Nurses are healthcare professionals who deliver care and help ensure patient safety all year round — no matter how extreme the weather gets. These statistics underscore the importance of staying safe: According to the National Safety Council, in 2023 alone, 75,104 weather events resulted in 877 deaths and 3,857 injuries. Unfortunately, winter weather is one of the main reasons behind the number of injuries last year.
As temperatures drop during winter, travel nurses must stay safe as they go to their next assignments and do their daily commutes from their temporary homes to their travel healthcare facilities. In this article, we provide helpful winter safety tips for travel nurses to stay safe while on icy roads and in freezing temperatures.
Preparing for winter as a travel nurse: Helpful commuting and driving tips
1. Regularly check weather and news reports
Before you head out the door with your insulated coffee tumbler, warm coat, and winter boots, make sure that you’re aware of the weather outside. Because winter weather can be difficult to deal with and highly dangerous, spending as little time outdoors as possible can keep you safe, especially during snow storms and blizzards.
Be on the lookout for up-to-date news and advisories about travel advisories via the National Weather Service’s winter weather warnings, watches, and advisories, as well as local or state-specific weather forecasts. It’s imperative to know whether roads are cleared for travel and are hazard-free before you drive out. You should also be familiar with important winter weather-related terminologies, such as blizzard, sleet, wind chill, and freezing rain, to know what to wear and how to prepare your vehicle appropriately.
2. If you’re taking public transportation, stay informed and know your options
Get a transit app to track your buses and trains accurately. This way, you won’t need to leave your house too early and wait for your bus or train outdoors, especially at night.
Aside from Transit, a public transit app that provides information for 296 cities and regions in the US, there are other state-specific transit apps, such as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) Official MTA App, which provides up-to-date public transit information for New York’s subways, buses, and commuter railroads (Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North), and Maryland’s Transit app, which gives information on MTA CityLink, LocalLink, Express BusLink buses, along with Commuter Bus, MARC Train, Metro Subway, and Light Rail service.
3. Make sure your vehicle is prepped for cold weather and snow
You need to ensure that your car is prepped for cold weather before you drive to your facility, no matter how short the drive is to get there. Before you head out, make sure that you inspect your tires. According to the National Highway Safety Administration, when it’s cold out, tire inflation pressure drops, so make sure that your tires are filled to the vehicle manufacturer’s recommended inflation pressure. This can be found on the driver’s side door frame. It’s also vital to have a mechanic check your car batteries as cold weather affects battery power. These tips are especially important if you’re going on a long drive, such as when you’re crossing state lines to reach your next travel assignment.
It’s also essential to keep an emergency kit in your car at all times, especially in winter. Emergency car kits with winter-related items should include:
· First-aid kit
· Food that doesn’t spoil easily, such as granola bars (without chocolate), energy bars, and jerky
· Water in plastic bottles
· Warm blanket
· Extra clothing, socks, and shoes
· Flashlight and batteries
· Shovel, scraper, and snowbrush
· Whistle
· Sand or cat litter
· Antifreeze
· Road flare or warning triangle
· Jumper cables
· Tow rope
· Fire extinguisher
4. Drive slowly
Driving slowly can enable you to better adjust to bad road conditions, such as when there’s snow, sleet, or ice. You should also decelerate and accelerate slowly and increase your following distance to allow you to stop at a safer distance when needed.
