Fastaff nurses are rewarded and recognized for the experience, skills, and dedication they bring to each travel nursing assignment. This nurse is someone who exemplifies the Fastaff values.

Read below to learn more about January’s Nurse of the Month, Donna Ziegler:

Specialty: Labor and Delivery.

Number of years working with Fastaff:

15 years and 44 assignments.

Why do you love working with Fastaff? 

The fact that I don’t have to worry about housing. I am able to just show up at an assignment and city, settle in, and show up for work. I have also had the same recruiter since starting so it’s comfortable and comes with no surprises. Brigitte knows that I will always place my family members first and she works with me to make it work.

What do you love about nursing?

The difference I make and knowing throughout my shift I am impacting the lives of my patients whether through medications, encouragement, teaching skills, or just stopping and listening. I know it sounds corny, but I love everything about being a nurse.

What makes travel nursing rewarding for you?

The places I have gone to. I love historical sites and I have been so many places, ranging from California to Rhode Island and Gulf of Mexico to Michigan. I’ve been to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the St. Louis Arch, and the White Sands National Monument. I love being able to see all these places that I read about as a child.

Tell me about a time where you felt more valuable/respected because of the experience and knowledge you gained from your Fastaff assignment.

My assignments in St. Louis gave me so much more experience. I had the opportunity to work in their NICU and cared for quintuplets and become much more comfortable caring for tiny babies.

What has been your most challenging Fastaff assignment and how did you feel that impacted your worth as a nurse afterwards?

I cared for a woman who was seriously ill and her baby was a full-term stillborn. After delivery she was in the ICU and unable to focus on her baby. The staff was not comfortable taking pictures of her baby, so I took them. Several weeks later, the mother came up to the nurses and hugged us and thanked us for taking pictures of her baby, especially the pictures of her baby’s ear. Turns out the family has unique ears and the baby shared that trait. This experience is what promoted my desire to work with perinatal bereavement. 

Describe the most miraculous or impressive thing you’ve witnessed or been a part of during your time as a nurse with Fastaff.

I am a Labor and Delivery nurse, so each birth is a miracle to me. I go to work feeling blessed and amazed that I am able to be present for this transformation. Watching new moms and dads holding their newborn never, ever gets old.

How have you accomplished some of your personal and professional goals by traveling with Fastaff?

Fastaff has enabled me to arrange my schedule in life to be with my family members anytime I have been needed. I love the ability to not have to plan a year in advance for vacation time.