ARMSNurse Story
ARMStaffing nurse Kristen V. was not always sure that nursing was for her, but once she became a nurse, she hit the ground running.
After high school, Kristen had not decided what she wanted to do for a living and didn’t want to commit herself to college without being sure. After discovering a local nursing home program that would certify her as a CNA, she began her journey.
“I decided to start there, you know, get my feet wet, see if that’s what I really wanted to do before I committed to college,” Kristen recounted. Shortly after completing the program and becoming a CNA, Kristen knew being in bedside care was the right path for her. She started her schooling to become a nurse shortly after.
“I knew that I definitely did not want to do geriatrics or nursing homes. I was focused more toward NICU, babies, nursery, PICU, things like that,” she explained.
Kristen graduated college at Cal U and immediately followed her heart to pediatrics.
“I started at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh for about 7 years before I decided to help open up a new NICU at Jefferson Hospital.”
Working in the same unit and specialty became mundane for Kristen, and that’s when she decided that travel nursing might offer the diversity and challenge that she was looking for.
Taking the Leap into Travel Nursing
ARMStaffing was the first agency Kristen has ever worked with, and she has been with us for 7 years now!
“I’ve had another recruiter before Liz, and her name was Stacy. When she moved up in the company I started working with Liz and have been with her ever since,” she said. “She always comes through for me with assignments. She knows what I want to the point where I just feel so comfortable with her.”
Kristen has taken quite a few assignments with ARMStaffing to say the least, and knows all about the difficulties that can sometimes come with traveling.
“ARMS has been wonderful,” Kristen expressed. “There’s been a few contracts that I’ve taken that was supposed to be a pediatric contract, and when I got there, the unit was closed most of the time. I was floating to the E.R. and settings with adults.”
“After about three weeks of that,” she continued, “I called ARMS and said this is not what I’m signing up to do here. They got right on it, I was able to leave that contract without fault. That was one of the things that stands out to me.”
Being a part of the ARMS family
Being with ARMS for such a long time, Kristen is a prime example of being a part of the ARMStaffing family! She even had some very kind words to say about ARMS during our interview.
“ARMS always remembers my birthday and when I had a pet pass away, they sent me a really nice card. They never miss a Christmas gift and I love all the free merch that they send. I’m just into that kind of stuff and I think Liz knows that. She always has some cool stuff for me. I mean, I haven’t even looked with any other companies just because ARMS is always so good to me and they always come through with contracts.”
Thank you for being such a valued member of our team, Kristen!
All About You
Here comes the lightning round – All of Kristen’s favorites.
Show: Suits
Hobbie: Swimming and Boating
Interesting Fact: Kristen has 3 children, 2 dogs, 1 cat, a chicken and a bunny
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