Centra Healthcare

Is a Career as a Travel Therapist Right for You?

Working as a travel therapist (OT, PT or speech) can be an absolutely terrific phase of your career. Naturally, not everything about being a travel therapist is terrific. Here are some of the less-than stellar aspects of working as a travel therapist:

Of course, one of the best benefits to working as a traveling therapist is...the travel! If you have a bit of wanderlust in your bones, if you enjoy working in different therapy facilities, working with different kinds of patients and continually working alongside "new" professionals, then travel therapy positions should be right up your alley.

Many travel therapy services can help you accommodate taking you family with you as you travel from assignment to assignment. But if you have family members who need you nearby, if you don't want to uproot young children constantly, a career as a travel therapist may not be for you.

If you absolutely feel you need a steady paycheck, travel therapy may not be for you. You could find yourself with a few days or even weeks between assignments. Facilities tend to lay off temporary staff (including travel therapists) first when budgets are tight. So unless your budget can handle the possibility of having a few paychecks "go missing," you may want to limit your job search only to full-time staff therapist positions.

If you're a newly graduated OT, PT or speech therapist, you'll probably have a difficult time finding travel positions. Most travel therapist services require that their employees have a bare minimum of one year of clinical experience. In fact, they may really be looking for therapists with at two or event three years of experience.

You'll also really want to be sure you can handle constant change and even loneliness. If you're an introvert by nature, if you are happiest in surroundings you know well, working as a travel therapist may not be for you.

If you're still interested in working as a traveling OT, PT or speech therapist, contact Centra Healthcare Solutions. We have many great travel therapist assignments at rehab facilities and hospitals all across the country. We look forward to hearing from you!

Why Working as a Travel Therapist Can be a Great Answer to Job Burnout

You undoubtedly became a therapist because you love the work. Good for you! Unfortunately there comes a time when even the best of jobs can be stressful and lose much of the appeal they once held.

However there is hope consider becoming a traveling therapist.

The good news for occupational, physical and speech therapists is that there is a great demand for those willing to take temporary assignments at a variety of locations. This is an opportunity to visit a rehabilitation facility in the summer and on in a popular ski resort in the winter.

The current shortage of therapists is not likely to improve over the short haul as hospitals, clinics, nursing care facilities and other providers try to fill vacancies.

Traveling therapists get to choose when and where they want to work.  They can stay close to home or venture to distant locations. The majority of assignments tend to last from three to six months, although a year-long assignment also is possible.

This is highly attractive to those therapists who want to experience the kinds of care given in top-notch hospitals with state-of-the-art equipment. And the odds increase that a therapist will be exposed to and learn new techniques just because he or she will be serving at a variety of facilities, with different patient populations, different equipment and different levels of expertise within the rehab facility's staff.

Conversely, a therapist can work in an inner city or remote rural location where his or her skills may be greatly needed and appreciated by patients not accustomed to quality medical services. These different kinds of experiences could well be the prescription a rehab therapist needs to ease the stress in his or her career.

And don't discount the possibility of finding a perfect match at some point and having that facility make an attractive offer that you cannot refuse. You actually could find yourself in a better career position.

Another plus is salary. Expect to earn 20 percent or more than your current earnings.  In addition, many therapist placement services provide nicely furnished apartments or generous stipends if you prefer find your own living quarters.

Other perks include health insurance, dental insurance, 401K plans, travel expenses, bonuses and other amenities.

Also consider that as a traveling therapist you are not involved in much of the bureaucratic red tape required of a permanent staff member. That alone can be a great stress reliever.

While not a cure-all for every therapist feeling the stress of his or her job, taking your therapy skills on the road could well be the right prescription to reviving your passion for your chosen career.

Interested in serving rehabilitation patients from all walks of life all over the country? Then contact Centra Healtcare Services. We have many positions for physical, occupational and speech therapists at hospitals and rehab facilities all across the country eager to put much-needed skills to good use. Contact us today.

The Traveling Therapist Lifestyle: Adventure, Skills Enhancement and Great Pay

Therapists with an urge to travel can have their cake and eat it too. And they can have it for brief stretches or for months at a time. You'll be working hard, but you'll be doing so in parts of the country you possibly only once dreamed of visiting.

What is the appeal?

First of all, the medical professions bring a host of rewards due to the nature of the work. Rehab therapists are helping people get their lives back and deal with individuals in a variety of situations day in and day out. Throw in the traveling component and you enhance your overall lifestyle portfolio a great deal.

Also, consider the fact that traveling therapist firms can post you in working environments to which you otherwise wouldn't have access. Imagine working at some of the nation's top healthcare facilities with some of the leading practitioners in their fields. Or consider using your skills in a remote location caring for an underserved population where your skills will be greatly appreciated.

This is the time to visit cities such as San Francisco, Miami, Honolulu, New York or Chicago. It is an opportunity for those who enjoy hiking or skiing to visit Colorado, for surfers to visit a coastal town, or to get away from it all in the greenery of Maine. Who knows? You may like what you see and decide to stay there permanently.

Salaries for traveling therapists are highly competitive. Free private housing is not unusual. In fact, most living expenses are covered. Add to that a 401(k) retirement plan and travel expenses and the benefits are quite attractive.

With average assignments lasting 13 weeks to 26 weeks, traveling therapists will have plenty of  time to get a feel for a particular hospital and geographic region. Working as a traveling therapist is a perfect situation for anyone who wants to visit different areas of the country without having to commit to the stressful and often costly realities a permanent move involves.

Young therapists with just a few years of experience and seasoned professionals who no longer have children at home particularly appreciate the opportunity to move around the country and visit family and friends longer than a typical three-day weekend allows them.

As the song says: Go where you want to go, do what you want to do.€

If you're an occupational, physical or speech therapist with an itch to see the country while serving patients who desperately need you, contact Centra Healthcare Solutions. Hospitals, rehabilitation centers and other medical facilities around the country are eager to use your services. We look forward to hearing from you.

Tax Advantages of Working as a Travel Therapist

If you're thinking of working as a traveling speech, physical or occupational therapist, you're probably thinking of how great it could be to travel around the country.

But you also might want to consider the potential tax benefits of work as a traveling rehab therapist.

You may see a significant tax advantage when you work as a traveling therapist. Understand that we're not accountants, CPAs nor attorneys, so the following information you see here should be verified by a legitimate tax professional or lawyer.\

However, the per-diem rates you'll earn on a travel assignment may well give you a terrific tax advantage.

First  of all, you should get to know the IRS' per-diem tax rules intimately. You may read more at  the IRS' website and its publication 1542, Per Diem Rates for Travel Within the Continental United States.

In addition, tax prep software programs such as Quicken and TurboTax also can help you figure out how/if your per diem rates will help you with tax savings.

Here are two critical things of which you should be aware:

• You'll have to have what the IRS calls a "permanent tax home," and
• You'll have to take what the IRS deems a "temporary" (less than a year) assignment away from that permanent tax home.

Basically, the IRS may let you claim deductions on your taxes for some travel expenses, or you may receive free tax reimbursements and tax-free per diem allowance payments. That is, you might be able to deduct a portion of your per diem income for every day you're on a temporary assignment that takes you away from your permanent tax home.

Understand that not all companies that place rehab therapists in travel assignments pay per-diem allowances. They also may not pay enough in per diem or they may pay per diem as a part of your hourly rate. This is where speaking to a professional tax advisor will be of great value to you.

You also should know that the IRS' per diem rules can change from year-to-year, so what you can deduct this year may change next year, so be sure to keep on top of the changes. Again, turning to a tax professional can be beneficial to you.

If you'd like to take advantage of all the benefits working as traveling therapist can give you -- tax, lifestyle, financial -- give us a call. Centra Healthcare Services offers speech, physical and occupational therapists assignments in rehabilitation facilities and hospitals all over the country. We look forward to hearing from you.