Official Therapist Blog

Outlook Strong for Physical Therapy Jobs

Author Healthcare Jobs Blogger | 08.31.2009 | Category Allied Healthcare, Therapy Jobs, physical therapy, rehabilitation therapy

In today’s troubling economy and job market, finding job stability seems an impossible task. Labor specialists agree, however, that health care jobs are on the rise. With the baby boomer population aging and in need of medical care and physical rehabilitation, the demand for physical therapy services will only continue to grow.

SmartMoney.com recently released an article declaring the life sciences one of the smartest areas of study for college students. Physical therapy currently boasts an unemployment rate smaller than .5%. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2016, nursing employment should increase by 23%, and physical therapy employment should increase by 27% as the aging population causes a heightened demand for rehabilitation centers and therapy facilities.

In 2007, the Chicago Tribune listed physical therapy jobs second in its list of the top five careers for job satisfaction; so why is there still such a shortage of physical therapists? Many believe it’s because educational requirements and expenses have increased in the last decade. Just over ten years ago, a bachelor degree, plus appropriate licensing for physical therapy jobs, was enough to become a practicing physical therapist. Since then, two-year masters programs and three-year doctoral programs have sprung up and become the standard. Current legislation seeks to ease this strain by attempting to amend the Public Health Service Act to include loan repayment for physical therapists working with underserved populations, in an effort to replenish the physical therapy profession.

For more information on a career in physical therapy and how to get physical therapy jobs, visit the Travel Force website.

Top 10 Interview Tips for Travel Therapists

Author Healthcare Jobs Blogger | 08.28.2009 | Category Allied Healthcare, Therapy Jobs, Travel Therapist, rehabilitation therapy

Check out these Top 10 Telephone Interview Tips for traveling rehabilitation therapists. Whether you’re new to the field or a seasoned pro - these are good tips for any travel therapist.  Practice, prepare and be positive!

Top 10 Travel Therapy Jobs Inteview Tips »

The APTA and Health Care Reform

Author Healthcare Jobs Blogger | 08.28.2009 | Category Therapist Jobs, Travel Therapist, physical therapy, rehabilitation therapy

Many healthcare workers are anxious about the upcoming changes (whatever they turn out to be) in the industry. Will the changes create more therapist jobs or fewer jobs; will pay scales change; could a shift in focus improve or worsen the demand for care, particularly in rehabilitation therapy; will more hospitals look to travel therapists for staffing?

As the health care debate continues to heat up, much of the focus is on primary care physicians and other physician specialties, but the American Physical Therapy Association is working hard to ensure that physical therapy stays well in the debate.  The APTA staged a virtual health care reform rally on June 24 and continues to encourage physical therapists and their patients to contact their congressmen to make sure that their opinions and needs are not ignored.

The APTA outlines its positions very specifically on its website, summarizing them in four major principles:

1. Access to care
In this section, the APTA explains that patients should have direct access to physical therapists, without having to wait for a referral.  Health care reform should also ensure that all individuals have access to health care, regardless of preexisting or congenital conditions and should provide coverage for preventative and restorative care that could reduce long-term disabilities, and in turn, lower future medical costs.

2. Quality of Care
The APTA says that it “opposes any policy that places arbitrary limits on physical therapy services.”  It goes on to say that “professional practitioners should be involved in the development of practice parameters and guidelines specific to their scope of practice” and that physical therapists alone should be responsible for the decisions regarding a patient’s treatment or discharge from treatment and should be held accountable for their decisions through peer review.

3. Cost Containment and Payment
The APTA maintains that the costs of health care services should be reasonable and equitable, without encouraging providers to withhold services.  To help make sure that payment is appropriate, the APTA suggests that health care professionals help to develop the standard and payment rates for their discipline and that payment and billing should only occur when services are provided by a licensed professional and when documentation exists, in accordance with APTA guidelines, as to the need for such services.

4. State Licensure
Physical therapists are required to have a graduate degree and to be licensed in their state of practice.  The APTA believes that licensure and regulation responsibilities should remain with the state and not with any federal or regional organization.   It also believes that “there should be no credentialing of institutions that would override or eliminate the requirements of individual practitioner license laws.”

For a more comprehensive look at how health care reform will affect physical therapists, see APTA’s “Role of Physical Therapy in Health Care Reform”.

How do you feel about changes in the industry? Is it time for a massive overhaul or just a strategic tweaking? Please comment and tell us how you’d like to see things go — and how you think it will change the physical therapy field.

Google, MSN, and other Online News Channels Reporting on Rehab Therapy Jobs

Author Healthcare Jobs Blogger | 08.12.2009 | Category Allied Healthcare, Occupational Therapy, Respiratory Therapy, Therapist Jobs, Therapy Jobs, Travel Therapist, Traveling Therapist, physical therapy, rehabilitation therapy

A recent MarketWire Press Release reported on rehabilitation therapy jobs search made easy with Travel Force Staffing. In addition to great opportunities for therapists, the PR also reported that health care staffing industry leader, American Traveler, backed by 25 years of health care staffing excellence joined Travel Force Staffing to offer therapy jobs’ staffing services nationwide. The PR was released on 8/11/09 and  distributed to major online news channels such as Google News, Yahoo News, MSN, and others.

“Our highly trained specialists guide candidates through the application process, search for rehabilitation therapy jobs in preferred facilities and place an emphasis on matching PT, OT and SLP candidates with locations in tune with their lifestyle needs and personal interests,” said Robert L. Bok, American Traveler CEO and Travel Force Staffing President.”

Read the entire PR

High Pay and Job Choices create immense opportunity for PTs

Author Healthcare Jobs Blogger | 08.06.2009 | Category Allied Healthcare, Therapist Jobs, Therapy Jobs, Travel Therapist, Traveling Therapist, physical therapy, rehabilitation therapy

Despite recessionary woes, demand and pay for physical therapists is up. Results from a recent salary survey indicate that, in the last year, salaries for physical therapists have increased by as much as 12.9 percent. Add 20 percent more for PT travel jobs and earnings, benefits and bonuses inch their way toward the six-figure mark.

The increased demand for PTs stems largely from an aging population that will require care at home, in skilled nursing facilities, hospitals and inpatient and outpatient settings, say healthcare analysts. The need for physical therapists continues to expand, creating a bull market for PTs specializing in chronic and disabling conditions.

“The physical therapy profession currently is experiencing significant demand for services due to a number of occurrences within the health care environment, including the increased prevalence of chronic conditions, such as diabetes and obesity, and we expect that as our nation ages the demand will continue to grow,” said President of the American Physical Therapy Association, R. Scott Ward, PT, PhD, in a press release.

In addition to high pay, free private housing, free health insurance, free continuing education and travel and licensure reimbursements, travel therapy jobs allow PTs to enhance their skill set, work with diverse populations and travel to exciting places, says healthcare staffing CEO Robert L. Bok.

Typically in the past at least one year clinical experience was needed to become a travel therapist. “Not anymore,” said Bok. With the current high level of demand, even PT graduates qualify for high salaries and are being recruited by the nation’s leading allied healthcare staffing agencies such as Travel Force Staffing.

The national average salary for entry level physical therapists is about $53,000, but salaries increase with each year of experience and are even more lucrative for PTs who travel.