Theodore Stroukoff Discusses the Licensing Challenges of Travel Nursing

SANTE FE, NM, April 13, 2012 (Press-News.org) As a professional travel nurse, Theodore Stroukoff has experienced many challenges in his work. None are as essential to Theodore Stroukoff's career, however, as knowing and following the licensing laws of the state he's working in. To that end, Theodore Stroukoff makes a point of becoming familiar with the licensing laws that apply to the state he's working in.

According to Theodore Stroukoff, the Nurse Practice Act (NPA) governs the laws set in each individual state for licenses issued in that state. These laws, according to Theodore Stroukoff, are designed to protect the safety and health of citizens nationwide. In each state, the board of nursing oversees the execution of the NPA, Theodore Stroukoff explains, determining regulations and disciplinary action to apply to licensed professionals.

As Theodore Stroukoff knows firsthand, however, a travel nurse moves from state to state, making adhering to each state's regulations complicated. Thankfully, Theodore Stroukoff reports that the Nurse Licensure Compact makes it easier in some areas. Enacted in 1997 by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, the Nurse Licensure Compact is a plan that allows states to recognize the licenses issued by other states.

Currently, travel nurses like Theodore Stroukoff are allowed to easily move between 24 states participating in the compact. The number continues to increase, Theodore Stroukoff emphasizes, with six states currently having pending legislation to join the nursing compact. Theodore Stroukoff explains that the compact was created to make nurses more mobile- need that is becoming more relevant as an aging population creates a bigger demand for nurses. The Nurse Licensure Compact is beneficial not only to Theodore Stroukoff and other travel nurses, but also to patients who may have better access to care.

Theodore Stroukoff recently discussed the process to obtaining a Nurse Licensure Compact. To begin, says Theodore Stroukoff, a nurse must live in one of the compact states. This is determined by the state on the nurse's tax return, according to Theodore Stroukoff. Once a nurse is licensed in a compact state, that license will apply to any of the other 24 states, states Theodore Stroukoff. Of course, if work calls that nurse to a state that isn't a part of the Nurse Licensure Compact, the nurse will have to obtain a license to practice in that state before beginning work.

Being a part of the compact doesn't excuse a nurse from a lack of knowledge about the laws of that particular state, Theodore Stroukoff cautions. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing can link a nurse to the state board of nursing in the area where he or she will be practicing, Theodore Stroukoff advises. By studying the regulations of a specific area of practice, a nurse can be prepared to practice nursing safely in any state, concludes Theodore Stroukoff.

A professional travel nurse, Theodore Stroukoff has worked in hospitals, residence facilities, and even correctional facilities. He reports that working as a travel nurse has helped him grow as a medical professional while allowing him to see the world and meet exciting new people.

Theodore Stroukoff was born in New Jersey and graduated from Lawrence High School in Lawrenceville in 1972. Lawrenceville is a town with a population in the low thousands, and growing up in a small town helped Theodore Stroukoff develop interpersonal skills that would later prove invaluable as a nursing professional.

Although Theodore Stroukoff's early childhood was spent in New Jersey on the East Coast, he later relocated to New Mexico with his wife. In New Mexico, Theodore Stroukoff obtained a nursing degree from Santa Fe Community College, becoming an RN. Nursing is one of 72 professional degrees offered by Santa Fe Community College, a public two-year college located in Santa Fe.

A traveling nurse, Theodore Stroukoff has worked in a variety of settings, taking on a multitude of challenges that have helped him grow as a nursing professional. With his medical-surgical (med/surg) work, Theodore Stroukoff was able to work in a hospital setting, providing adult care. Theodore Stroukoff has also served in hospital environments in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), step down unit (where patients recover after leaving the ICU), telemetry, and the emergency room. Theodore Stroukoff's travel nurse work has also taken him to correctional facilities, where he has provided healthcare to inmates, and residence facilities, where Theodore Stroukoff served those who were permanent residents of healthcare facilities.

Traveling for work, Theodore Stroukoff says, has allowed him to experience a variety of environments and work with many different people. Theodore Stroukoff loves the flexibility of a traveling nurse's schedule and believes that being able to work in so many different environments has allowed him to expand his nursing skills tremendously.

Theodore Stroukoff recently made the decision to start a business for distressed consulting nurses. Stroukoff envisions a place where nurses could go for advice on better fitting into the nursing environment. Through this business, which he is still in the process of building, Theodore Stroukoff hopes to help nurses better cope with the culture in many healthcare environments. This will, he believes, help the patients receive better care.

Prior to pursuing a career in nursing, Theodore Stroukoff worked as a skating coach. For twenty-seven years, he helped aspiring figure skaters learn double lutzes and triple axels. Among his clients was future soap opera star Eden Riegel, best known as Bianca on All My Children. Riegel currently stars as Heather on The Young and the Restless.

Among the ice rinks where Theodore Stroukoff coached is the Genoveva Chavez Community Center Ice Arena. The Genoveva Chavez arena is the only ice rink in Santa Fe, according to Theodore Stroukoff, that offers children in the area the opportunity to learn the basic fundamentals of ice skating. There, Theodore Stroukoff taught new skaters the basics of staying on their feet, and offered advanced lessons to seasoned figure skaters competing on the figure skating circuit and hoping to someday become professionals.

In his free time, Theodore Stroukoff is active, rollerblading and playing tennis and golf. Theodore Stroukoff is proud to call New Mexico home, with its beautiful landscapes.