Look who's back - back again
Welcome to PART 2 of Travel Therapy Q & A. If you missed out on Part 1 you can check it out here. Like before - these questions are directly from y'all and some have been combined together if they are related.
Can OTA's do travel therapy?
Yes! OTA/PTA/SLPA/PT/OT/SLP can all do travel therapy.
Well...why did you decide to try travel therapy? Lol
A very intricate answer that you can read all about in this post here lol
How did you decide which setting? (New grad here, going into travel after taking boards)
For my first travel assignment it was important for me to do it in a setting I was familiar with so I didn't have 5 different variables I was changing in my life lol I had experience in OP/IP/Community and ended up landing a placement in inpatient rehab! But after this assignment I'm going to try to go into unfamiliar territory as far as settings go.
How/When to start looking for therapy jobs?
Whenever you're ready! There's a lot of factors that go into getting a placement; the most important ones being: where you have a license already, how long it takes to get a license in a new state, when you are looking to start traveling, and what jobs are currently available that are of interest to you!
Top 5 places you want to travel to?
We're pretty much open to go anywhere in the country - Daniel and I think it would be awesome if we could find placements near our grandparents in order to spend time with them! That part aside - here's my list:
ALASKA (fo' sure)
Utah
Washington/PNW area
Tennessee
New England Area
Biggest and second biggest fear?
My contract be cancelled unexpectedly and having to find a new one
Not being competent enough for a new setting I've never been in
Any specific settings you wanna try out while traveling?
I am pretty open to anything. Like I mentioned before, my experience is in outpatient and inpatient rehab so I think I would for sure like to do acute care, LTAC, mental health, memory care, SNF and of course pedi!
The ones I for sure will not be signing up for are ortho clinics and schools haha those just aren't my jam but hats off to peeps that like it! (and there are lots of travel jobs with it)
What was the scariest part about accepting a travel job? And how did you tackle it?
Literally accepting the position is the scariest part haha once I tell my recruiter yes - that's it, it's happening. Once the fear of "omg I just picked this random place somewhere I've never been before and know nothing about" fades away - it turns to EXCITEMENT. And that's how I tackle it - changing my mindset to "omg HOW COOL is it that we get to go to XYZ?!" And then I tell all of you guys on social media to help me cope haha (kidding)
Does having a family make it more difficult to travel?
I think this is dependent on each family unit. For us, it's me, my husband and our dog haha the hardest part has been finding a place that has space for Moose (dog) to run around - but that was just a preference for us. I know there are some people that have kids that travel also and they do home schooling or virtual schooling. I think travel therapy is whatever you make it out to be- but it also may not be for everyone.
What has been your favorite part?
...Traveling haha no but seriously - seeing national parks and landmarks is cool but also meeting new people, experiencing a totally different culture and just growing as a human being has been my favorite part.
Does it pay more money? Is it worth the cost of renting for a short amount of time?
Definitely pays more money than where I was at. Pay is so dependent on region, setting, etc. But with the added stipends that you get for food and housing, etc it definitely is more.
For example, I made the same amount of money working 3 days (24 hours) at my travel job than I did in 5 days (40 hours) at my full time job...and the housing we found to rent is less than our monthly mortgage was.
How was finding housing? Are you close to your placement?
So I've only been on one assignment and finding housing wasn't terrible at all. I do highly recommend looking at the housing situation BEFORE you accept a job to check out what cost of living is like and if that's reflected in the pay package you received.
I currently have a 15 minute commute to work on a two lane road and it's much more relaxing than the 30 min sometimes bumper to bumper traffic I had before. But remember, the housing we got could've been taken and I may have needed to drive further. It all depends on what's available.
Do you feel like work/life balance is any better as a traveler?
Short answer: yes. But to be fair I am also intentionally making it that may. The demands I have as a traveler are different than someone in a perm position - and having a shorter commute definitely makes for more time in the day. It's all about perspective.
How was the transition process for you?
This first assignment is everything I could've wanted in a first assignment. They take travelers often and have a really thorough onboarding process to help you acclimate; if you can find a place that is traveler friendly like that you will be in good hands.
We'll keep it at these questions for now - keep your eyes peeled for part 3 in the future!
xx Taylor xx
@The.Kozey.OT
Dreaming of the possibilities 🇵🇷