Buy Kat Ann a tea

When I went to travel nurse to the U.S., I was extremely frustrated that there was hardly any info out there or support. I thought, 'I can't be the FIRST Canadian nurse to do this?!'

This is when it all started, I created the Canuck to Yankee Guide, a 176-page guide that walks through the entire process of travel nursing for Canadian nurses to the United States.

Since then, the Canuck to Yankee Guide has become a staple and has been shared and viewed thousands of times -- It's even been plagiarized! You know you're made it as an author when someone tries to steal your work. XD

Next, I started a Facebook Group to solely focus on Canadian to American travel nursing and develop a community to supplement the resources I planned to provide.

Ever since then, I moderate posts, answer DMs daily, write articles to refer nurses to if I notice similar questions being asked, and I deal with scammers, overeager recruiters, spammers, bullying, creating more resources, hosting webinars (e.g. tax webinars), have social teas (to help fend off isolation on assignments) and manage the group.

In July/August 2023, I created a website as I needed somewhere to put the Canuck guide and articles. My google doc had reached the maximum of shares. I started a website with GoDaddy and created what I could to the best of my abilities at the time.

Here is the website: canadiantravelnursestotheusa.com

At the one year mark (August 2024), I let the subscription to GoDaddy expire as I was not happy with the overall look and feel of the website. I set out to redo the website from scratch to be more visually appealing and include EVEN more resources.

My main goal with providing all of these resources is to be the resource that I needed when I was going through everything alone.

My second goal was to provide all of these resources for FREE. I do not believe that nurses should have to pay for all of these things. Part of the reason so many of us want to travel nurse is for BETTER PAY or to pay off debt, etc. So, realistically, we need the help and don't have much to spare on memberships or programs.

I want to keep it free and accessible.

But has some literal costs (e.g. website subscription, domain name, zoom annual fee, Canva subscription, etc.) and it consumes a lot of time to manage everything. At this point, with all the work I put into put into this side-business, I don't have time to work full-time or actually take a travel nurse contract in the States myself. Thus, the pay difference is quite extreme with what I could make as a travel nurse on just 2 contracts.

So, as I revamp the website to put up the Canuck to Yankee Guide, articles, and other resources for the community, if you feel it is worth it, then I would welcome any contributions!

• The Canuck guide definitely took many months to write (over 300+ hours) and I'm hoping to update it and release a 2nd edition in 2025.
• I am re-doing the website from scratch which has taken weeks of sorting through 10,000+ pictures to get the right look and feel. Then several days to get used to the new platform (Showit), a few hundred dollars for the domain renewal and new site, and ongoing I am slowly creating page by page. And in one year, the website was viewed a crazy 21,000 times!
• Every article takes about 5-13 hours to write and many need to be redone after switching website providers.
• Thus far, we have our home page, privacy policy, contact, resources, support, several articles, etc. posted!

I am working on the support page now. Next, I will put up the Canuck to Yankee Guide, articles, a checklist/roadmap, previous webinars, and an about page. Once everything is back up, I will resume one article per week.

In 2025, I plan to do the following:

- Start a monthly newsletter

- Update the Canuck to Yankee Guide (2nd edition)

- Update the Checklist

- Add more agencies to the Recommended Recruiter List

- Create a mentorship program for those who need a little extra help. This will have a fee and is meant for newbies who really want the extra hand-holding. Of note, I don't want travel nurses to pay, so there will be a refund if the nurse goes with one of the recruiters I recommend (so the course will have been FREE).

- I'm also hoping to meet up with Canadian nurses as I travel around Canada. I've met up with nurses a few times in Winnipeg, put it out there for Thunder Bay, Ottawa, and in 2025, I hope to add meet ups in Toronto (multiple), Montreal, and Quebec City so far.

- I will get back to posting on social media (Instagram & Facebook) roughly 3-6 times per week with relevant info and events.

- More events e.g. an AMA with Kat (every month for aspiring travel nurses to the States), social tea/hangouts (end of every month to ward off loneliness on assignment), tax season (webinars, posts, etc.), trips (ie. organizing something for Travcon this year), etc.

- A shop to purchase a print-off of the Canuck guide and other helpful checklists. Additionally, I would add some physical & cute products geared to travel nurses.

But, none of it will be possible without your support. One way we can keep going is if nurses use recruiters from our Recommended Recruiters List (and letting them know Kat Ann sent you). This is why we cannot allow referring or soliciting referrals from within the group.

Other ways include the following (and letting them know Kat Ann sent you):

- Signing up with Wise using our link (http://wise.com/invite/ihpc/katerim1),

- Using our accountant (Karan Narang of PPATax),

- Using our BLS/ACLS providers,

- Going with our relocation agencies for those looking to permanently relocate to the U.S.,

- And visiting the support page on the website for other ways (the support page will be posted on the website soon)!

The expectation is that it would be purely voluntary, but it would help immensely with sustaining the business and everything it does for nurses. Nothing is expected. Thank you if you appreciate the guide, Facebook group, Instagram, website, and me regardless!

See you on the inside of the Facebook Group! Thank you so much!

Kat