If you’ve worked in the industry for any amount of time, you’ve probably heard the phrase, “Independent Contractor” thrown around quite a bit. You signed up to work some wellness events, and people keep calling you a contractor. But what exactly does that mean?

Basically, working as an independent contractor means you’re self-employed. It means you’re not technically employed by TotalWellness. Rather, companies like TotalWellness work with you to staff wellness events.

If you’re working wellness events with TotalWellness, there are a variety of services we expect you to know how to provide. There are some things that you just need to know—and we’re confident your professional training has afforded you those skills!

We need you to know those services because with our large magnitude of events—and the fact that they’re all across the country—we don’t have the capacity to train you for a whole new skill. It’s not a good idea to train “on-the-go” either, so we don’t want to put you in that situation.

The services you’ll need to know are fairly standard and don’t usually cause a lot of trouble for most contractors.

To get a flu shot or to not get a flu shot -- it's been debated for years. Medical advocates encourage Americans to annually get flu shots to prevent the spread of influenza during cold season. Skeptics don't trust the ingredients in flu vaccinations and each year there are myths that circulate.

Handling supplies is one of the primary contractor’s responsibilities at any TotalWellness event. That means that the primary contractor is also responsible for returning supply shipments to TotalWellness after the event is over.

It’s important to get supplies back to us in a correct, complete and timely manner. That’s because even though the event itself is done, our job isn’t done. We need the return shipment to complete our clients’ expectations and provide them with event summaries.

A return shipment includes all completed paperwork, leftover vaccine and supplies and equipment. Essentially anything we sent to you that wasn’t used or thrown away should be sent back to us.

Proper flu shot administration is a super important part of ensuring a corporate flu clinic that runs smoothly and safely. Unfortunately, there are a lot of moving parts when it comes to administering a flu shot—there are simply lots of steps you’ll need to take.

To guarantee you don’t miss any steps, we want you to think about the “rights” of vaccine administration. These “rights” can be found in the handbook as well, and more details are in the infographic below (click on it to make it bigger).

As a wellness professional, you need to interact with all types of people in all stages of life at your wellness events. That includes pregnant women.

It’s a great thing to come across pregnant participants at wellness events. These women should be more in tune with their health than the average person because the healthier they are, the better their pregnancy will be. Attending a wellness event is a great step for a pregnant woman to learn more about her health, and how her pregnancy is impacting her health.

If you work a TotalWellness flu event, there are a couple different types of vaccine the client might’ve ordered. One of those is a multi-dose vial.

Multi-dose vials are the traditional form of vaccine in which the vaccine is stored in a vial that contains about ten doses worth of flu vaccine. As the nurse administering the shot, you’ll need to draw up the correct dose from the vial.

The easiest way to ensure you’ll show up at a wellness event with effective, non-damaged flu vaccine is to store it properly the entire time it’s in your possession. Remember that the primary contractor is responsible for receiving vaccine shipments, storing vaccine and transporting vaccine to events.

You could be a primary contractor with multiple other secondary contractors. But you could also be a primary contractor if you’re the only contractor working your flu event.

There are a few things to keep in mind when storing vaccine for your next flu event. Check them out here, but make sure you also read through the details in the “Flu Event Procedures” section of the TotalWellness Contractor Manual (which is found in the Scheduling System).

When you work a TotalWellness event, you’ll have one of two titles. You might be a primary contractor or a secondary contractor. It’s important to know which role you’re filling at any given event because it won’t always be the same, and the duties associated with each are different.

If you handle flu vaccine at any of our wellness events, you’re responsible for that vaccine as long as it’s in your possession. For some people that might mean your vaccine responsibility starts and ends while you administer the shot at a flu clinic. For primary contractors, the responsibility extends to receiving, transporting and shipping vaccine.

Regardless, if you plan to handle flu vaccine, it’s important to know the environmental factors that can play a role. One of those is temperature.