurs in the house, use a harsh tone of voice and say, "No," or "Bad" to let the dog know what it did was not acceptable. But avoid physical punishment. Again, it's not the words as much as the tone of voice.

Here's an important household tip. If Poochie has an accident in the house use a carpet cleaner or cleaning solution that will eliminate the odor. Otherwise, the joy of you life will smell it later and think the spot is a place to relieve itself again.

Keep the feeding schedule regular. Don't vary the time much. My dog Sebastian knows within a few minutes of when he is supposed to be fed and starts a vigil by his bowl. This allows you to know how much you are feeding Fido, keep his calories under control, and know how soon he will have to go out to do the same thing bears do in the woods.

Notice your new best friend's behavior, I'm talking about your canine. Is she suddenly sniffing around the house, appear anxious or is whining? The dog may be looking for a suitable place to potty and is letting you know she needs to go out. Take her out immediately and don't confuse the animal by being upset with her because you are missing you favorite TV show. Afterall, you wanted Fido to let you know when it needed to go.

Whether you have a puppy or a grown dog, they vary in their ability to learn to relieve themselves outside. Some seem to know instinctively not to go in the house and make some effort to communicate to you that they need to go out. Just be patient and consistent and don't mix your signals.

• In summary, take the new dog or puppy outside and when it relieves itself outdoors use praise and treats as a reward.
• If the pooch has an accident in the house, use a harsh tone of voice and say, "No," to let it know your displeasure.
• Use an odor eliminator cleaner to remove pet mishaps
• Observe the dog and notice its behavior, such as sniffing, anxiety and whining. Take it out immediately.