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
Why Travel PTs Should Consider Home Health Jobs In 2019
By Stephen Stockhausen, PT, DPT, OCS, Contributing Writer, Founder of PT Adventures As 2019 rolls in we all have change on our minds. Sometimes it is something as simple as a New Year’s resolution—that chances are you have already broken—or occasionally it is something much bigger, like changing your job. For those of you considering the latter, I am here to tell you that taking a contract in home health might be one short-term change that you stick with all year. Why Travel PTs Should Consider Home Health In 2019 1. Join the Party via GIPHY With patients being discharged “sicker and quicker” from hospitals, and skilled nursing facilities incentivized to do the same come October of this year via the Patient-Driven Payment Model, a considerable uptick in home health admissions is to be expected. Early Release After Surgery (ERAS) total joint patients are popping up with increasing frequency on home health case loads. With clients foregoing the 2-5 days in a hospital bed, they are able to get up and moving much quicker under the care of a home health physical therapist. This is a growing field by all accounts. The travel physical therapist who has experience in this high demand field will find themselves sought after for jobs in locations where they previously could not find work. Building a stronger resume in more settings will only serve to boost your chances of landing a job in that dream location or at your goal pay rate. 2. Mo’ Money, Fewer Problems via GIPHY Speaking of pay rates, did I mention that home health is one of, if not the most, high paying setting in physical therapy? It is not unheard of for travel home health physical therapists to make over $2,200 per week after taxes. Add a 40 hour guaranteed contract on top of that and you have a sweet paying gig regardless of patient census. My wife and I were able to pay off around $240,000 in combined student loan debt in three years using home health jobs almost exclusively! You can read more about that story here. 3. Freedom via GIPHY Despite all of the exciting, challenging, and lucrative aspects of home health, it may be the freedom that is the most impactful for clinicians new to the setting. For most agencies, a full day in home health is 4-6 patients, and depending on visit type, sometimes only two patients are required. Making things even better, at nearly all companies you get to make your own schedule. Mani-pedis with the girls after a long lunch? Want to squeeze in a mid morning trail run? Perfect! Just call your clients and move your day around accordingly. My wife and I have our 18-month-old daughter with us on the road, and because we are both working home health jobs we can arrange it so that we only have a nanny at our home for around five hours a day. That’s hard to accomplish in most other travel job settings. Now, I do not want to mislead you. You will likely end up putting in your 40 hours for the week. The documentation and driving can eat into your working time more than you’d expect, but at least you are getting paid for mileage. Still, with most systems you can document from anywhere you can get Internet service. Nestled deep into your couch, on top of a bluff overlooking the beach, or even from the patio of a beautiful vineyard. The choices are endless, and they are all available to you. Years ago, back in PT school, it was made abundantly clear to us that home health is where therapists go to disappear. Substandard care was not the exception, but the rule, and none of us students should stoop to level occupied by the lowly home health PT. Well, I’m here to tell you that this could not be further from the truth. Things have changed in the three years between PT school and taking my first home health job. There is an abundance of superior clinicians making their way into the home health setting. OCS, GCS, and NCS clinicians, traditionally found in outpatient or acute/subacute care are migrating to home health with increasing frequency. Maybe it is the challenge, the excitement of a growing field, the money or the freedom. Whatever it is, clinicians are making a change in their lives and giving home health a try. Maybe this year is the right time for you to do the same. Stephen Stockhausen is a doctor of physical therapy, a traveler, and a founder of PT Adventures—a blog created with his wife Ellen to help travel PTs take control of their career and live their dreams. You can find Stephen and Ellen exploring the country with their daughter, Kinley, and two dogs Cayenne and Layla.
Traveler Tips: Is The PT Compact License Worth It For Travel PT?
By Stephen Stockhausen, PT, DPT, OCS, Contributing Writer, Founder of PT Adventures Having the freedom to take different jobs in various parts of the country is by far the best, and the most obvious, perk of being a travel physical therapist. But it comes at a cost of the occasionally arduous task of obtaining a new state license. There are the jurisprudence exam, state license fee, FSBPT test score verification fee, and license verification letters—with subsequent fees that need to be sent to any state you have ever held a license. Whew! That’s exhausting just to type out let alone piece together and mail off. Oh, and then you have to wait anywhere from two to six months to find out if you’re new license has been granted or not. But fear not—the Physical Therapy Compact license is designed to fix all of that! In case you haven’t heard about the Physical Therapy Compact license here is a quick summary. Enacted in 2017, the Physical Therapy Compact Commission was created to provide a vehicle for improved interstate license accessibility while maintaining the safety of the public consumer as set forth by each state’s practice act, according to their website. The PT Compact Commission has since built up an impressive list of 21 states willing to recognize the validity of physical therapist and physical therapist assistant licenses from other participating states. The first privileges were then officially granted in July of 2018. While all 21 states have passed legislation to be members, not all states are currently issuing compact license privileges at this time and are still resolving internal issues—or just dragging their feet. At the time of this writing, nine states are active participants in the compact license process, with more joining every month! Pros and Cons of the Physical Therapy Compact License for travelers Pros: Therapy privileges can be granted in minutes rather than months Once you take the jurisprudence exam for your new state—often completed online—and pay the necessary fees, you are eligible to begin working in the new state Low Fees The fees involved with the new PT Compact are very minimal compared to sending out license verification fees for each state you have ever had a license. $45 goes to the PT Compact Commission, and then each state has their own fee. Most range from $45-60, with the exception of Mississippi at $150. (Come on, Mississippi!) One set of Continuing Education Units (CEUs) to manage Since you do not have a full state license in every state that you obtain privileges for, you do not have to maintain their Continuing Education Units. The only set of CEUs that you absolutely must follow is that of your home state. Gone are the headache-inducing hours of cross-checking CEU dates with license expiration dates! Renewal This is one of the coolest aspects of the Compact system. 60 days before your home license expires they will email you a reminder. Once you renew your license at home, the Compact will automatically notify you that you are eligible to renew your Compact privileges as well, typically within a week. Responsive Admin Team When I was doing research for this article, I had a few questions that I could not find on their website. Opting to call instead of email, I was quickly connected with the lead administrator who thoroughly answered my questions and was exceedingly friendly. This was a pleasant surprise compared to the typical experience I have come to expect when dealing with licensing staff at the various states I have worked. Telehealth? While not entirely applicable to the traveler, based on the language written into the Compact it appears that Compact privileges can also be used to treat remotely via telehealth. In a burgeoning field, this is super exciting news! Especially for the therapist looking to mix in some patient care in a state where they previously worked as a traveler or will soon work as a traveler. Instead of being limited to one license per job, multiple licenses can be utilized all at once depending on the patient’s location, independent of where the PT is located. Cons: Few states fully participating Obviously, if your home state is not a participant you are fully excluded from the entire process… bummer. For those of you who are fortunate enough to have a home state proactive enough to join up, your options for states to travel to may be slim pickings. Currently, only nine states are fully active. On the positive side they are some pretty cool states. Oregon, Utah, New Hampshire and North Dakota all have some great outdoor experiences. Texas Tennessee, Missouri and Mississippi all have some killer food and Southern hospitality. As for Iowa…well, Field of Dreams is there. That’s something! There are 11 other states on the doorstep to full participation so check the site often to see if your home state or dream location is up and running. When you renew your home license you have to renew ALL of your Compact Privileges This will negatively impact folks living in a home state that requires yearly license renewal. These therapists will now have to pay all of the Compact fees again as well as fees to the state where they are working. Now, compared to paying all of the other fees typically involved in maintaining multiple licenses, this could still end up saving you money, but you will have to do the math on your specific situation to be sure. Overall the PT Compact License is—or is going to be—a huge improvement in the logistics of being a travel therapist, especially if more states get involved. If every state were to join the Compact, it would mean one license to worry about, one set of CEUs, and only paying fees to the states where you are actively working. Stephen Stockhausen is a doctor of physical therapy, a traveler, and a founder of PT Adventures—a blog created with his wife Ellen to help travel PTs take control of