Traveling NP

Check out an article I wrote for Locumstory.com about everything you need to know about working locum tenens as an NP.

https://locumstory.com/spotlight/locum-tenens-nps

Check out my latest article at NPschools.com about the pros and cons of being a psych NP.

https://www.npschools.com/blog/pros-and-cons-of-being-a-pmhnp

I have listened to the White Coat Investor Podcast since 2019. The White Coat Investor was one of the first blogs written to help medical professionals learn about investing and finances. If you are not already a reader/listener, I highly recommend! I am honored to have been interviewed for the Milestones to Millionaire podcast. You can check out my episode on apple podcast or watch the youtube video below:

I am honored to have been named 2024 Locum Tenens Nurse Practitioner of the Year by Barton Associates! This inaugural award comes with a $2500 stipend and donates an additional $2500 to my charity of choice which is my family’s non-profit organization: Hope for Haiti’s Children. It is an amazing honor and I am truly grateful to live a life as a Traveling NP. See below for the link for the blog article and they also created a brief video interviewing me.

https://www.bartonassociates.com/blog/2024-locum-tenens-nurse-practitioner-of-the-year-sophia-khawly-msn-arnp-fnp-bc

I wrote this article for NPschools.com about what to ask when shadowing an NP. I think this is helpful for NP students, novice NPs, and even traveling NPs since we sometimes shadow other providers as part of our orientation.

https://www.npschools.com/blog/what-to-ask-when-shadowing-an-np

I chose to work in Massachusetts partially because its close proximity to many popular towns in New England. Although I worked in central Massachusetts, it was still within 30 min-2 hours of nearby towns. Here are my top recommended day or weekend trips nearby.

Boston:

I preferred not to live in Boston due the major traffic, but I enjoyed being close enough to take advantage of the history and culture. Since it is a large city, there is a lot to do and it is very diverse. I have been to Boston several times in the past, but it was my first-time visiting Cambridge – where Harvard is.

I recommend visiting: Boston Common Park; Boston Tea Party Museum and Ships; Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum; Freedom Trail tour; Boston Harbor, Downtown etc.

Newport, RI:

This is a cute New England town. I met up with my friend and we did the Cliff Walk. It was fun and you got to see some beautiful mansions on the coast. I thought it was going to be a boardwalk type of walk, but it did require climbing over some large rocks, so make sure you wear sneakers! The weather was perfect. We lucked out with a nice breeze and sunshine. They have famous mansions in town that were previously owned by the Vanderbilt’s or made as copies of French Palaces. They were gorgeous!

Hartford, CT:

Hartford is only 30 minutes from Springfield, MA so I actually flew  in and out of that airport. West Hartford is a nice area. They have Mark Twain’s House and Museum; Wasdworth Atheneium Museum; and Elizabeth Park Conservatory which are fun.

Cape Cod:

Cape Cod is gorgeous! I love the rocky landscape. It was nice to walk along the beaches and there were a lot of people doing water sports activities. They have lighthouses and views similar to parts of Maine. I recommend going to National Seashore.  They have a boat you can go on to cruise around. You can also go whale watching but I am saving that experience to do with my partner. I also recommend going to Pronvincetown all the way at the end for the shops.

Martha’s Vineyard:

I didn’t have the chance to go to Martha’s Vineyard but I heard from co-workers and friends that it is a lovely place to visit. You can take the ferry and spend the day there. There are a lot of cute shops and restaurants. Some people even go to the beach there but the water would be too cold for a Floridian.

Berkshires in the Fall:

This is where the New Yorkers and New Englanders go when they want to get away from the city. Being there for fall was absolutely beautiful! It was only a 40-minute drive from where I was working. I wasn’t there for peak leaf peeping but fortunately was able to see some red leaves which are my favorite.

I successfully received my Lifetime Platinum Status with Marriott! This will come in handy when I travel for leisure as I will get free room upgrades, free breakfast, and lounge access. Not to mention late check out, and other perks – for Life!

I agreed to extend my time in MA for 3 weeks. After last year’s snow car accident, I didn’t want to get stuck in a similar situation. So, I did not agree to the 6-week extension that would keep me here until November. By extending 3 weeks, I will be able to experience New England fall for the first couple of weeks in October. Fall is my favorite time of year. I am taking the remainder of the year off for the Holidays, so I figured working an extra few weeks wouldn’t hurt.

Of course, I never extend for free. I asked for an extra $5/hour to extend. An extra $5/hour for 3 weeks is only an extra $600. It’s not life changing, but I like to utilize my negotiation skills. My recruiter originally told me the site wasn’t looking to increase the rate. Not surprising because who is ever “looking” to do that? But I knew how desperate they were because it didn’t look like those physicians on FMLA were coming back anytime soon.

Thus, I told them it would be a deal breaker. I wasn’t surprised when the site agreed to increase my hourly rate, and I then confirmed the 3 week extension.

Every time I take a sabbatical, the first month off is a bit challenging. I miss work, I miss being productive, I wonder if I should be working more. Then by the 3^rd month, I’m like – I cannot imagine myself going back to work. I am enjoying my freedom and stress-free life.

Going back to work this time after spending 3 months in Barcelona was difficult. I couldn’t imagine myself seeing 20 patients per day again. My previous job before the sabbatical was chill since it was a new clinic, we were only seeing a few patients per day. Fortunately, I was given a ramp up schedule in MA so I wasn’t just thrown in.

Starting my 2^nd month in the assignment, which is when you really know if the assignment is good or bad, is when I started to feel overwhelmed. I dreaded going to work and felt burned out by the end of the day. I think it was because that’s when I started seeing majority of the physician’s patients that is out on FMLA, and there was a lot of catching up to do (patient wise).

I think I was also having imposter syndrome. Normally I am a confident NP, considering I have over 10 years of experience and have worked with so many different populations, and followed so many different providers. But coming back from a sabbatical I felt a bit rusty and not as sharp as usual. After 1-2 weeks, this subsided and once I felt confident in myself again, I no longer felt overwhelmed.

Even though taking 3-6 months off every year is rewarding, it can definitely take a toll on you professionally. I have to remind myself after starting to work each time after a sabbatical, that it is ok for me to be a little rusty in the beginning. But practicing in healthcare is similar to riding a bike, eventually it all comes back to you.

Many traveling nurse practitioners have a high deductible health insurance plan (HDHP). This is either because they are getting it from a W2 agency or are self-insuring. If you have a HDHP, then this post is for you.

Having a HDHP allows you to contribute to a Health Savings Account. The maximum contributions for a single person in 2024 are $4150 and $8300 for a family. The money in this account can be invested and used long-term. Do not confuse this with a Flexible Spending Account which is owned by an employer, and needs to be used by the end of the calendar year. An HSA is owned by you and is an investment account.

The HSA is often referred to as a triple tax savings account. This is because money is contributed to the account pre-tax. It grows in the account tax free. And it is withdrawn tax free, as long as it is used for health care costs.

For example, if I wanted to contribute $1000 to my HSA, it would be taken out of my paycheck before income taxes are paid. Or if I am a 1099 worker, I can deduct the contribution on my taxes. Then I would select a fund in my HSA to invest my $1000. Let’s say in that same year I had a dental procedure done. I can withdraw the funds from my HSA to cover the expenses of the dental procedure, without paying taxes. However, this is not recommended.

Instead, it is recommended that you hold on to the receipt of the dental procedure, and allow the money in the HSA to invest and compound long term. Fast forward to retirement age, I want to live off of my HSA. I can withdraw money tax free, as long as I have medical receipts for proof, even from 20 years ago. Let’s say my HSA has now grown to $100,000. Now I would withdraw the $1000 to reimburse me for paying for the dental procedure many years ago, tax free. And at that point I can use the $1000 for my everyday life. I can withdraw more money from that $100,000 growth as long as I have other health care related expenses in the past to support it.

For HSA purposes, healthcare costs can include a variety of expenses such as: medicare premiums, doctor visits, medications, acupuncture, women’s tampons, contact lenses, dental work etc. So, there are many items you can easily reimburse yourself for using over the years.

This is not financial advice, and is a bit more complicated then it appears. Please do your own research and feel free to read this article for a better understanding.