Traveler Tips: Benefits And Challenges Of Traveling As A Team
By Stephen Stockhausen, PT, DPT, OCS, Contributing Writer, PT Adventures The travel physical therapist life is pretty incredible—bouncing around to new places, new jobs, new friends and new adventures! But it is no secret that life on the road alone can get lonely. This is where travel teams come in. Simply put, a travel physical therapist team is a pair of PTs (or any combination of PTs, occupational therapists, registered nurses, speech-language pathologists, dieticians, physician assistants, medical doctors/osteopathic medical doctors, respiratory therapists, etc.) that decide to explore the world together. Teams do not necessarily have to be in the same field, and often it is easier to have different professions in order to find jobs in the same locations. Travel teams have a few distinct challenges and benefits that should be considered before you combine powers with another fellow traveler. Challenges of being a travel physical therapist team Job selection via GIPHY As a pair of PT travelers ourselves, we have had to accept that most of the quaint mountain towns we want to explore do not have two openings for PTs at that exact same time. If we had separate specialties this might be a different story. We have accepted that for us to be in the same general location we must consider larger towns or cities to find two PT jobs at once. Neither of us is dead set on working for the same company or even in the same town as one another. However, with our new child, we do require that we can still live together regardless of where we are working. Commuting distance For this reason, we have created what we call the “60-Minute Rule” for job locations. We will consider jobs that are within a 60-minute drive from one another as long as there are viable housing options in between them. (Notice that we do not call it the “60-Mile Rule” California traffic can be crazy!) This ensures that, at worst, one of us will have an hours drive to work, and at best we each have only a 30-minute commute. Enacting this rule requires some research, however. In Alaska, Ellen took a job in downtown Anchorage, while I was in Eagle River. My facility provided us with free housing, walkable to the clinic, and it was only 13 miles from Anchorage, so obviously we lived in Eagle River. Initially, we thought this was going to be a simple solution and would fit our rule easily. What we did not consider was winter traffic on Glenn Highway! Road Rage GIF from Roadrage GIFs Anchorage sits on a precipitously skinny sliver of flat land wedged between the Chugach Mountains and the Cook Inlet. Flatland is at a premium in Alaska, so there is literally only one road connecting the two towns. Ellen would frequently have 75-90 minute commutes as the highway would be bumper to bumper due to a moose kill or black ice. Lesson learned. Being flexible with your job selection and keeping in mind the “60-Minute Rule” will keep your travel team resentment-free and happy as clams. Benefits of traveling as a team Travel physical therapist teams have some distinct advantages over solo travelers. Shared expenses, added safety, and friends are just a few. Shared expenses via GIPHY By far, the biggest benefit for a travel physical therapist team is shared housing costs. For most of us, housing is the largest single monthly expense (assuming you are not drowning in loan debt). Being able to split the burden between both of you will save some considerable cash. Even up-sizing to a two- or three-bedroom place won’t compare to the cost of renting a one bedroom apartment. Many travel teams can save $300-500 per month each by pairing up and splitting housing costs. Other shared expenses can also add a little extra cash to the coffers. One travel nursing team we are good friends with were big time city girls. They took jobs in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Denver to name a few. In doing so, they often only required one car, as city transportation in large metropolitan areas is frequently cheaper and less of a headache to manage. Plus, a bus pass is far cheaper than gas and parking in most major cities. Safety I only bring this up because of the huge number of questions regarding safe travel as a single person. Our fear-obsessed society loves bad news, and as we have all heard, “if it bleeds, it leads.” Having worked home health jobs in two of Californias most “dangerous” cities, I firmly believe the world is not out to get you. via GIPHY However, we all must do our due diligence to ensure personal safety. Traveling as a team provides one more layer of protection against a dangerous situation from happening. It’s one more set of eyes and ears, and one more rational mind to help make the good decisions that prevent problems from ever starting. Friends By far the best gift that this lifestyle has provided us is the friendships we have made across the country. That being said, there are some lonely times out there. Many of our solo travel buddies have lamented about periods of loneliness they deal with. Most often this is at the beginning of a contract before they have been able to settle in and meet new people, but it’s still a problem. Having a travel buddy helps to inoculate yourself from these feelings. You will have someone to explore with and someone to commiserate with on bad days. Someone to help you out of a jam and someone to push you into new, uncomfortable, and exciting situations. As you each branch out and make new friends, your travel buddy will provide a solid base that you can build a new community around. via GIPHY Being a travel PT team has been a life changer for us. We went from drowning in student loan debt in permanent positions to debt free in four years (less than 2 years as
5 Signs You Are Ready To Start A Travel Healthcare Career
It can be difficult to know when to start a travel healthcare career. Many would-be travelers can suffer from “analysis paralysis” thinking about all of the criteria they should meet before traveling. Should I wait until I have more experience? What if I end up somewhere I hate? Will I be able to support myself sufficiently? Do I have to become a wizard at finding a new place to live every few months? While those are all important questions, they are better left for after you decide to commit to a travel healthcare career. We’ve narrowed down five signs to look for when deciding to pursue a travel healthcare career. Signs You Are Ready To Start Your Travel Healthcare Career 1. You want to see new sights One of the most obvious benefits of being a healthcare traveler is right in the name. There are more than 30,000 active job posts on the StaffDNA boards at any given time that span the U.S. and cover a massive variety of locations. Looking to hit the ski slopes in the winter? Some facilities recruit for the winter as early as August. Want to find a nice small town with pretty trees for the fall? Take your pick of northeast states right off the Atlantic coast. One of the main factors stopping travelers from working where they want is having current state licenses, but even that is made easier because most agencies will pay your licensing fees. Additionally, nurses and physical therapists can get compact licenses which allows them to work in multiple states with only one license. Other healthcare professions are working towards implementing licensure compacts as well. 2. You want more control over your pay A traveler’s job flexibility also applies to their earning potential, not just location. The keyword to focus on here is “control,” because while it’s true travelers earn more on average than permanent staff, that doesn’t mean they always will. That’s why it’s important to think about your salary in terms of control—you can control what agencies you work with, the recruiters you work with and the jobs you pursue. Since the traveler job market is fast-moving and highly competitive, travel staffing agencies are constantly fighting tooth-and-nail to offer you the best pay package and solid benefits. 3. You want to build up your professional skillset quickly It’s easy to get stuck in a routine while working at the same facility every year. If you plan on traveling for more than a year, chances are you will work in a variety of different environments with unique challenges. Contrary to conventional wisdom, this constant job hopping can actually help you in the long run because it will show potential employers you are highly adaptable and can face unexpected problems with confidence. Traveling also means getting experience in multiple electronic medical (healthcare) record software platforms, as different hospitals will have their own systems. In a Black Book Research survey, 98 percent of travel nurses said fluency in multiple EMR platforms is a highly valued skill. Since facilities are constantly updating or implementing new EMR platforms, travelers with experience in multiple platforms can apply for EMR conversion contracts, which typically offer much higher pay rates than standard travel assignments. 4. You are sick of healthcare workplace “politics” Bad hospital management, interpersonal drama, pointless gossip, local union disputes—traveling gives you a chance to avoid almost all of the workplace “politics” that permanent staff have to deal with. Since you have the option to avoid toxic workplace relationships as a temporary staff member, that means you can focus more time on patient care and improving your skills. 5. You are ready for a challenge We’ve explained a lot of the benefits to traveling, but that doesn’t mean travelers get to just kick back and rake in money. Healthcare travelers have to be ready to face almost all of these challenges at any given time: Managing and frequently updating compliance documents Maintaining a tax home Managing relationships with multiple recruiters and agencies Applying for state licenses Multiple job interviews every year Calculating travel expenses Frequently looking for (and moving to) temporary housing Adjusting quickly to new work environments with limited orientation Planning on how to travel with friends, family or pets Loneliness or homesickness Constant on-the-job learning High expectations for job performance Avoiding workplace drama If this list of challenges seems daunting, that’s perfectly natural. Traveling has plenty of positive aspects, but it may not be for everyone. Some travelers find they love the challenge as it motivates them to work harder and improve their skills. The most important thing you can do after noticing the signs that you’re interested in traveling is to educate yourself. There are a variety of online resources—including this website—where you can find answers to any lingering questions you may have about being a healthcare traveler.
Dallas Nursing and Healthcare Career Fair opens Thursday
Travel nurses and healthcare professionals in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth region have a chance to meet in person with industry insiders and hiring managers on Thursday at the Dallas Nursing and Healthcare Career Fair. The career fair, which will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. CST at the Crystal Banquet Hall in Plano, will feature local and national healthcare hiring managers, including companies like Dallas Regional Medical Center, NMA Academy, Guardian Home Healthcare, Steward Family Hospital, Staff DNA and several others. The event will also offer free resume reviews by Nickquolette Barrett with iRock Resumes. This event is pre-screened, so attendees must provide valid healthcare credentials to get in the door. Attendees can also pre-register by emailing resume@expoexpertsllc.com with the subject line “Attending EE”, but it’s not required for entry. Attending a screened job fair like this one will help healthcare job seekers save time by having direct interaction with hiring managers, Expo Experts marketing specialist Jamie Barker said. “There are instant, built-in interviews, which saves time and allows you to make an impression much faster and easier than the traditional filling out of an application and waiting for a phone call,” Barker said. For more information about the event, visit the Expo Experts website.
First-time Travel Nurse? Don’t Delay Compliance
You’ve graduated school. You’ve earned your license. You’ve worked a couple years in a permanent position. You’re ready to transition to travel nursing. Time to find an agency. Time to find a recruiter. Time to find a job. And it’s time to start collecting your compliance documents. Really? Before you have a job? Yes. Really, especially if you’re a first-time traveler. Tackling compliance early can ease headaches later There are a couple of reasons to start now. First, you’re going to have a lot to gather, and it’s going to take a little bit of time. You are going to need to provide documents that you haven’t had to access since you started working at your permanent job. You are either going to need to locate copies of things like college transcripts and shot records or you’re going to have to request those documents and wait to receive them. And other aspects of compliance–things like background checks and drug screenings–could take extra time to complete depending on how in-depth the hiring facility or VMS requires them to be. So don’t wait to begin the process of gathering documents. It’s about controlling the things you can control. You can make sure you have all of your documents together. You can make sure you’ve submitted background paperwork promptly. You can make sure you’ve scheduled a time to complete vaccinations or blood draws for screenings. How long it takes to complete those background checks or drug screenings is out of your hands, but you don’t want to be the reason things get held up. Compliance documents to collect So what do you need to have copies of? It will vary by assignment, but you can start here. A copy of your nursing license A copy of your diploma or a transcript that shows you earned your degree A copy of your annual physical Shot records showing you’ve had your: Annual tuberculosis skin test MMR vaccines (2) or positive titer Varicella vaccines (2) or positive titer Hepatitis B vaccines (3) or positive titer Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis (Tdap) vaccine — within 10 years Seasonal flu vaccine (issued between October 1 and March 31) Copies of any certifications you’ve earned Copies of identifications (driver’s license, passport, Social Security card) A voided check to set up direct deposit with your bank Organizing your compliance documents And where should you keep these compliance documents? There are online tools, like cloud storage sites, that you can use. But maybe the simplest option and one that doesn’t require you to remember passwords or worry about a site’s security being compromised is a dedicated flash drive where you keep electronic versions of everything. Take it with you when you go to the doctor for a physical or to receive vaccinations, and they should be able to put a copy of any documentation onto the drive for you. Now, these won’t likely be all the documents you’ll need to be compliant at every hospital. Each facility and each VMS has its own requirements. If you do have these documents, it’ll cut down some of the hustle you have to do before a new assignment.