First Travel Therapy Contract: Key Lessons

Should You Give Travel Therapy A Chance?

I wanted to get around to writing a post about my first travel therapy contract while the memories are fresh in my mind. There are several great travel therapy Facebook groups run by a couple awesome and experienced travelers. Something that I have seen time and time again since joining those groups and something I experienced first-hand is people asking, in a sense, “can I really do this?”

Uprooting your life every 13 weeks is definitely not a decision to be taken lightly. If you are considering travel therapy, you might be having questions like “where do I even start”, “what company should I work with”, “will I get lonely”, “is travel really right for me” and more! I know I have had all of these thoughts.

I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to talk with Jared, a traveling PT who writes at fifthwheelpt.com and traveltherapymentor.com. He inspired me to make the jump when I was excited but also terrified about what I would find. I am SO happy I decided to go for it!

Having a chance to talk extensively with Jared, someone who has actually traveled, put my mind at ease and made me feel confident in the decision I was making. I hope this post gives you some insights into what travel therapy is really like and help you get the confidence you need to start your adventure. 

Finding the Right Travel Therapy Recruiter

I don’t think I can stress enough how important it is to find a good recruiter!! Many people will say that the recruiter is more important than the company you decide to go with, and I have to say I agree.

Most traveling therapists will agree that it is acceptable, and a smart career move, to work with multiple recruiters. That way you have more job opportunities and the potential for higher pay packages.

If you reach out to a company and end up with a recruiter that you just don’t feel like you are clicking with, don’t give up. You need to work with someone you feel comfortable with and who will have your back. If the first, second, or even third recruiter at a particular company just doesn’t seem to mesh with you, don’t be afraid to find someone new.

I talked to a couple recruiters with MedTravelers and just didn’t get a great vibe from them. I felt like they didn’t have my best interest in mind but rather were just looking for people to place wherever to get themselves a pay check.

The recruiter from Delta Healthcare Providers who I got my first (and now second) contract with is just the opposite. She is absolutely WONDERFUL! My recruiter really listens to me and is constantly on the lookout for the perfect contract. She wasn’t about to put me into a contract that wouldn’t be a good fit just to benefit herself. Look for a recruiter like that! (And hit me up if you want her info.)

Since I wanted to keep my options open, I also finally found another recruiter MedTravelers so I will have more job opportunities in the future. And have since gotten in touch with one more company as well.

Moral of the story is, you don’t have to work with someone just because they are the first one you talked to at a particular company. Finding a good recruiter is one of the best ways to get yourself a great contract.

Because I talked with multiple recruiters I was able to find someone I REALLY connect with and in turn she found me what I can only describe as the best first travel contract I could have ever hoped for!

Getting a Good First Travel Therapy Contract

A really important part of having a good first travel therapy contract is making sure you have a good recruiter, as I already mentioned above.  Another thing is having a good idea of what is important to you.  Is it mentorship, location, setting, money?

Determining what your priorities are will help ensure you end up in a situation you are going to be happy with. You likely won’t be able to find a place that has the perfect location, setting, mentorship and pay, but you might be able to get at least 2 of those things if you’re willing to be flexible on other aspects of the job.

For my first contract I wanted to switch settings from my permanent job. Because of this, the MOST important thing to me was to find an acute contract that would provide me with mentorship and not just throw me to the wolves.

We were willing to move anywhere in the country to find such a job, and it did NOT disappoint! So think about what is most important for you and then be open with your recruiter about what you are looking for.

Finding Mentorship When Switching Settings

Before I jumped into travel therapy, I was working at a permanent job in a school. I wanted to get some medical experience as a traveler so I would have more opportunities open to me. But considering that my only experience was a grad school placement 2 years earlier, I didn’t want to set myself and my patients up for failure.

Not all places are willing or able to provide mentorship. But if your recruiter looks for jobs that are “new grad friendly” even if you aren’t actually a new grad, mentorship is possible to find. Because mentorship in a hospital setting was the MOST important factor to me, we were willing to move anywhere in the US to get that. This opened up more possibilities and I had such a great first contract. So try to be flexible if you can!

Be sure to ask what your first few days and weeks will look like and what kind of ramp up time you will have. Most travel jobs need you to be able to hit the ground running day one, but new grad friendly contracts understand that you will need more time to get going. (Or at least mine did!)

Also ask about how many other therapists there are in your discipline. At my first contract, there were about 10 other SLPs so I had a wealth of knowledge to draw on and learn from. My first week involved a lot of shadowing which I was so thankful for.

Then, throughout my time at the hospital, there were always at least 2 other SLPs there as well. So if I ran into something I wasn’t sure about, I could ask them right then and there. The combination of shadowing and having wonderful mentorship every day of the contract really increased my confidence and skill in this new setting.

I would NOT recommend changing settings without mentorship. I feel like it would be a recipe for disaster. There is a big learning curve to travel therapy. Add that to switching settings without any kind of support and the situation could turn out to be a nightmare.

First Day Jitters

The truth is that even if you have an amazing recruiter and have lined up what seems to be an awesome contract, you are still gonna be nervous in the days leading up to starting. Like REALLY NERVOUS. Unless you are some kind of super human.

I felt nervous before starting my second contract too. To be honest, I’m not sure the first-day jitters will ever go away. I’ll be sure to report back on this when I’m a seasoned pro.

Just remember that it is okay to be nervous. It is okay to be afraid to make such a major life change and switch to being a travel therapist. But just because it might seem scary to think about, doesn’t mean it isn’t still the right choice for you!

So take some deep breaths and get ready to meet a bunch of new people and learn SO many new things. New systems, new patients, getting around a new facility, and so on. You would be surprised by how quickly you will begin to feel settled in your new setting. Especially if you take the next section to heart!

Don’t be Afraid to Ask for Help as a Travel Therapist

Figuring out how everything runs at a new contract is a LOT to take in. Chances are your first day will (hopefully) involve a tour of the facility and an introduction to the documentation system.  But chances also are that you will forget a lot of this as your brain goes into overdrive and panic mode while attempting to process what the heck you just got yourself into and all the new things to remember!

This is why it is so important to not be afraid to ask for help. In general, healthcare professionals are a friendly and helpful group of people. So even though you might want to make it seem like you have it all together, your contract will definitely go more smoothly if you ask questions.

I have asked for help from other SLPs as well as PTs, OTs, nurses, and even the cleaning staff (those people know where to find EVERYTHING! They also let me in when I haven’t yet gotten keys to the therapy gym!) And you know what has never happened? No one has ever looked at me like an idiot, ignored me, or refused to help. Everyone has been more than happy to assist. So don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it!

For me, the toughest thing has been learning new documentation systems. Often times there are different ways to document evals vs treatments vs discharges and so on. It is a lot to keep track of.

Recommendation number one I have for you in this regard is to take notes regarding documentation. That way you can look back at it (frequently!) as you get used to the system. But also if something new comes up and you can’t figure it out on your own, chances are another therapist can give you some tips even if they aren’t in your same discipline.

You’ll Make Friends Really Quickly and Probably be Sad to Leave

I learned so much on my first travel therapy contract, especially with the setting change. But one of the biggest things I learned is that TIME GOES SO FAST!!!

My first contract was 12 weeks and let me tell you, that is NOT a lot of time. And yet, during that short amount of time, you will probably come to know and like your colleagues. I made some awesome friends at my first contract, and I still miss seeing them at work every day!

Even though we only knew each other for a short amount of time, I will always consider these people to be my friends. They not only helped me learn the ropes of a new setting and made me feel so welcome with my first travel therapy contract, but we also enjoyed bonfires, game nights, tasty food, and lots of laughs.

If I hadn’t decided to go for it and become a traveler, I never would have met these amazing people and I surely wouldn’t have grown as much as a clinician as I did in those three months! I was definitely sad to leave my first travel contract, but it is also exciting knowing that at the end of each contract a brand new adventure awaits you!

Thinking of Starting Travel Therapy?

As you can see, jumping into the world of travel therapy will result in lots of changes. Constantly. But the changes are so beautiful and open doors to meeting new people and doing new things that you just can’t get from a permanent job.

If you’re thinking about starting travel, I say GO FOR IT! Worst case you hate it, you tough it out for 13 weeks, and you go back to your regular life. Best case you think you’ll do this for a couple years and soon realize you don’t know that you’ll ever be able to give up this lifestyle. Cough cough, me after 3 months.

I’m sure we will all have contracts that are awesome and contracts that are not so awesome, but overall my first travel therapy contract did not disappoint. So find yourself an awesome recruiter that you get along well with, and go for it! The sky really is the limit with travel therapy.

And if you’re wondering where you’re gonna live on your first travel therapy contract and don’t want to mess with the stress of finding a 3-month lease, check out all the RV living tips Joel and I have learned over the past year!