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Search With One Travel Recruiter or Several?

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Introduction

HoboHealth:

When I first started traveling, I worked with just one company, I had steady health benefits, I would accumulate PTO, and I even got a free wifi printer as a loyalty bonus. The printer was too big to travel with, but I still use it when I have it with me. The company I worked with initially has big name, and they were always able to find me a job. But, when I started looking around, I realized the deal I was getting might not be as good as I thought. Other companies were offering me as much as $200 more per week for similar jobs and seemed a lot more attentive to my needs. $200, that’s one wifi printer per week! That started me down a path of searching with multiple companies about 7 or 8 years ago.

The Vagabonding DPT:

I started traveling about 2 years ago as a new grad.  I was fortunate to have a Travel PT mentor who set me up with my current recruiter.  Yes, that’s singular.  I have one recruiter.  I know that the majority have multiple recruiters, but for now, having one recruiter has helped me build my career as a physical therapist. My recruiter is fully aware of my abilities, professional goals, minimum pay rate, and setting preferences.  He’s submitted me for positions that I may not “qualify” for (i.e a requirement of 5+ years for a job assignment) because he was confident in my skills and that the position would be a perfect fit for me. Even as a new graduate with my first assignment, I’ve stood firm on negotiation of time off as well as pay rates.  I got exactly what I wanted because I had a recruiter who was willing to negotiate those terms on my behalf.

What are the advantages of having one recruiter vs. multiple recruiters?

HoboHealth:

Compare pay rates between companies. It becomes clear very quickly whether what you have been making is competitive with other companies’ rates or not. Knowing what other companies are able to pay you in a given area can be a great negotiating tool if you do decide to stay with just one company.

Different companies have different jobs. You will see many of the same jobs posted across most agencies – the jobs that are the same across agencies are all listed on databases that many facilities contract with to fill their jobs. The databases sell subscriptions to the staffing agencies to have access to their jobs (the databases also charge 3-4% of the total contract price to the recruiters). To beat this system, agencies have gone out of their way to make contracts to exclusively staff particular facilities. So, it is possible that you can’t find a job in a particular area because you aren’t looking with the agency that has an exclusive contract with a facility in the area. Also, some agencies rely solely on what comes across the databases; Other companies are willing to call around for you. All recruiters will say they are willing to canvas an area for you, but less will actually do it (the smaller agencies tend to be more willing to put in the footwork of tracking down novel contracts). Broadening your agencies, may open up additional options.

The Vagabonding DPT:

Each travel company provides different perks the more time you spend with them.  The benefits listed below are solely representative of one company:

Paid Time Off: My company provides paid time off for 40 hours after working 2,080 hours and 1 year with them.  A travel therapist would be free to cash out that PTO to fill any requested time off during an assignment or in between assignments. From that point thereinafter, you accrue some PTO for every hour you work.

New Grad Bonus: A new grad who works 3 consecutive contracts with this company will earn a $1,000 bonus.

Continuing Education Bonus:  When you’ve stayed with this company, you receive $400 of continuing education credit valid also for conferences such as Combined Sections Meeting or NEXT.

Less Paperwork: Every company has a set of protocols that they must follow to be compliant with TJC including BLS certificate, licensing, NPI number, vaccinations, physical exams, TB tests, drug screen and physical examination. In addition, each company will have a mound of paperwork in regards to the company’s policies and procedures about expectations, benefits, clinical competency, etc.

Staying with one company allows you to focus on what you need: less paperwork and more time to invest in your passions and interests.

Health Insurance: If you choose to go with one company and choose to go with their health insurance, you won’t have to worry about switching health insurance companies.  Travel PT companies will typically allow you a 30 day grace period in which you will be covered by the company while you’re between assignments.

Consistency: Some larger Travel PT companies will bounce you around with various recruiters who manage a particularly region.  If this is the case, then you will have to take the time to let each recruiter know your preferences and want-list.

Do you feel there are any disadvantages to the approach you have taken?

HoboHealth:

The obvious downsides to working with multiple agencies are the benefits you don’t get for being loyal to one agency and the extra paperwork you do get – as April mentioned above.

If you do work with multiple companies, remember this cardinal rule: “You take a particular job with whichever agency offers it to you first.” Meaning, you can’t take an assignment offered by one agency, and tell a different agency about it to try to get a higher pay rate. Things can get sticky fast.

It takes some management to work with multiple companies. At one time, I was searching with 6 or 7 different agencies. One job came up and they had received my resume from multiple different agencies, each claiming I was “their guy”. While I went with the first agency to present the job to me (the only agency who had permission to submit me for the assignment), another agency bullied the facility into only accepting my interview through them. I was unable to go with the agency I liked best and who had presented me the assignment first. It was embarrassing and it’s why I now limit my searches to 2 or 3 agencies. When you are working with multiple agencies, you have to be clear that you need to be contacted before being submitted to a job, otherwise you may end up in my situation with companies bickering over ownership of you with the facility – it’s embarrassing and a good way to blow the interview before you even have it.

The Vagabonding DPT:

As James mentioned above, working with one company requires much trust in one person to provide you with the best pay rate, location, and setting.  By doing so, you may limit your options for future possibilities.  You must trust that your recruiter is negotiating the terms of your contract to the best of his/her ability to provide you with the best overall package.  To decrease this, you could also ask other Travel Therapists about their pay rate for that setting in that specific region.

The same facility may be working with several travel recruiting companies to fill a need. So when you work for multiple companies, you may be offered the same position via two different companies which can actually work against you. In the end, you may not end up with the assignment.

Conclusion

We present you with the advantages/disadvantages to assist you in making the best informed decision for your travel career path.  We’ve each done our research to negotiate our contracts.  Stay informed and ask around.

This is the second blog HoboHealth and The Vagabonding DPT have done together, you can link here to our first blog together about whether or not to travel as a new grad.

Check out our websites: www.hobohealth.com and www.thevagabondingDPT.org. Follow us on Twitter @HoboHealth and @AprilFajardoDPT. Finally, follow our Facebook Pages to keep up on our latest blogs and what/where we’re up to: HoboHealth and The Vagabonding DPT

 

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PT Compact Update – The first 10 are in!

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The PT Compact is no longer just a dream of travelers – it’s happening! Washington State’s Governor just signed the PT compact into law making Washington the 10th state to adopt the compact. Before you go on reading this, take a look at the current status of states working on adopting the compact: https://www.fsbpt.org/FreeResources/PhysicalTherapyLicensureCompact.aspx

Ten states and counting!

The compact needed 10 states to go live. The compact commission will now be formed which will develop and maintain the specific rules and regulations for the compact. With 10 states having adopted the compact, it is now a reality – but, there’s another 8 states currently considering the compact in their legislatures. I assume licensure reciprocity between compact states will be a reality sometime during 2018 – only a guess. I also suspect that by that time, we will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 to 30 states participating in the compact. If the states that aren’t yet talking about the compact haven’t realized it yet, they are going to be at a big disadvantage for recruiting PTs to their states. This will be especially true in states with less PTs graduating from programs than the public demand for PT; There are very few states that are able to supply their full PT workforce independently. If your state is not pursuing the compact yet, get on it! States not involved with the compact are going to be losing PTs to compact states that allow licenses to be easily transported across state lines.

I’m psyched. I first started letters to FSBPT in March of 2010 suggesting improved reciprocity between states. Later that year, in October, FSBPT leadership charged their Board of Directors with researching the development of an interstate licensure compact – coincidence? I’d like to think not (so I can take credit for the whole thing), but I guess we’ll never know the full truth. Although, Rachel Jermann reached out to me this week with a quote from Lucy Blair’s 1971 McMillan Lecture, “Several recent studies have contained challenges that licensure and registration on a state basis are barriers to the movement of personnel from state to state and are handicapping adequate distribution.” …I guess we’re all about 45 years late to the party.

Colorado HB17-1057 PT compact testimony #coleg

Me testifying to the House Health, Insurance, and Environment Committee sitting next to Rep. Larry Liston who sponsored the PT Compact bill. Picture taken by and stolen from Cindi Rauert. P.S. Cindi is killing it in PT Advocacy (twitter: @cindirauert)

As I have pushed for the compact to be pursued here in Colorado, I have learned a lot about the legislative process. Here in Colorado, the compact legislation was introduced to the house of representatives in January. In Colorado, a bill can be introduced to either chamber of the state congress (House or Senate). Once it passes one chamber of congress, it then progresses to the next. Most states have a similar system. Depending upon the content of the bill, it is required to be reviewed by particular committees in each chamber. I got the chance to testify before the “Health, Insurance, and Environment Committee”. I have long looked forward to doing this kind of work, but lacked the passion for any one particular topic. The compact gets my juices pumping – it hits close to home with travel therapy and I feel like I’m very well versed in the topic of interstate PT licensure. Describing my experiences with licensure in travel PT to the committee of 11 state representative was both very rewarding and extremely terrifying. I was well prepared, which got me through, but I became very, very nervous while testifying despite all the very nice things said about PT by the Representatives on the committee. We can’t forget that our profession touches many peoples’ lives, including politicians. I suspect with repetition in testifying my nervousness will subside, I hope I get the chance to continue this kind of work in the future.

There were a couple other PTs testifying that opened my eyes to the PTs and patients outside of the traveling world that will benefit from the interstate compact:

  • Military families who move often without warning would benefit greatly from improved licensure portability.
  • PTs entering telehealth are running into licensure issues because: Are they practicing physical therapy where the PT is located? Or where the patient is located? The answer to this question is unclear at this time.
  • Newly graduating PT students who are at school out of their home state and are unsure of where they will practice – stay and practice where they are in school or return to their home state? These students would be helped by being able to more freely take their license between states.
  • And, of course, let’s not forget all of the employers and, most importantly, the patients who would benefit from having easier access to PTs, especially in rural communities where PT recruitment can be difficult and on state borders where an available PT may live just a few miles away but be limited by the lack of state reciprocity. (see other letters of endorsement from other businesses, consumer advocates, and policy organizations)

So what are the arguments against the PT compact?

Apparently there aren’t many, since the compact is bulldozing its way across the country. It just makes good sense that in this time of internet and air travel that PTs and PTAs should be allowed to transport their licenses across state lines more easily – I think state legislators see that practicality. It is easy for them to see that increased license portability is good for therapist, patient, and business alike.

But, there are a few legislators that do vote against the compact. Let’s entertain for just a minute that there might be significant opposition to the compact (which there is not). I can think of two reasons passing the licensure compact might be opposed:

  1. The 10th Amendment to the Constitution protects states’ rights to govern licensure within their borders. There could be a perceived loss of individual state control through the compact. Although, the way the compact is set-up allows a state to repeal the compact legislation at anytime to return to their individual governance of PT licensure. Also, this is the way driver’s licenses work – a driver’s license interstate compact is what allows you to drive across state borders. Compacts are nothing new.
  2. Cost. There can be some costs with implementing the compact. It requires fairly strict licensing standards – background check, finger printing, etc which can cause cost to the state or increase the cost of being licensed. Some states are simply absorbing this cost through increased licensure fees. The way I see it, the compact would remove a host of administrative burdens which, in turn, would increase efficiency and recoup cost from the current antiquated, cumbersome process.

I’m so excited about the compact. It’s a system I have pictured for many years and believe it will tear down one of the great barriers travel PTs and PTAs face. I foresee the states that are involved in the compact will become prime-targets for travelers while the non-compact states may struggle to find the temporary and permanent help they need. So, get your state in. I don’t care if it’s your home state, the state you are working in, or the state you are at school in. Start talking about it to people in your state that can create legislation and make it happen.

I’m excited to have been a part of the process here in Colorado but would like to do more. For now, I’ll do everything I can to keep moving the PT compact forward and make sure it passes here – we’re getting close. Working on this topic that I care about and know deeply is a great first step to being more involved in PT legislation. State legislatures are ultimately the gate-keeper for a patient’s ability to access our full scope of practice in each state. We need to continue to demonstrate to them the commonsense quality and cost-effectiveness of the services that Physical Therapists provide across the country.

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Tax Time, Again

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Crunch time. Taxes are due very, very soon. No matter how much I work throughout the year to be prepared for tax season, it still takes hours to get everything organized when April rolls around. Don’t let me fool you, Kate’s the one who handles the finances around here – very smart of her. But, every year, I hope taxes will be painless, they never are. It is an awful, dreadful process, and being a traveling therapist does not help simplify the matter. I hope you’ve filed your taxes already, but if not, here are a few tips that will help make your tax season a little less painful:

Hire someone who specializes in taxes for travelers

An actual bill I received from the IRS in the middle of writing this very blog…. apparently we made a mistake two years ago. Whoops, my bad.

Having someone do my taxes who understands health care travelers and their financial arrangements is priceless – actually, it’s only $300. A traveler’s taxes are complicated. I work in multiple states each year, have a rental property in Maine, live in Colorado, occasional work as an independent contractor, and receive a lot of tax-free money each year. In my first years of travel, I tried using TurboTax, which charged me a lot of money for all the extra forms I needed. I also tried using someone at H&R Block – he said he could handle my taxes, but clearly had no idea what he was talking about when it came to travel stipends and reimbursements. Hiring a professional who can handle all the moving parts of travel therapy is money well spent.

A quick Google search will find a long list of people who specialize in taxes for travelers. Searching for “travel nurse tax preparation” yields the most results. A tax professional who specializes in travelers should also be able to help you answer all the questions you likely have about your tax home. A good tax-guy/gal should also be able to advise you of the things you can do in advance to help secure your tax home status in the event you are eventually audited. Speaking of which, make sure you ask any potential tax preparer what their responsibility is in the event you are audited. A few tax professionals warranty their preparations so that an audit is done on their time, others will charge you an hourly rate to defend your audit on their preparation.

Track your mileage

It’s easy, but few actually do it. Just keep a memo-pad in your glove box and write down any mileage that pertains to work – for 2016, you can deduct 54 cents for every mile you drive. It’s that simple.

Mileage you can include in your deduction:

  1. Mileage driving between assignments.
  2. Any driving between clinics or other work locations.
  3. In home care, all mileage between the office and patient visits can count towards your deduction.
  4. People living in permanent places commuting to permanent jobs are not allowed to deduct their commute mileage. However, because a travel work-place is temporary, I believe we are allowed to deduct the mileage on our commutes. That mileage can really add up! (You may want to see what your tax professional before committing to this one.)

The exception to the above categories is if you are already reimbursed for your mileage, you cannot claim it as a deduction on your taxes. For example, if an agency reimburses you specifically for your mileage to relocate, you cannot then deduct that mileage from your taxes. Similarly, if you are paid per mile in home health (which I recommend you do negotiate into any home health contract), you cannot claim that mileage. Although, with a federal deduction of 54 cents per mile, if your job reimbursed you less than 54 cents you can claim the remainder. These little bits do add up to a deduction that could make difference over the course of a year.

Keep track of your tax deductible items throughout the year

We have a big envelope that we put receipts in throughout the year. We keep track of the costs of various trips, the price of continuing ed courses, the price for APTA membership, and anything else that could be tax deductible. Frequently we make notes right on the front of our large tax-envelop so when tax season rolls around we aren’t spending hours trying to find the prices we paid for deductible items – this is where the majority of tax-prep time goes in our household. If you can truly be disciplined and keep track of your work-related costs throughout the year, tax preparation is far less painful when tax day comes.

Keep your tax records available to you, wherever you are

We have a fire-resistant file box that always traveled with us. It had everything important in it including our old tax records. The firebox is really heavy, maybe 20 pounds when empty… 35 pounds when full. It never fit quite right behind the front seat of the car on roadtrips. It basically has always been a pain to manage.

In the age of online data, it makes much more sense to scan all of your tax documents into the computer and store them online. If you ever have your taxes questioned in the future, you’ll be glad you have a readily accessible copy of your tax return. There is nothing worse than receiving an unexpected bill or audit from the IRS and having your tax returns back home, hundreds of miles away. When you need proof of your returns, you want it quickly. The general rule is to keep tax records for 7 years, but if it’s all online, I see no downside to keeping them longer… indefinitely.

Good luck, may this tax season be easy on you!

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The Big Settle Down

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Kate driving our first camper, “Champ,” through Denali National Park. Champ was awesome and had so much character. I think our new camper, “Mabel” (named before us), will give Champ a run for his money.

Kate and I were travel PTs for over 10 years. We had a good run – no, “good run” doesn’t begin to describe it. We have lived all over the country, driving to both the East and West Coasts most years. We have lived in a camper on Martha’s Vineyard, explored Alaska, found serenity in rural Hawaii, and have accumulated over 500 ski days each in Colorado. We have had a great run.

We’ll be having a kid in about 4 weeks. When we decided we wanted to have a child, we weren’t sure if it would end our travel careers. Until even a couple months ago, we had a backup plan that included the three of us living in a camper taking short contracts all over the Western US – it seems a single traveler salary could stretch further than most permanent salaries. With travel pay, one of us could work while the other home-schooled the little one. We remained very undecided about whether we would stay in Colorado following the baby’s birth or see just how far we could take this traveling thing. We have a couple friends here in Aspen who are raising a one-year-old between Asheville, NC in the summer and Aspen in the winter – sounds pretty awesome, and with an established life in each place, very manageable. We had visions of a similar life… seemed reasonable.

So what gives? Life as a travel PT really has been living the dream. We never made a formal decision to stay here in Aspen – it just happened.

Over the years, we began returning to Aspen for winters yearly. We have long said if we were to settle down, it would be here. Over the years, we’ve casually looked at properties with a friend who is a realtor. About 3 years ago, we took snowmobiles to check out some land on the back of Aspen Mountain. It would have been awesome. (It would still be awesome) But, it would be expensive, and we would have to snowmobile to our house through avalanche terrain every day in the winter – not the most practical set-up. There’s been a couple other things we’ve casually looked at over the years. Within days of showing up in town this December, our realtor friend insisted, “Hey, there’s this house you should really check out.” We dilly-dallied, didn’t pay much attention, and again, “Hey, there’s this house you should really check out.” Within 2 weeks of returning to Aspen this winter, we were under contract on the house and have been working to buy it since.

Our first winter in Aspen, 2007. We figured we’d live slopeside, because “You only live in Aspen once. Right?” This was one of the many on-mountain fireworks shows that first year when we could stroll out our front door and watch. We certainly don’t live slope-side anymore, but we’re close enough.

It just happened. There was no conscious decision to stay in Aspen, but here I am sitting by my cozy wood fire typing, in my house, trying to process the fact that I’m not a travel PT anymore. The longest job I’ve held in the last 11 years was my first travel assignment that I extended out to 10 months. Before that, my entry-level PT program at Northeastern University was structured so that we were constantly rotating between a few months in class and a few months in clinic. The last time I did one consistent thing for over a year was high school! But, I guess it’s time to settle-down. All this came together and happened so naturally that I have to believe the timing is right and that it’s meant to be. I honestly see a lot of advantage to being in one place. There are definitely areas of my life where I’ll gain traction and finally be able to make some headway. Don’t get me wrong, traveling PT has been a dream-life and I can’t picture doing anything different with the last 10 years. One sign of more stability is that I’ve already committed more time to the Colorado Chapter of the APTA. My first project is getting the PT licensure compact to pass here – clearly travel-driven idea.

So what now? I guess I’ll keep writing about traveling and the path-less-taken by therapists. I’ve learned a lot about traveling over the last decade and will continue to share what I can for as long as I can. I recognize that my knowledge and advice probably have an expiration date, maybe a couple years. You’ll likely start to see me taking on more generalized PT and rehab topics, but travel PT will stay central for now. In life, traveling is not even close to done. We recently bought a 1970 Shasta camper that we are going to put some serious miles on this summer driving through the mountains and into the desert. The mind-set in Aspen affords a lifestyle full of continuing adventure. Many of our coworkers routinely take 3 week international vacations – many of our coworkers and friends are of international origins themselves. I’d eventually like to see a large chunk of the globe, but Australia, Japan, Iceland, and much of Europe stand out as places that I need to get to more immediately. A steady job affords the opportunity to increase participation in global-health projects and international service learning for which there are many opportunities in healthcare. Aspen has exchange programs with several sister cities (Bariloche, Argentina; Chamonix, France; and Christchurch, New Zealand to name a few of our sister cities). I’m not really sure what having a child, owning a home, and accepting a permanent job means, but it definitely doesn’t mean the end of travel.

Stay tuned, this is the start of a new adventure. A very different, new adventure.

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Doubling Down on Non-Surgical Conservative Care

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In recent years I have gone out of my way to educate clients, colleagues, and others on the success of non-operative, conservative care for a variety of conditions. The #GetPT1st campaign has been a big motivator for me and is a great resource for PTs wanting to educate those around them on the potential to avoid surgery for a variety of conditions through PT. In my own clinical practice, in a ski town, I have become somewhat obsessed with the idea that the majority of clients with ACL tears should be put through a mandatory 6 week waiting period before electing surgery. Here, the tendency is for skiers to elect immediate surgical reconstruction for their ACL-deficient knees. The thought is “surgery will add stability and decrease the likelihood of premature arthritis,” “skiing is different than other sports, you need an ACL,” and “our population is just different here, everyone is extremely active.” I have been fighting these misconceptions for a couple years now, but change is slow – some of my PT colleagues still don’t buy that there is a percentage of people who can live an active, fruitful, physically elite life without an ACL (if you guys are reading this, I will get you eventually… you’ll see). I think the idea of the active non-surgical ACL is gaining some traction – if not yet with the medical community in town, at least more patients are starting to self-select a waiting period before surgery. Just to be clear, evidence tells us that there is a significant percentage of the population that can return to full function without an ACL – this percentage includes division I athletes and downhill skiers. Studies have specifically been done on ACL deficient elite athletes, there is a significant percentage who return to sport without an ACL – in fact, for those with a well informed sports medicine team, the non-surgical option can be a quicker way back to competition. Repairing your ACL does not decrease your chance of early arthritis – the life of a knee without arthritis following ACL reconstruction is about 15 years according to the literature. So there. People just don’t want to be patient and do 6 weeks of strengthening for a less than 50% shot at avoiding surgery – hey, if that’s the choice they want to make, I don’t really blame them…. But I feel strongly that they should be accurately informed.

We’ve had a couple injuries in the Spencer household lately and we’ve had to choose conservative care over surgical intervention.

Here I am pressing my thumb into the counter to keep it extended while I work to re-tape the splint for support. The morning ritual takes longer than you’d think and has evolved to my using 10 separate pieces of tape each time.

I had an unfortunate water polo accident (said no one else ever). Goofing around between actual play, I had a shot blocked and my thumb went tip first into a swatting palm. I immediately knew something wasn’t right – I instinctively grabbed my thumb. There wasn’t much pain at all, but I had heard a small pop and my thumb would no longer actively extend – I could easily push it straight with the other hand, but could not hold it there without assistance. I don’t do a lot of hand therapy (I’m spoiled by having some great hand therapists around me), but I knew enough to know immediately that some sort of tendon no longer existed. The next day, I got bootleg-assessments from one of our talented OTs and a trusted Orthopaedic Surgeon next door – the good doctor diagnosed mallet thumb. Mallet thumb? “Yes, it’s mallet finger but in your thumb,” he said frankly. This is not common. The extensor pollicis longus tendon is broad, thick, and fibrous – it doesn’t usually rip. Because it’s relatively rare, there’s not a whole lot of research on mallet thumb – but I did find some case studies. It seems I could surgically have a pin put down the length of my thumb bones for 8 weeks and have a return of most of my thumb extension pretty much guaranteed …or… I could wear a splint on my thumb for 8 weeks – no bending the thumb, ever. I can take the splint off to clean the thumb with the tip pressed against a counter-top for extension, but if the thumb bends, the 8 weeks starts over. Most people do well with the conservative treatment, but full return is not as guaranteed as with surgery. I figure with a small army of OTs, PTs, and Orthopaedists at my disposal, I should do well – we’ll find out in about 3 more weeks. The idea with both the surgical and conservative treatments is that the tendon will scar down to the bone wherever it is – hopefully it scars down somewhere useful. I’m just happy that I’m able to keep working, and, more importantly, continue skiing.

But my little thumb injury has been put to shame by Kate who went out and tore her ACL. I need to pause here and quickly explain that Kate is pregnant and we are excited to be adding a baby girl to our gypsy caravan in April! So, needless to say, many exciting changes ahead. I’ll do a separate blog soon about how this will affect our traveling life – for now, let’s stick to the current topic.

Kate had been skiing cautiously and picking her ski-days judiciously. She was simply coming to meet me for breakfast on the mountain and for one ski run. She was skiing on a wide open run 5 minutes after the mountain opened when she was clipped by another skier. The fall wasn’t bad, but it was enough to tear Kate’s ACL (no other injuries to momma or baby). After struggling through our planned breakfast, we called ski patrol, and Kate got a ride down the mountain.

What we have here is a situation where we have no choice, Kate won’t be having surgery (at least not until after the baby is born) – we must try our luck at conservative management of Kate’s knee. Although, I did receive a call at work this week from another pregnant woman in town who had torn her ACL. She had tried skiing on it again already, but “it didn’t feel right” so she stopped. Her OB, suggested that she should have the ACL repaired soon, so she would avoid crutches while super-pregnant or while caring for a tiny baby. I guess it just goes to show the persistence of the myth that an ACL is absolutely necessary.

Anyways, Kate’s knee swelled up pretty big and there was some visible bruising. Kate did get an X-ray just to make sure there is no fracture. As we have progressed only a few weeks from the injury, Kate has started formal PT with one of our coworkers and she is already hiking lightly without a brace. So, she’s doing all she can do and hopefully when this summer comes, more vigorous hiking is not a problem. Perhaps next winter, she will ski comfortably without an ACL – her early success at walking without a brace seems encouraging.

Onward we both go. We’re doubling down – no surgery here unless we absolutely need it. Surgery is, and should always be, a last resort.

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What Questions Should I Ask On An Interview?

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When you have an interview for your travel assignment, it is usually your only chance to ask questions directly to the facility you might work at. Asking the right questions can tell you a lot about your potential job. Missing key questions can lead to you taking a job you otherwise would have avoided. Let’s go over the must-ask questions that will help reveal potential red flags.

Do Your Research

Employers check your social media pages and anything they can find on you, why shouldn’t you do the same for them? First, go clean up you Facebook page, then do some research on the company you are interviewing with. Check out their website, look for reviews on their practice, even plug some therapist names into google or facebook if you have them. The amount of info you can grab online in a few minutes may give you an indication of whether you think this practice will be a good fit for you or not. Since many assignments are initially presented to a traveler generically (i.e. “an Outpatient Practice near Portland, Maine”), you may have to ask your recruiter for the name of the practice shortly before you interview.

In addition to the benefits you get from knowing more about the practice you are interviewing with, it’s nice to be able to demonstrate your knowledge to the interviewer. When they describe their practice, tell them you  had seen some of the basics of what they do when you went on their website. Employers love it when you go out of your way to learn about their practice, feel free to to flaunt your knowledge a little bit.

Who works there?

Knowing who you will be working with can tell you a lot about what work will look like on a daily basis. As a new grad, knowing how many other therapists you be working with can help you anticipate what opportunities might exist for mentorship and learning from your coworkers. I love to know if there will be OTs or SLPs – an interdisciplinary team has so much to offer each other and the patients. As a therapist or a therapy assistant, it is essential you know how many assistants you will be working with. Definitely avoid the factories that have more assistants than therapists – not a good situation. By asking about the mix of people you be working with, you can identify opportunities and red flags that may exist.

Who is the owner? Who is the boss?

I once worked for a clinic where the wife/PTA was the primary financier of the practice. The husband/PT was the head clinician. They did not get along, at all, on business topics. If I had known of this arrangement ahead of time, it wouldn’t have necessarily been a red flag, but it might have raised an eyebrow. On a different assignment, which I ultimately terminated the contract on, I was at a clinic run by an unlicensed South African educated Chiropractor. Ask who owns the practice and who your clinical supervisor will be. This question, if not asked, can be the single most important piece of information that would help you avoid an awful, but otherwise decent sounding job. I would have avoided the only nightmare assignment I have ever had if I had asked the right questions.

For info on how the interview is arranged and the steps leading up to a traveling therapist interview: Finding Your First Travel PT Assignment.

What are the productivity expectations?

I don’t think I really need to say much more on this, but I will. Briefly. Over the last 8 years , I have worked only jobs that allow a full hour, one-on-one with patients. I have had 1:1 for an hour in hospitals, private practice, and home care in many different regions of the country. Some areas of the country are more notorious for high-volume standards, but you don’t have to be one of those therapists. Multiple patients per hour is not best-care, don’t trick yourself into thinking it is. If you are working in a permanent job seeing 2-3 patients per hour, reconsider your current professional life, it doesn’t have to be this way.

What is the patient population like?

This is a great question to get an idea of what you’ll be working with. It also gives you a chance to describe (or brag) to your interviewer what your treatment style is like. Many travel assignments are in areas that need someone to cover a variety of conditions – many community hospitals that treat all sorts of disease and dysfunction hire travelers. If you allow yourself to go slightly outside your comfort zone, you’re likely to gain a wealth of new knowledge about treatment. Once upon a time, I was an outpatient ortho-only therapist. By repeatedly reaching just a little outside of my comfort zone to different patient populations and treatment settings, I have gained a huge amount of information on a very wide portion of the spectrum of physical therapy. Travelers that are open to new clinical and cultural experiences can grow to be the most well rounded clinicians anywhere. Ask about patient population where you are interviewing to try and find an assignment you’d enjoy, but also so you can prepare and be the best clinician you can be to those patients. Being a traveler is can be a primarily selfish endeavor to satisfy a desire for travel and exploration – or, done right, it can be an incredible opportunity to give your skills and knowledge to the populations that are most at need for good care.

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Must-Visit Outdoorsy Communities

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The best places to live are those that mix a life surrounded by the great outdoors with a great community. Many of the places that offer endless opportunities outdoors do not have the support of vibrant communities, and many great communities are far from the great outdoors – the places on this list offer the best of both worlds. These are smart, cultural places that center around outdoor recreation – consider seeking them out on your next road trip… or even for a travel assignment if you consider yourself lucky.

Boulder, Colorado

Up playing in the hills surrounding Boulder – easy to get off the beaten path fast.

The ol’ Colorado standard. Set just West of Denver, some consider Boulder America’s Biggest Mountain Town. Boulder is inhabited by a huge number of the world’s elites in skiing, rock climbing, cycling, and triathlon. Boulder is close enough to almost any-kind of outdoor recreation you could crave while also having a large enough community to find the creature comforts you need just outside your door.

Boulder’s outdoor community centers around the Flatirons – a series of 5 jagged peaks jutting out of the ground. The peaks are around 8,000 ft from sea level, of course town itself is a mile high. The bigger mountains are less than an hour away in Rocky Mountain National Park and there are 14,000 foot peaks nearby in almost any direction. For entertainment, Red Rocks Amphitheatre is close by and brings in some of the biggest names in music to play concerts each summer. The venue is highly unique – the amphitheatre is open air, naturally formed, and set within several large crags of red rock. If you need the big city, Denver is only bout 45 minutes away.

Bend, Oregon

Downtown Bend, Oregon in the shadow of the Cascade Mountains. Industrious people self-making everything.

I recently visited Bend, and it blew me away. Bend is surrounded by huge (HUGE) mountains. Mt Hood looms in the distance at over 11,000 feet (7,707 ft of prominence from the surrounding land). Mt Hood is home to six separate ski areas including year-round skiing on glaciers (available limited time only, while supplies last). While Mt Hood is the pinnacle of outdoor activities in the area, Mt Bachelor is closer and more accessible to Bend – it offers much of the same recreation on a slightly smaller scale. Many of the mountains in the area are volcanic and, therefor, dramatic in their look – steep slopes that standout from much of the surrounding high-desert.

Second to the impressiveness of the mountains, is the very impressive local beer selection… I’ve never seen so many different beers in my life. Breweries abound – many brands you’ve heard of, many you haven’t. But beer isn’t all that Bend makes. If the end of our society came today, Bend would go on. These people are self-sufficient in making everything. Coffee, bread, gluten-free dairy-free bread, locally-sourced everything, local clothes companies, Hydroflask water bottles – you name it, Bend makes it. I definitely see the appeal of Bend.

Lake Tahoe, California/Nevada

I’ve never been to Tahoe (hence no photo), but I hear it’s awesome. Suddenly, I have about half-a-dozen friends living around Lake Tahoe. I personally equate Tahoe with skiing – there are 12 ski resorts in the area with Squaw Valley and Heavenly being the two biggest. But Tahoe, being a huge lake, offers many summer-time opportunities that other mountain communities don’t have. Boating, wind surfing, and everything else you can do with miles of open water. But Tahoe’s greatest strength might be its location and ease of access to everywhere else. Heading West, you’ll end up in Sacramento, wine country, and San Francisco. East will send you into Nevada with quick access to Reno and Carson City. South shoots you straight into the Sierra Nevadas and with a few hours of driving, Yosemite Park. If you’re spending time in Nevada or Northern California, make sure your next ski trip or summer lake trip includes Tahoe.

Montana, The Big Sky State

Montana is huge. The mountains are huge, the lakes are huge, the sky is huge. This is in Glacier National Park in far Northern Montana.

I don’t know how they’ve done it, but the sky is truly bigger in Montana. I have rarely seen landscapes as majestic as your average commute in Montana. My only experience with Montana was a roadtrip that entered in the south through Yellowstone and exited North to Canada through Glacier National Park – every single mile between felt like I was still in a national park. We stopped at Chico Hot Springs, just outside Yellowstone, and enjoyed their massive outdoor pool fed by natural hot spring water – the stars at night were perhaps the most I’ve ever seen (on account of the sky being so big). In the past, the hot springs were a spa for the sick in the early 1900’s. I couldn’t help but think that there is something special about that place and that the water does indeed have to be healing. We stopped into Bozeman for a quick meal while on the road and found it to be a fun, happening college-town. Other small cities in Montana have their own unique personality and have a lot to offer as well – Missoula, Billings, and Whitefish all offer outdoor recreation in the wilderness that stretches out in every direction. Get to Montana where the Wild West is alive and well – you will not be disappointed.

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Experience Before Travel PT vs. New Grad Travel PT

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new grad traveling therapy

James of HoboHealth worked in private practice before going into traveling PT and believes gaining professional experience is the right move to make before traveling.  April of The Vagabonding DPT has had professional success and happiness through becoming a traveler immediately as a new grad. These two traveling Doctors of Physical Therapy from different personal and professional backgrounds have connected to provide you diverse perspectives on travel PT.  This is their first blog post together of a series of topics.

What are the advantages of being a New Grad PT vs. being an Experienced PT then going into Travel PT?

 

headshot-square-finalHoboHealth:
Professional Experience – I only worked for six months between graduation and starting as a traveling PT. The brief time I worked in private practice before traveling did a lot to shape who I am as a clinician today. Getting just a little bit of experience as a clinician allowed me to become grounded in a healthy work environment before setting out into the less predictable and less stable world of traveling.

Personal Marketability – I believe the little bit of experience I had in private practice prior to traveling gave me a leg-up on other candidates looking at the same jobs. My first traveling job was (primarily) outpatient in a community hospital outside of Boston with other therapists around to help continue my mentorship and growth. Without a little experience, I don’t believe they would have taken on the risk of hiring a near-new grad. Six months in private practice, followed by 10 months at my first travel assignment with strong mentorship set me up for 10 years of positive traveling assignments. Bottomline, if you get a little experience before travel, better employment opportunities are available to you as a traveler.

Vagabonding DPT:april-fajardo-headshot
My life was as compact as possible.  I already had sold all my furniture and everything I owned fit into my Honda Civic. I was as mobile as I ever would be.  If there was any opportunity to travel and explore, now was my moment. I had just spent my 3rd year completing my clinical rotations in Oklahoma City, OK; Salt Lake City, UT; Springfield, MO; and Dallas, TX. I was moving about every couple of months.  In essence, my clinical internships provided me the opportunity to live the life of a travel DPT as a student.  I was used to learning at a rapid rate and had to learn to adjust to a new city and clinic every few months. Because of this, It was quite an easy transition to go from a DPT student on clinical rotations to a DPT on the road for work.

You have “less” responsibility. As one begins to settle into their career and life (in general), the natural progression is to get settled into a specific location, get married, buy a house, have children or furry kids, and/or take care of ill, elderly parents.  Although I think it is absolutely possible to travel with all the aforementioned circumstances, these factors require far more extensive benefit/cost analysis. For myself, I wasn’t married, I didn’t have a house, nor did I have children.  So I made the personal decision to take the plunge straight into travel PT for further domestic exploration and adventures!

Money
Although I believe that this shouldn’t be your primary reason for going into traveling therapy.  It definitely doesn’t hurt. Students are coming out with a tremendous amount of debt and this is definitely a great way to pay down those student loans.

What are the disadvantages of being a New Grad PT vs. being an Experienced PT then going into Travel PT?

 

HoboHealth:
When I first thought about this question, my gut reaction was, “There’s no disadvantage! What could be wrong with having more experience going into a job?” …but then I thought of the hardest day of my PT career – the day I had to quit my first job. The day I told my mentor and friend that I wouldn’t be able to work for him anymore was a really stressful day. Quitting a job, especially one that you like, is hard. I can see how someone with the intention to travel could go get a steady job and never end up leaving it. While I do believe strongly in getting experience before traveling, I can see how you risk getting “stuck” in a permanent job. I remember the phrase one of my professors told me to make quitting professional and simple, “It’s an opportunity I can’t pass up.” Remember that phrase, it’s a good one.

Also, the traveling lifestyle is only available to those in the right life situations to have the flexibility to take short-term contracts. Sometimes you have to strike while the iron is hot – waiting to take a permanent job, get several months of experience, and then quitting can shift you into a phase of life where the idea of travel isn’t as easy as it once was. New family obligations, meeting a significant other, and simple logistics like year-long rental leases can obstruct your path to the open road.

Vagabonding DPT:
Mentorship:
Off the bat, one’s initial thought may be the lack of mentorship.  There are some travel companies that may market mentorship opportunities.  I challenge you to ask them what exactly this looks like.  Just being in the same clinic as other physical therapists does not constitute as mentorship.  This can be countered by building an army of mentors while being a student.  Based on my interests, I’ve inadvertently built an army of specialists from Neurologic PT to Global Health to Nonprofit Leadership.

Mentorship does not have to be limited to our profession. There is something to learn from everyone.  Quite frankly, our patients become our first mentors.  If you learn to listen intently, they will lead you to the answer.  In addition, a firm understanding of other disciplines such as occupational therapy and speech & language pathology can help us maximize our role with a focus on patient-centered rehabilitative care.

Lack of Experience:
James touched upon this and it is true.  There will be some jobs that will require that you have more experience than what you have had. However, I secured my second job assignment by highlighting my strengths and experiences in that setting.  I applied for a position in inpatient rehabilitation that required 5 years of experience.  So during my phone interview, I discussed my experience.  I worked for two years as a PT aide in outpatient PT, then did an additional two years as a rehab aide prior to even applying for physical therapy. I also completed two clinical rotations in inpatient rehabilitation. I felt I was more than qualified for the position at hand.   I’m glad that the rehabilitation manager was pleased with my response as well because she essentially hired me for the position. I’ve extended my contract since then.

Being a traveler can isolate you from the typical learning and professional development paths that may be available in more traditional PT careers. What have you done or do you plan to do to continue your professional development?

 

HoboHealth:
Board Specialty
Shortly after completing my transitional-DPT, I soon felt ready to pursue my Orthopaedic Clinical Specialty (OCS). I spent more than a year reading every piece of ortho research I could get my hands on and reading a couple comprehensive ortho books cover-to-cover. The constant studying kept me focused on a fixed goal for quite some time. Specialties through ABPTS are available in variety of practice areas. A couple supervisors on travel assignments have told me they hired me specifically because of my board specialist certification. In total, my tDPT and OCS combined filled the first  4 years of my professional life with a structured, focused learning path.

Some universities are offering post-doctoral learning paths that culminate in sitting for (and hopefully passing) the specialist exams. My alma mater, Northeastern University, offers a Certificate of Advanced Study in Orthopedics. Essentially, you take 5 online classes focused on advanced orthopedic practice, earn college credits, and become more prepared for the OCS exam. Programs like this can help you keep a structured learning schedule that can otherwise so easily fall out of priority while working as a travel PT.

Certifications
Generally, I am skeptical of programs focused on one clinical belief system and the alphabet soup that comes along with them. Courses that all come from a single guru will help you dive deeply into a treatment strategy, but are typically lacking in variety outside of that one strategy. However, as a way to provide a structure for learning towards a final goal, they can be very useful. I currently am about to set out on earning my certification in Dry Needling. Over the next year, I have my learning laid out for me and a fixed goal to be certified in Dry Needling and Cupping by the end of 2017. There are some other great programs available that offer several courses on different topics culminating in a single certification – do be discerning, not all certs are created equal.

Vagabonding DPT:
With the constant change, rapid rate of learning, and high productive expectations expected as a Travel PT, you can get burnt out and/or apathetic as a PT.  It is pivotal that you “Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire.”  Since graduation, I have done exactly that through social media, leadership positions, national PT conferences, and continuing education courses.

Social Media
I didn’t understand Twitter.  I didn’t get the point.  However, a few years ago, I ran for the position of APTA Student Assembly Director of Communications and thought that I should get one in the event I got elected and had to manage one. I’ll be honest.  I had no idea what I was doing.  With the Twitter mentorship of Matt Debole, PT, DPT, OCS and Stephanie Weyrauch, PT, DPT, they opened up a world of passionate students and clinicians from all over the country and the world.  I started utilizing pound signs…I mean hashtags and twitter handles in my tweets.  A few years later, I had the pleasure of engaging with these professionals virtually and in person.

If you don’t have a twitter account, get one.  The best way is to just dive in and follow a few hashtags such as #ChoosePT, #DPTstudent, #SolvePT, #FreshPT, #PTFam and/or #TravelPT, just to name a few.

Still don’t get it? Start one, follow me, then tag me @AprilFajardoPT in your first tweet! Be part of the conversation.

PT Conferences
National Conferences: Have you ever been to National Student Conclave, Combined Sections Meeting (CSM), or NEXT?  It’s how the kids say, “lit?”  Yesss, LIT!!!! Everyone comes to this conference to learn, but one of the most important aspects of these conferences is the opportunity to formulate connections.  If you’ve been active on social media, meet some of those you follow on Twitter at one of these conferences.  You get to attend a multitude of receptions based on your interests and involvement from Alumni events to Section events.  The exhibit hall is equipped with the latest physical therapy gadgets and with recruiters from every corner of the US.  The

International PT Conference: This coming year, I plan on attending the World Congress of Physical Therapy on July 2nd-4th in Capetown, South Africa.  I look forward to the opportunity to learn from and engage with physiotherapists around the world.  Sounds enticing, doesn’t it?  Well, the early registration deadline is November 30th.  Join me and check out their website at http://www.wcpt.org/congress.

Professional Leadership
I’ve been on the go as a traveler; however, I’ve stayed engaged through the pursuit of my passions in professional development, engagement, APTA membership, global health, and service.  I currently serve as The Academy of Neurologic PT’s membership and public relations committee member, an Early Career Team committee member, and the PT Day of Service’s Global Affairs Chair.  My role in all these leadership positions has been location independent.  If I can do it, you can too!  Not sure where to start?  Fill out the APTA Volunteer Interest Pool at http://www.apta.org/VolunteerGroups/ or email the APTA Executive Director of the Section you want to get involved in at http://www.apta.org/Sections/.

Continuing Education Courses
Every state has a different set of requirements for continuing education courses.  However, I’ve found that the most helpful courses have been those developed by a specific section of the APTA.  I’ve taken a continuing education course on Parkinson’s Disease developed by the Academy of the Neurologic PT.  Terry Ellis, PhD, PT, NCS of Boston University  and Lee Dibble, PhD, PT of University of Utah taught the course through the integration of the evidence and its clinical application.  So if there’s a specific topic you want to learn about, check out what courses are provided by the appropriate APTA section.

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Last Day of a Travel Assignment

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I just came in from fishing on my kayak on the eve of my last day of this travel PT assignment. As usual, I caught nothing, but got a killer view of the sunset. Tomorrow, my wife Kate and I will work the last day of our contract on the island of Molokai in Hawaii before heading back to our winter home in Aspen, Colorado. This transition seems a little more subdued than usual – maybe it’s that we have some time between assignments and aren’t in a rush to get on the road. I used to lose all motivation to do paperwork during the last 2 to 3 weeks of any assignment – of course the paperwork eventually had to get done, but it wasn’t pleasant. As time goes on, the switch has become a bit more mundane for me – one job ends, another begins… just like they always do. But I’m better at keeping my nose to the grindstone until the very last days.

Here I am fishing out front of our apartment on a similar evening where similarly, I caught nothing.

Here I am paddling out to fish in front of our apartment on a similar evening where similarly, I caught nothing.

With ending a job, there’s all the finals steps that need tending to: cleaning out/off your desk, finishing all notes, tying up the loose ends on the cases of any patients who may have gone missing, and preparing for the other therapists to take your patients. Bottomline is: you don’t want the last memory of you to be all of your unfinished work left behind for the other therapists to handle. There’s typically some pageantry as a traveler gets ready to leave an assignment. I try to avoid too much fanfare, it feels awkward to me – I’m very used to coming and going. If it were up to me, I’d leave the office on Friday with the typical wave of my hand and a “have a good weekend!” …and never come back. In the PT Department earlier this week, we had a nice, simple ice cream bar with just the 5 of us in our department. It was nice, simple, perfect – it was a wonderful, delicious gesture, but not over the top. This location has trouble finding a permanent PT because of its isolation, so they are used to a revolving door of travelers. Perhaps that explains why my style of a “goodbye” matches with theirs. Someone, Vikki, will come in on Monday and take my place. She seems nice, and I hope she is – I’ve been telling all the patients she seems good, and I bet she’ll take all the placebo effect she can get. The patients definitely don’t like it when a traveler leaves, but I still laugh when an unassuming grandma threatens to come to Colorado for PT this winter.

The greatest challenge that comes with moving along to the next job is the process of getting the next job arranged. After traveling for 10 years, and returning to the same seasonal job every winter, finding the next job isn’t usually too much of a process anymore, but it used to be! Figuring out where to go is the first major hurdle, and it needs to happen well before the last days of the job. If you’re on a 13 week contract, you should have a pretty good idea of where you’d like to go very early on in the contract – especially if you need to get a new license to go there. When it’s time to find the next job, it’s not uncommon to find me in little corners of a hospital, between appointments, making calls to recruiters for quick updates on potential jobs. There’s a lot that goes into getting the next assignment, and it can, and usually does, happen at a pretty fast pace in the middle of a busy work week.

I just read a couple articles in a ski magazine and it got me pumped to be headed back to Colorado for the winter. I cannot wait to get my skis out of storage and onto the mountain (it’s snowing there right now as I write). Kate and I have ordered a fair amount of ski gear on sale over this summer while we’ve been here in Hawaii, so we’ll have to box all that junk up and ship it ahead. We have almost two weeks of hanging out in Hawaii before we have to leave – I really think this is the ultimate traveler’s hack. I haven’t had to pack a thing while I’ve been working. It is so refreshing to not have a car full of stuff before my last day of work tomorrow.

Here's the Shasta camper we bought. I can't wait to get to work sprucing her up!

Here’s the Shasta camper we bought. I can’t wait to get to work making her shine again!

When we do leave for Colorado in 2 weeks, we’re going to swing through Oregon and visit some friends in Bend before flying into Denver where we’ll be buying two cars. The original plan was to have one car when we returned to Colorado and have some time to find a second car, but while we’ve been away, the Colorado car’s engine stopped working. I’m not very mechanically-inclined, but my understanding is that the engine is a fairly essential part. So, we’ll buy at least one, maybe two cars in Denver – one has to be able to pull the 1970 Shasta Camper we bought from a friend sight-unseen (more on this in the future). After we’re done visiting Oregon and vehicle shopping in Denver, I have a dry needling course in Colorado Springs to attend for 3 days. So excited to finally be a needler (but not excited to be needled for 3 days straight)! The course ends Sunday, and work will start Monday – guess I won’t be starting this assignment well rested regardless of my 3 weeks off.

Despite all the excitement that lies between today and work starting 3 weeks from now in Colorado, I’m bummed to be done here. It’s a community I have grown to know and love and the bitter is mixed a little more heavily with the sweet this time. I guess I’ve got a pretty good thing going here, I could keep working here for another couple months, but it’s that time of year to move on. This is our second time doing a contract on Molokai. When Kate and I came over from the Big Island 2 years ago for an interview, we thought it might be a once-in-a-lifetime visit to Molokai. Three contracts later, Molokai is a part of our life. We’ll be back. I don’t know in what capacity we’ll return, but we will return.

Hawaii, it’s been a blast and I shall return. Oregon, let’s see what you’ve got (I hear you’ve got mountains, ocean, and beer – I like those things). Colorado, I can’t wait to hit the slopes and reconnect with all the friends back there. Nose to the grindstone, one more day of work.

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Where Should I Work This Winter?

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As pumpkins take over the world, traveling therapists begin to think about their next assignment that will last a good portion of this winter. Where do you want to be this winter?

Ocean, check. Mountains, check. Yeah, I could do San Diego. Does anybody know what San Diago means?

Ocean, check. Mountains, check. Yeah, I could do San Diego. Does anybody know what San Diago means?

On the beach? On top of a snowy mountain? Somewhere exotic and outlandish? Are you going to hibernate, or are you going to thrive? I’ve got you covered, here are some of the best places I’ve been in the winter and other places I would love to go in the future.

Southern California

I always wanted to do an assignment in San Diego, but somewhere along the way it fell off my list. It seems like it would be a great place to get a January tan. I know lots of people who have taken assignments throughout Southern California and absolutely love it there. Home care offers really good pay rates in SoCal if you’re willing to try out that setting. The only hitch to working in California is that getting a license can take 4 to 6 months, so get started now if it’s on your list.

Ski Country

Pop Quiz: Question: How does a snowboarder order a meal? Answer: "Hey Bro, you gonna finish that?" Question: 2 Snowboarders are in a car, who's driving? Answer: The cops.

Pop Quiz:
Question: How does a snowboarder order a meal?
Answer: “Hey Bro, you gonna finish that?”

I love skiing, so I do the opposite of the snow birds. I love living in the mountains with skiing right outside my front door in the winter. There’s a lot of places to find jobs near skiing, but to actually live and work in a ski town is an experience that every avid skier (or snowboarder) should have.  most hospitals in the Colorado Rockies hire directly (without staffing agencies) and you’ll need to pick up the phone and call or go check the hospital’s website for employment opportunities. You might have more luck around Salt Lake City which has more employment opportunities and all the world-class skiing you could dream of within a 30 minute drive. Wyoming and Montana offer more rural settings with great back country access and beautiful, pristine landscapes. New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine all have quick access to big mountain skiing – some of the best skiers (and snowboarders) in the world come from New England – Bode Miller, Ted Ligety, Simon Dumont, Jeremy Jones. If you’ve wanted to see the Northeast and you’re a fan of winter sports, winter can be a great time with a lot of job opportunities and decent access even as far south as Boston.

Hawaii

Hawaii, idyllic for any traveller anytime of year. Plan ahead, lots of people want to go to Hawaii and jobs are competitive.

Hawaii, idyllic for any traveller anytime of year. Plan ahead, lots of people want to go to Hawaii and jobs are competitive.

I love my time in Hawaii, but I am never here in the winter time due to my aforementioned affection for skiing. Although, the summit of Mauna Kea at over 13,000 ft does offer enough snow to ski on in depths of winter – so there’s that option. During the Hawaiian summer, the surf is more calm and better for swimming – the summer brings less rain too. But the winter is when Hawaii really displays its beauty. Migrating whales visit Hawaii by the thousands in the winter. The increased rain brings deep green colors to the hillsides that are brown and parched during the summer. And the surfing world gets together on Oahu’s North Shore to hold competitions on the best waves in the world during the winter months. If you want to go to Hawaii, you have to be flexible – a lot of people want to go there, so finding an assignment or getting your resume in ahead of other people can be hit or miss. I normally recommend making sure your recruiter presents jobs to you before letting them submit you. But Hawaii can be competitive enough that getting your name in first can be a real advantage – when it comes to Hawaii, you may consider giving your most trusted recruiter the green light to submit you to any job that fits your criteria.

Antarctica

Huh? Antarctica. Hang with me here for a minute. Our winter is the southern hemisphere’s summer. The University of Texas Medical Branch staffs the 3 US research stations in Antarctica with contract workers. Each year they look for, “Licensed Physical Therapists who have a strong clinical background and a taste for adventure.” I think both of those qualifications need to be strongly met. In a position where you may end up being a fairly solitary clinician with limited resources, you must know your stuff, and you have to be able to improvise with whatever is available to you. A “taste for adventure” states it lightly. I have heard this job is essentially like working on a submarine except that you get to go outside occasionally. My understanding is that you rarely get off base, and when you do, there is NOTHING (except hungry polar bears)… but, you’re in Antarctica and that is pretty cool. I have also heard about the “Race Around the World” – A 5K race in a loop around the South Pole – that’s just hilarious and awesome.

US Virgin Islands

Did you know the US Virgin Islands are a part of FSBPT, the same body that all US states belong to for PT licensure? Oh yes. It is as easy to transfer your license to the Virgin Islands as it is to any other US state. There are jobs available in the Virgin Islands, it’s easy to transfer your license, and they are a short flight from anywhere east of the Mississippi. I’ve talked with a couple people who have worked there, and they’ve loved it.

On a side note, while FSBPT is in the conversation – if you are a traveling Physical Therapist or recruiter and you are unaware of the Physical Therapist Licensure Compact, educate yourself now. PT licenses between certain states will be reciprocal within the next two years – very exciting, make sure your state is included!

Choose Your Own Adventure

Don’t be limited by these 5 options. Choosing where to go as a traveling therapist is as personal choice as you could make. There’s all kinds of opportunities available in the Southeast and the Southwest – great, warm places in the winter. I’ve seen and heard wonderful things about Lake Havasu in Arizona and San Padre Island in Texas – I just know nothing about them, so they aren’t mentioned here. Why not make an adventure. Try finding an assignment in the Florida Keys. Don’t let any list limit you, go out and find the place YOU love, that’s what traveling therapy is all about.