Top 5 Reasons to Become a Travel PT:
#3 – Professional Growth
In this mini-series we will go into the Top 5 reasons to become a travel PT. Over the next few days we will dive into both the obvious and the unspoken reasons for becoming a travel therapist.
Check out the other Top 5 Reasons:
Coming in third in our Top 5 Reasons to Become a Travel PT is Professional Growth
Travel PTs are put in a unique position to grow their clinical skills unlike any other PT field. Multiple clinic settings, high clinical demand, and broad working experience all come together to build a considerable skillset that any clinician can take with them forever.
Multiple Clinic Settings
Travel physical therapy jobs are readily available all across the country. However, there is no guarantee as to which setting will be in demand. Some states are desperate for Home Health, others SNF work, still others, Acute care (no states are desperate for outpatient). As a travel physical therapist it is best to diversify your skillset. Being able to fluidly transition from one setting to another markedly improves your marketability. Having developed the ability to do this you have built a considerable stack of physical therapy skills.
The translatory skills between different settings helps to fill in the holes that often exist in most clinicians clinical reasoning. Acute care knowledge often is valuable in medically complex situations that arise in either Home health or a skilled nursing facility. Neuro rehab principles are fantastic in an outpatient orthopedic setting. Each setting has its own specific skillset that builds over time, and often can be highly valuable in other settings as well.
Effectiveness
Travel PTs are asked to come into a new setting and provide efficient and effective patient care from week 1 (sometimes day 1). Ellen and I like to refer to travel physical therapists as the “hired guns” of the rehab world. We are expensive, but we provide excellent care. Knowing that we cost a clinic so much money is motivation to deliver high quality care in the best way we know how, and continue to take a pro-active approach to growing as a professional.
Broad Experience
Traveling to different clinics and agencies brings with it a wider view of physical therapy as a whole. Every state has its own nuances in patient care, various agencies place higher standards on different things. All of this serves to influence your clinical care.
On top of the corporate influences on you care, your coworkers will have an even more personal influence in your growth. Prior to traveling I had never even heard of the Burdenko Method, or PRI, nor had I had anyone do dry needling on me before (this was before it became trendy). At each stop along the way I have picked up a tid bit or two that continues to travel on with me.
For Ellen and I, the professional growth as travel PT’s has been a surprising perk of the profession. We never anticipated to grow to the extent we have, and we look forward to the new skills and influences we will be exposed to in the future.
Written by: Stephen Stockhausen
