Top 5 Misconceptions of Travel Therapy

As interest in travel therapy grows so too does the tales of its pros and cons.  In this post we will breakdown the top 5 misconceptions of travel therapy and travel therapists. 

1. Assignments or Placements

One of the main focal points of this site has been, and always will be, is lifestyle control.  You are in charge!  While it may be true that travel jobs are frequently referred to as “placements” or “assignments” these terms are inaccurate.  You are not Placed or Assigned anything.  Jobs are pitched to you by a recruiter and it is purely up to you whether to be submitted to the position or not.

*One word of caution – We have heard stories of unscrupulous recruiters claiming that this is not the case and bullying therapists into specific positions that they want to fill.  This is rare, but worth mentioning.

2. Travel therapists are Bad therapists

Breaking the stereotype of being a clinician that is trying to hide by zipping job to job is a top priority of ours. Travelers are now coming into contract work hungry to learn and build their skillset. “A rising tide lifts all ships,” and the travel community is beginning to blow the old expectations of a travel therapists away.  Advanced clinicians are now flocking to the travel ranks more than ever. 

We are no longer a disjointed hodgepodge of sub-par therapists.  But an energized, motivated, and inclusive community of like-minded therapists eager to help one another grow and develop their careers across the nation.

3. Only Money Matters

True, many of our past posts have been money centric – here, here, here, and here.  I even wrote an ebook titled Make More Money  But, debt relief, retirement planning, and lifestyle curation all take money.  However, travel therapy is most definitely NOT all about the money. 

We cannot begin to tell you all of the different reason why therapists decide to begin traveling. Time off, exploring new locations, learning new clinical skills, flexible work arrangements, the list goes on. I’d be lying if I tried to say that money isn’t a major driving factor behind our decision to travel (especially with an infant now at home).  But even with all of the financial benefits of travel, for us and for all of our travel buddies, the adventure of the travel lifestyle is by far the most attractive aspect of this career choice.

4. We always get what we want

Unfortunately in travel therapy, as in life, we can’t always get what we want.  Even more unfortunately, there are a few travel therapy writers/bloggers that recently are making this claim in hopes to build a following and/or sell a service. 

The truth of the matter is that there are limitations to everything.  Yes, there is room to negotiate in every contract.  But expecting a huge raise, even well deserved, is not always possible.  One factor may be the rate at which insurance companies reimburse a facility, which can vary state to state.  Yes, there are travel jobs all across the country.  But some locations have more or less need than others. For example, the Pacific Northwest is packed in the summer and a state like Ohio rarely has travel jobs because of a saturated PT market.

There are many reasons why you may not always get what you want.  Travelers need to be flexible and have a well defined list of goals and non-negotiables when approaching any new opportunity.

We are an energized, motivated, and inclusive community of like-minded therapists eager to help one another grow and develop their careers across the nation.

5. Always get the worst case load or worst territory, etc.

While there will always be jobs that are simply untenable, the vast majority of travel experiences are a delight.  Travel positions, naturally, are available where finding and keeping permanent staff is difficult.  Hiring someone, even a traveler, an expensive endeavor for a clinic or facility.  Running off a new hire by over-working or abusing them is costly and therefore not nearly as common as social media rumors my lead you to believe. 

In all of the years we have been traveling, at no point have we felt singled out because we were travelers.  Sure, there were plenty of difficult work experiences (I am in one currently), but they were no different than what permanent staff members would endure day in and day out anyways.  Remember, if it sounds too good or too bad to be true, it most likely is.

Written by: Stephen Stockhausen