Travel Tips for Locum Tenens

Make those travel points add up!

bmoland — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0700

As a locum tenens traveler, it really pays to take the time to sign up for and use frequent flyer, preferred guest, and all those other programs that give you perks in return for your loyalty. It’s easy, it’s generally free, you can usually do it on-line, and you only have to keep track of the numbers long enough to get them to your friendly VISTA Staffing Solutions travel agent. We will add them to your travel profile, which includes your preferences, special needs, and such, and enter them whenever you book travel and housing for a locum tenens assignment.

Even if your locums travels take you to vastly different places on different airlines and to different hotels, the points can add up. For example, Delta, Northwest, and Continental honor each other’s frequent flyer point programs. United and US Air have a similar arrangement, as do Alaska Air/Delta and Alaska Air/American.

When and how you use your points is, of course, entirely up to you. Even though you earn them on tickets paid for by locum tenens clients, you are entitled to the benefits. Our team suggests that you save upgrades for a flight that’s three hours or longer—almost anyone can survive a short haul in coach. Timing is also an important consideration, and an upgrade might make a packed end-of-the-business week flight much more comfortable if you are able to get it.

Check the websites of the airlines you fly for on-line applications and rules and restrictions for using your points. There is no question the travel industry is becoming less generous in this respect, but there are still benefits to be had.

And don’t forget to sign up for preferred traveler programs at the hotels you frequent. Your points may entitle you an upgrade or a free stay when a friend or family members decides to join you for all or part of a temporary medical assignment. Always ask hotels if they honor airline frequent flyers programs too—most of them do.

One final note—find a little pocket in your carry-on bag and get in the habit of stashing your boarding passes there. When you get your frequent flyer program statements, verify that you were credited for all the segments of your journey. If you were not, only the boarding pass can convince the airline to add the points for a segment to your account. Happy traveling!

Make your locum tenens travel simpler—remember 3-1-1

cmungal — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0700

In what may be a strange tribute to the memory of 911, TSA has launched the 3-1-1 campaign to help travelers adapt to the new restrictions on liquids in carry-on luggage. We thought we’d remind you about it as you prepare for your next locum tenens assignment. Here’s how it goes:

3-ounce bottles or less (by volume)
1 quart-sized, clear, plastic, zip-top bag
1 bag per passenger, to be placed in the screening bin as you approach security.

TSA reports that the one-quart bag per person limits the total liquid volume each traveler can bring. The three-ounce container size is a security measure. Packing all the bottles into one clear, not-likely-to-fly-open bag that can be X-rayed separately will speed screening.

They also want to remind travelers that 3-1-1 is for short trips when you may choose not to check a bag. If in doubt, put your liquids in checked luggage.

Some liquids are allowed in larger quantities, but you must declare them as you pass through security. These include medications, baby formula and food, breast milk, and juice in reasonable quantities. They do not need to be in zip-top bags.

Your VISTA travel team wishes you safe journeys to and from all of your locums assignments and BEGS you to GET TO THE AIRPORT EARLY, for your sanity and ours.

Can I take my knitting needles on my locum tenens flight?

rgomez — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0700

No, this is NOT the strangest carry-on question I’ve received, but in thinking about physicians traveling to locum tenens assignments and actually having a little free time to pursue other interests, it seemed like a good answer to share.

The good news is, knitting needles are permitted in your carry-on baggage or checked baggage.

The not-as-definitive news is that TSA Security Officers have the authority to determine right there on the spot if an item could be used as a weapon. Therefore they may not allow your knitting needles to pass through security. So, if you do decide to carry on that scarf you are knitting for Aunt Sophie, TSA recommends the following:

Circular knitting needles should be less than 31 inches in total length
Bamboo or plastic (not metal) needles are preferred
Scissors must have blunt points
Carry a self addressed envelope so that you can mail your knitting back to yourself if a Security Officer does not allow your knitting tools through security. Otherwise you will have to surrender them at the security check point
Always carry a crochet hook with yarn in your knitting bag to save the work you have already done in case your knitting tools are surrendered at the checkpoint

Ok, but what about needlepoint? TSA says that most needlepoint project tools are permitted in your carry-on baggage or checked baggage except circular thread cutters or any cutter with a blade contained inside. These items cannot be taken through a security checkpoint. They must go in your checked baggage.

Comfort/timing/price=the optimum equation for locum tenens travel

bmoland — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Globalization—notwithstanding Starbucks and The Gap and Abercrombie and Fitch—has a positive side. It has made travel simpler and much less intimidating. Find baggage claim at SUX and you can find it at LAX. Return a rental car at SeaTac and you can return one at Miami International. Learn to navigate your home airport and you can pretty much make it through any airport in the world.

Of course it helps to have a great team paving the way for you. VISTA has a three-person, in-house travel team. We book flights, reserve rental cars, and arrange for short-, mid-, or long-term housing while physicians are on assignment with us in the US, Australia, or New Zealand.

Our goal is to find the optimum balance between comfort and timing for physicians, and affordability for the hospitals and practices in which you work. We understand that practicing medicine is what you do best, and that you do it best if you feel safe, comfortable, and in control of your situation. That’s why we always work to accommodate your requests and special needs. (We recently booked travel and housing for a physician traveling with six Coin Parakeets—we can handle just about anything!)

On the flip side, the most important thing you can do to make your locum tenens travel successful and less stressful is GET TO THE AIRPORT ON TIME! I know there are factors beyond every traveler’s control, but if you can get in the habit of arriving early enough to complete the last task on your to-do list on the premises instead of at home or on the way you will save yourself, your team, your colleagues, and yes, your travel agents a lot of heartache. So make a plan to shine your shoes, get cash, check your email, stop for coffee, call your mom, or clean out your briefcase once you are through security and in the relative vicinity of your gate.
If you miss a flight or your flight is delayed or cancelled, the most important thing to do is get in line for a ticket agent. Run, don’t walk. And call us from the line. The on-site agent may have more information or options to help you. Conversely, we may be able to act more quickly. Either way it’s best to cover both bases. Happy traveling!