Traveling PTs expand their minds and life experiences throughconstant change.

Physical therapists (PTs) are dynamic individuals whose interest in the human body and in the well-being of patients typically encompasses knowledge far beyond what they have studied in textbooks in the classroom. For PTs who enjoy learning about the world surrounding the practices in which they work, a career as a traveling PT may ultimately be a more rewarding pursuit.

The demand for PTs continues to increase in today’s market. Traveling PTs help meet that demand by being available to work in practices across the country that are looking to fill vacant PT positions and are having a hard time finding permanent employees. Working as a traveling PT enables a PT to explore new challenges, with the additional possibility of earning higher salaries in different cities as he or she helps meet the job-market demands of the industry.

An array of recruitment firms offer services that place traveling PTs in facilities that will provide rewarding experiences for both the PTs and their new facility managers. Any PTs looking to make the jump from their current careers as full-time staff PTs at single clinics and plunge into the world of traveling physical therapy should consider their own personalities, interests, and life goals.

“I love to travel and see new places,” says Kathleen Rhiannon, PT, who has been a traveling PT for 2 years. “I am single, and I have nothing tying me to a certain place.”

Rhiannon has journeyed to locations such as Oahu, Hawaii, and Seattle—her longest stint, at a little more than 1 year—during her career.

“I decided to travel because I was at a job that I disliked, and I wasn’t too sure what type of facility and where in the country I wanted to be, so it seemed like the best way to figure those things out,” says Patricia Harris, PT, who has been a traveling PT for 6 months. Harris worked at an acute-care hospital in Greenville, SC, and just recently began a new assignment in Malvern, Pa.

Traveling PTs need not think of themselves as migrant or nomadic, since they are often in command at each step.

“I choose [my assignments] based on the type of work I like to do and the places I want to visit,” says Rhiannon.

“I am not too picky regarding what type of facility I will work in; it is all about location for me,” says Harris. “I had friends in Greenville, so that is why I stayed there so long. I chose to come back home for the holidays in southeast Pennsylvania.”

What is it like being a traveling PT? Traveling PTs are exposed to the full diversity of operating procedures present in each of the facilities in which they work.

Recruiters will take the time to interview candidates before finding facilities that fit their needs, discussing the applicants’ knowledge, skills, clinical strengths, and desires for pay and location. Often, when a match is found—since jobs may be located in a city far from the one in which the PT is currently working—a telephone interview is set up between the PT and the prospective facility’s coordinator or manager. During the interview, the facility directors look for qualities that will ensure that the traveling PT will slip easily into the facility’s existing staff. In addition to clinical knowledge and skills, a traveling PT is evaluated on personality traits that show that he or she is capable of adjusting to new environments and fitting in with new staff members.

“As a traveling physical therapist, you need to be flexible and adaptable, enjoy meeting new people, make friends easily, and enjoy the excitement of a new place,” says Rhiannon.

“I think that traveling physical therapists need to be free-spirited and confident in who they are as a person,” says Harris. “It is difficult to go to new environments every few months and meet new people, but if one is willing to just be themselves and be open to new adventures, it makes the time there that much easier.”

Once the travel assignment has been selected, the recruitment firm will walk the PT through all the paperwork needed by the facility coordinator. The recruiters will also take care of all the licensing requirements, which vary from state to state, giving the PT ample time to prepare to depart from their present site.

Upon the PT’s arrival at the facility, orientation takes place. Each facility will have its own unique orientation methods, and the length of the orientation period can range from 1 day (in smaller facilities) to 1 week (in larger facilities). The process helps PTs and facilities find the right match for both parties.

Recruitment firms usually offer their traveling PTs a variety of benefits that can include private housing, health insurance, and travel reimbursement. Travel assignments generally range from 2 months to 1 year, and the recruitment firm will commonly begin seeking out new assignments 2 months before the current assignment ends.

“Some of the benefits are travel, paid housing, variety, and being able to move often while still maintaining the stability and benefits of a single employer,” says Rhiannon.

Harris has similar views. “Being able to see the country, living rent free, meeting new people frequently, and working for one company with the security of health benefits but never being stuck in the same job for too long are some of the advantages of being a traveling physical therapist.”

As for drawbacks, the need to obtain licensure in each new state can be tedious. However, most recruitment firms offer services to help PTs sail through the process. Also, some PTs may feel hindered in their ability to enroll in continuing education (CEU) courses or to proceed to further studies.

“There is time to take CEU courses; it is just more difficult to schedule too far in advance if I don’t know where I’m going to be during that time,” says Harris.

Whether someone is a seasoned PT with flexibility in his or her personal life, or an ambitious recent graduate who wants to get out and traverse different facilities to find his or her niche, working as a traveling PT may be an intriguing and stimulating way to drive forward one’s professional life.

“For me, being a traveling PT was just something I had to do to better myself as a person first, and then as a professional second. So, from the experience I had, and from those to come, I hope to look back and see that I not only made a difference in my patients’ lives, but that I came out of it with new friends and memories that will, I hope, make me a more open-minded free spirit,” says Harris

Sarah Rahn is a contributing writer for Physical Therapy Products.