Current DPT Student considering Traveling PT

Just starting out as a traveler? Traveling questions or experiences to share? Here's the place.
VicHut
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Feb 01, 2019 8:51 am

Current DPT Student considering Traveling PT

Unread post by VicHut » Fri Feb 01, 2019 9:23 am

Hello! I am a current PT student, set to graduate August 2020. I have been considering traveling PT for awhile now, I really enjoy traveling and quite honestly not completely sure where I want to settle down after graduation. I am pretty open to working in all settings, I am trying my best to get rotations in a variety of different settings for experience and to get a feel for what I like best. So far I have worked in a SNF, wound care facility, Home health, and my rotations are set for a larger hospital, peds clinic, and sports clinic. After talking with faculty mentors and CI mentors, my plan following graduation is to work at a bigger hospital where I can get a variety of experience until January/ February (so about 5-6 months of experience with other more experienced PTs). I have multiple questions about traveling PT, I apologize if these questions are redundant or basic I have just begun exploring traveling options.
1. First, I am not really sure where to start. I was fortunate to talk to several agencies at CSM this year, but how do I go about deciding which agency is a best fit for me? What does it mean to work with multiple agencies?
2. Is 6 months experience enough to being traveling?
3. I have a dog and would like to go the RV or tiny home route. Which is would be more realistic? Is it hard to find places to set tiny home?
4. My ultimate goal would be to do missionary PT, is this something I would still be able to do between traveling?
5.Would I still be able to work a variety of settings until I find an area that fits me best?
Thanks!

Hobohealth
Site Admin
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Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2008 2:32 pm
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Re: Current DPT Student considering Traveling PT

Unread post by Hobohealth » Thu Feb 07, 2019 10:08 pm

I think your plan to get a ton of different experiences is a great plan. I'll just get to answering your questions directly here. Sorry for the delay in ansering, I wanted to get you some thoughtful answers,

1. First, I am not really sure where to start. I was fortunate to talk to several agencies at CSM this year, but how do I go about deciding which agency is a best fit for me? What does it mean to work with multiple agencies?
If you shoot me an email at [email protected], I can send you a list of the recruiters that I ended up using... but otherwise, it's kind of trial-and-error to find a recruiter/agency that are responsive to you and treat you with the respect you deserve. I enjoy working with multiple companies - meaning having 2 or 3 look for jobs. There's not any commitment beyond each contract. So when one contract is ending, you can look with multiple companies again. A blog post on that topic: https://hobohealth.com/wordpress/uncate ... r-several/

2. Is 6 months experience enough to being traveling?
Depends on the person, but that's exactly how long I worked before travel. I think 6 months is a bare minimum, but most new therapists are typically surprised by how much of a learning curve there is in their first few months of practice without a clinical instructor. 6 months of experience is so much better than going straight into travel.

3. I have a dog and would like to go the RV or tiny home route. Which is would be more realistic? Is it hard to find places to set tiny home?
A dog adds a challenge, but it's not impossible to find apartments that will let you have a dog. I love the idea of traveling in an RV. I only did it for one assignment, but it was awesome. You may consider where you want to travel and if the weather would be appropriate for living in a camper - that may be your decision maker.

4. My ultimate goal would be to do missionary PT, is this something I would still be able to do between traveling?
Yes. People definitely fit in International service trips between travel PT assignments. April Fajardo would be a great resource for you - search on Twitter or Facebook for her at "The Vagabonding DPT".

5.Would I still be able to work a variety of settings until I find an area that fits me best?
Yes. Travel PT is perfect for exploring a bunch of different settings. As you gain more experience, more settings will become available to you. The greatest strength I gained as a clinician through my traveling years is a great breadth of experiences in a huge variety of settings.

Good luck!

Feel free to write with more questions and I will try to answer them!

James

VicHut
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Feb 01, 2019 8:51 am

Re: Current DPT Student considering Traveling PT

Unread post by VicHut » Wed Feb 13, 2019 1:05 pm

James, Thank you so much for your reply and answers! I'm sure I will have more questions as I explore more into traveling PT. I went ahead and emailed you. Thanks so much again for your help!

-Victoria

Alcarlson13
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Jun 10, 2020 8:41 am

Re: Current DPT Student considering Traveling PT

Unread post by Alcarlson13 » Tue Jun 23, 2020 3:34 pm

I started traveling straight out of school and never once felt overwhelmed/ like I needed more supervision or guidance etc. Definitely do not have to have experience prior to traveling ( that is what internships are for); depends on your confidence upon graduation. I had amazing CIs during my internships and my school required us to be able to handle caseloads; felt that was key in regards to my abilities. I’ve met some PTs that need literally 100% supervision for their first job in the real world, so it all really depends on the individual. My first travel job was a SNF, I was the only PT and hit the ground running day one.

Travel Agency: there are alot out there. Don’t just go with the one that has the best benefits. You want to have a recruiter that connects with you really well. I picked my recruiter because I felt like I was talking to an old friend. I have been with the same recruiter since I started and have never had issues getting contracts in the areas or settings I want. Many do have more than one agency. I would definitely put feelers since some agencies have more jobs in certain states and some pay a bit more. With COVID, I have had to reach out to another agency due to lack of overall jobs.

Pets: 1 dog won’t be an issue. I started traveling with 1 dog. I always find my own housing since I take home more that way. Of course I live with the minimum and normally just have a bed, a futon, and whatever fits in my car. I know have 3 dogs! Bought myself a camper and we stay in that. Renting a camper/tiny house can be very pricey. I’d recommend just getting one for your own.

Setting/location: I have worked in every setting. I actually prefer the setting I did not like when I was on internship! I’ve also worked in big cities and itty bitty towns. I prefer the rural areas.

As a traveler I feel it is a huge benefit and keeps my skills sharp. Every clinic I go to, I learn something new. Many who work in one setting all the time, lose many of the skills they learned and are not as well rounded. I do my best to bring something knew you every clinic I go to. Very exciting stuff and I’m sure you will love it!

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