Social media is full of trash, absolute junk. Physical Therapy’s twittersphere and facebook groups are mostly a flaming pile of garbage. Now, don’t get me wrong. Most of the people running groups on facebook and moderating discussions have pure intentions and deep knowledge – for the most part, they are true experts. It’s everyone else who gets involved that ruins it. Social media has leveled the playing field so that everyone’s opinion counts equally. There is no rating to show that one person may have in depth knowledge and experience while another is just a know-it-all crackpot. Vetting info and figuring out whose advice you can trust is more important now than it has ever been.
There was a particular post on a travel PT Facebook group with a series of completely false answers that led me to write this piece. Someone asked the often-asked question, “How far do I have to travel from my tax home to get a tax-free housing stipend.” Let the wrong answers pour in: “50 miles!” “60 minutes!” “100 miles!” ….people with such confident, concise answers. The correct answer is: “a taxpayer must be on a trip that requires the taxpayer to stop for sleep or a substantial period of rest.”^ …and there you have it, non-specific, open to interpretation, and totally typical of the IRS! That’s not an easy answer, is it? That is not easily repeated, typed into a social media thread, or understood. So, we get repeated, false answers like “50 miles!”
I’m done with the griping part of this blog, let’s get positive. I only share the example of awful information on Facebook pages to illustrate the point that you need to dig a bit deeper to find good resources – there are some fantastic resources out there!
- There’s a number of blogs out there (like this one, of course!) that offer great travel advice. Rather than going fishing for a correct answer on a Facebook page, reach out to myself ([email protected]), or any other one of the many great bloggers – we all love to help people discover travel PT. Look around a little bit and you’ll find a blogger that has similar interests as you, like independent contracting, international service work, traveling with kids, traveling with pets, living in RVs – it’s all out there*. If you find a blogger that you identify with personally, you will have found a great mentor.
- Ask a friend. Surely you have known a traveling PT, or you have a friend from PT school who knows one – or ask a professor at school who likely has a former student that is a traveler. These personal connections are important in finding your way as a traveler. Having someone you can confide in and trust their advice is very valuable.
- If you have a great recruiter, they will be your greatest advocate and resource. Now, how might you find a great recruiter? Again, there’s some really bad resources for this online bought and paid for by the industry – The advertisers in the margins of this post are not just advertisers, but also companies I have traveled with and trust greatly. If you post on the HoboHealth Discussion Board topic Travel Therapy Companies, I’d be happy to email you with the names of the recruiters I use and trust. Also, I give some more generalized advice on picking a recruiter here: https://hobohealth.com/wordpress/traveling-pt/your-first-travel-gig/
- Finally, I would be doing myself an injustice if I didn’t self-promote a couple more of my own resources that I think are fantastic:
- Travel Essentials – these are the best blogs I have written over the past 12 years. You will find the answer to most travel PT questions within.
- The Media page contains a whole bunch of interviews that are all about the same topic – traveling physical therapy.
Happy travels out there. Please don’t listen to any ol’ know-nothing on the interwebs when it comes to travel PT… or when it comes to any other topic. You’re better than that, and there are great, easy to find resources out there that have the answers you need.
^Sourced via traveltax.com: Tax Court Small Tax Cases (Archive), Daniel P. and Glenna J. Marple v. Commissioner., U.S. Tax Court, T.C. Summary Opinion 2007-76, (May 21, 2007)
*Some bloggers that I think put out great information:
- The Vagabonding DPT – specializing in International Service Trips
- PT Adventures – They travel with a baby! But a solid blog all around.
- The Traveling Traveler – I know this blog particularly for Hawaii travel, but there’s lots and lots of other info in there.
- Travel Therapy Mentor – Has a focus on financial health w/ travel PT
- New Grad Travel Therapy – The names says it!
