Opportunities for Travel Physical Therapists

A blog about travel therapy jobs – where is your career going?

Home » About the short-term/travel rehab and therapy industry, Advice for your travel therapy job, Featured, Guest Authors, Headline, Shannon Wills, pt jobs, pta jobs, travel pt jobs

Guest Authour: Shannon Wills – Opportunities for Travel Physical Therapists

3 February 2010 93 views No Comment

It’s a great career if you love to travel, see new places and meet new people, but you must be prepared to go where the job takes you when you’re a travel physical therapists. Your job description is the same in that you’re still involved in providing therapy for people who are recovering from an illness or injury, but there’s a small difference. You don’t put down roots in one place; instead, you travel to wherever opportunities beckon from. The US Department of Labor says that the demand for physical therapy jobs is bound to grow by 27 percent until the year 2016, so if you are inclined to pursue this line of work, it’s the best time to do so.

When you choose to become a travel therapist, you probably will be worried about regular work; it’s more like freelancing where you move from one assignment to the other. If you sign up with an agency that connects therapists and patients, you don’t have to think too much about what your next assignment will be. The agency takes care of your housing needs and your travel expenses, and also lines up your next job when this one is drawing to a close.

Choose your agency with care based on its reputation and references from other therapists who have signed up with them. If the company has a dubious reputation, you’re likely to be cheated out of your money or find yourself stuck in a strange place with no job or money. Talk to other therapists who find work through the agency and make your decision accordingly.

Travel therapy jobs are great because they can pay 10 to 15 percent more than regular therapy jobs, so if you love to travel and see different places, you’re actually getting paid more for free holidays. Besides, you also get a referral bonus when people you refer sign on with the agency too. However, you must ensure that you read and understand the agency’s terms and conditions correctly before you sign on and before you recommend it to others.

One of the downsides of travel therapy is that you don’t find time to put down roots or form solid relationships with people you want to know better. But on the other side of the coin, your network of associates and friends is wide and your resume looks great because of all the experience you gain when you work in different kinds of settings and with different people.

As a travel physical therapist, you will find work in hospitals and other healthcare settings like nursing homes and private clinics, or be asked to work on a personal level with patients who need homecare. Either way, your assignment will match your skills and qualifications, so if you keep updating your abilities, your subsequent assignments will appreciate your efforts in monetary terms.

It’s an exciting job, but be prepared to spend much of your time traveling from place to place and living out of a suitcase because a typical assignment could take from 13 to 26 weeks. Most travel physical therapists are provided with medical benefits, 401(k)s, and other incentives.

By-line: This article is written by Shannon Wills, who writes on the topic of Physical Therapist Assistant Schools. She welcomes your comments at her email id : shannonwills23@gmail.com .