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I’ll never forget the moment I ran into a friend who’d just graduated from the same nursing program. We’d both finished our nursing shifts at the hospital and were harried and exhausted. “Nursing school did not prepare us for this!” My friend exclaimed, her blonde hair falling from a haphazardly placed ponytail. I agreed, relieved that I wasn’t the only new RN overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of floor nursing.

Nothing burns calories like nursing, and that's the truth! Some days, you barely have a minute to spare to fuel back up, so it's important to make sure anything you are eating packs a punch and isn't going to wear off on you after that initial rush. Proteins are an excellent bet, since they digest slower and offer up a good source of energy. Here are our recommendations for high-energy snacks to keep you going. Don't forget to stay hydrated, too!

Did you recently start a travel nursing assignment in Washington D.C.? Hopefully you're enjoying yourself! There's nothing quite like being in the nation's capital where history is made. You may not get to be in the room where it happens (according to a popular musical you may or may not have heard of), but you do get to experience the spring cherry blossoms and the Roman-inspired architecture.

If you're on a lengthy travel nursing assignment in Los Angeles, you are probably starting to think about a visit home, or visitors to you! Thankfully, L.A. is a major metropolitan area with a large international and domestic airport. Awesome, right? Sure, as long as you can find reasonably priced airfare, which isn't always possible through a popular hub. When you're on a budget, you can't drop big bucks to visit home for the weekend, much as you might want to. So what's the alternative?

Coffee is beloved by our entire community, but when you get to that fourth or fifth cup, you start to feel pretty blah. Or worse, it loses its effectiveness and you need it to simply function, rather than get a little boost when you need it. So what do you do to keep going on shifts when the long hours and high-stress situations are draining your batteries? Here are some caffeine alternatives to try.

Every nurse knows the benefits of compression socks and stockings -- preventing and slowing the progression of venous disorders like thrombosis and edema. They help with achiness, improve circulation, help with ulcer treatment, and reduce the risk of blood clots. They even offer relief to pregnant patients who are dealing with foot and leg swelling during the course of their pregnancy. All in all, you're probably very familiar with them and have likely helped more than one person put them on during their hospital stay.

Travel nursing offers up tons of opportunities to experience different cities, different hospitals, and different ways of doing your job. Every assignment offers up its own unique challenges and experiences, whether you're dealing with internal politics or figuring out new guidelines for a procedure you've done a hundred times elsewhere. Not every assignment can be a dream gig, but that doesn't mean there's nothing to learn.

You've decided to take a travel nursing gig that's landed you in the San Francisco Bay Area. Fantastic! Now that you're on your way, you may want to familiarize yourself with the area and spend some of your precious downtime exploring everything that beautiful Northern California has to offer. If you're in the area, you might as well make the most of it, right? Time to take a scenic drive! Here are our suggestions for seven drives to take in the Bay Area.

1) Lotion and hand sanitizer - Hospitals are well-stocked with sanitizer (""foam in, foam out,"" right?), but it doesn't ever hurt to carry extra for emergencies. It's not only important but necessary to disinfect frequently throughout the day, but all that alcohol really does a number on your skin. Dry, cracked hands can be distracting, so make sure to keep some quality unscented hand lotion in your bag for relief.