Nurses and health professionals across the country are using Medely to pick up shifts and assignments on their schedule, leaving them more time to pursue their passions, earn extra cash to put toward the things that matter most to them, and find greater flexibility in their schedules to help maintain a healthy work-life balance.
One of those health professionals is Reanda Mester, RN, who has been using Medely since 2018. We sat down with her to talk about what led her to becoming a nurse, why she’s passionate about her career, and how Medely helps her achieve her goals, both personally and professionally.
How Reanda became a nurse
Reanda knew that she needed a stable career because of her daughter, so she knew that going into healthcare would be a great option for providing for her family. “I had my daughter very young, and so with her, I always knew that I needed a stable job,” Reanda shares. “At first, I was going to start out as a tech, but then I had a really good support system with my family. I went straight through and got my bachelor’s.”
After getting her degree and working full-time as a staff nurse for a couple of years, she decided to go PRN so that requesting time off to be with her daughter would be easier. “I have my daughter, so requesting time off was just really hard. Then I started going PRN, and then my coworker told me about Medely and how they offer per diem shifts where you just pick up locally,” Reanda shares. “I was like, okay, well, I’ll add that to my shifts as well… I’ll do two PRN jobs and then Medely. It kind of just happened, and I applied.”
How Medely helps Reanda reimagine her career
With Medely, Reanda has found stability, freedom, and flexibility in ways she couldn’t imagine as a staff nurse. “With Medely, I can do it [pick up shifts] usually full time, especially after the summer when surgery centers really start to kind of pick up. I can do them [pick up shifts] full time, five days a week, and even if I wanted to pick up a shift on a weekend at med-surg somewhere,” Reanda shares. “We don’t have requirements for Medely, so if I want to take off a full week for spring break to be with my daughter, I don’t have to ask.”
Since Medely is a marketplace, nurses and health professionals don’t have to contend with outdated minimum shift requirements that hospitals and agencies have. They can pick up shifts as many or as few times as they want, even if it’s been a few months since they picked up their last shift, which is great for nurses like Reanda.
Sometimes I do take hospital contracts [longer-term assignments] where I may do four or five 13-week contracts in a row. Once it’s done, Medely is still there for me. They’re not dropping me after a year because I didn’t meet a quota that they wanted me to meet.”
The option to pick up a travel assignment, local assignment, or a per diem shift has given Reanda choices in how she works, leaving her more time to spend with her family and the freedom to combine work with travel. “I’m from Phoenix, but we live out here,” Reanda says. “If I’m in Phoenix for the summer, I can pick up a short little three- or four-week contract, and I can bring my family out there with me, and we can make it both a work and family vacation.” Because of Medely, Reanda created a schedule that works for her and allows her to take time to do the things she wants without sacrificing her extra income.
Medely’s easy-to-use platform
Tech-enabled solutions like Medely are becoming more popular for picking up shifts and finding extra work for nurses and health professionals. As the healthcare industry adapts and changes, cutting-edge technology is crucial for making sure nurses and health professionals can easily find the shifts and assignments they’re looking for. And Medely is pioneering the best technology, giving healthcare workers like Reanda a simple, easy experience while picking up shifts. “[Medely] is very user-friendly,” Reanda shares. “Once you download it onto your home screen, it’s just a click away.”
Top-notch customer support and quick response times are also important for making sure platforms like Medely run smoothly, and Reanda shares that Medely’s customer support is always on top of solving any problems that arise or answering any questions. “If I ever have any questions or concerns or if I’m like, “Hey, the app was down this day” or “I was 5 minutes late clocking in because my app went down,” they’re very responsive. Somebody reaches out to you very quickly.”
Because Medely is there for Reanda when she needs it, she’s been able to reimagine her nursing career, leaving her time to accomplish her goals, both personally and professionally. “All around – faith, financially, and family, it just allows me to achieve any goals that I want to achieve,” Reanda says.
Sign up for Medely
Looking for freedom and flexibility to live life on your terms? Sign up for Medely and start finding local assignments, travel assignments, or per diem shifts that work for you and your schedule.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.