Official Therapist Blog

What do Physical Therapy Jobs, Sports-Related Injuries and the World Cup have in common?

Author Therapy Career Blogger | 06.30.2010 | Category Allied Healthcare, Ellen Bloome-PT, Ongoing Education, Physical Therapist Jobs, Therapist Jobs, Therapy Jobs, Travel Therapist, Travel physical therapy jobs, Videos, physical therapy, rehabilitation therapy

For those of us who live for sports, it’s all about soccer this summer. Many of us are on the edge of our seats wondering who will capture the World Cup as the competition plays out in South Africa. So what does the World Cup have in common with physical therapy jobs and sports-related injuries?

Whether players are competing at the World Cup or playing on their high school soccer team, physical therapists treat plenty of patients with sports-related injuries who play the game. Here’s a fact to back up the claim: the US Consumer Product Safety Commission reported more than 186,000 soccer related injuries in 2006 alone; 80% of those were owned by players less than 24 years of age. Soccer is a fun game and even better exercise, but videos like the one we’ve included here show what a fierce sport it can be. Watch a physical therapist at the top of her game, administering a third therapy session with a patient who tore her ACL, meniscus and MLC in a challenging game of soccer.

This video helps us appreciate a new reality impacting physical therapy careers: more girls are participating in high school and college sports—and it’s not just them creating more work for physical therapists, in what has become for PTs, a seemingly recession proof industry—it’s the Baby Boomers, too.  Born in an era stretching from the 1940’s to early 60’s, the Boomers are reaching retirement age and with it, the aches, pains and haunts of old sporting related injuries that keep physical therapists in high demand.

As most of you reading this already know, sports related injuries drive a lot of patient traffic through ERs and into the eventual care of physical therapists. If you’ve ever wondered what a PT feels like on the other end of the therapy equation, you can read about one of our own receiving post op therapy after sustaining a sports related injury.

CDC stats on sports related injuries may be grim, but physical therapy careers are providing rehabilitative light at the end of that tunnel. PTs have a lot to feel good about; the press they receive is incredibly positive. In November of 2009, CNN ranked physical therapy jobs at # 7 on the list of America’s best occupations. Since then, physical therapy careers are a continuously rising star; however, experts advise that landing a successful PT career requires a lifelong commitment to continued education. The APTA encourages specialization in one of 8 areas of physical therapy with the long-term goal of (the majority of) PTs earning doctorates by 2020.

Keeping your eyes on the prize is well worth it, as evidenced by the turnout at this year’s American Physical Therapy Association’s Annual Conference & Expo in Boston. Whether it’s the influx of young female athletes matriculating into colleges or more Baby Boomers seeking physical therapy, business is booming for PTs. Observes remarked that the conference made them momentarily forget the country is in a recession; the event reported a surplus of physical therapy jobs in home health systems and large medical centers across the country.

When it comes to finding physical therapy jobs, seeking education at top physical therapy schools or playing the sports that challenge our bodies enough to one day seek physical therapy ourselves, the sporting motto from Nike said it best, “just do it!”

Side note: Until mid-July, we hope you enjoy FIFA. Feel free to post a comment about who you hope wins the World Cup!

Physical Therapy Career Choices Open up a World of Possibility

Author Therapy Career Blogger | 06.23.2010 | Category Career Tips, Ongoing Education, Therapist Jobs, Therapy Jobs, Travel Therapist, Travel physical therapy jobs, physical therapy

Different Ways to Take your Physical Therapist Career

When you’re a qualified physical therapist the whole world is your oyster—the interesting part of that old phrase being that there’s more than one pearl when it comes to the career choices inside your field. Whether it’s permanent staff hospital work, travel therapist careers or branching out to start a PT private practice, you and other professionals in this industry will be happy to uncover the benefits unique to your physical therapist career path.

Permanent Physical Therapy Jobs
If you’re a PT looking to build seniority in a hospital setting, rehabilitation center, physical therapy clinic and/or skilled nursing facility, permanent physical therapy jobs offer the perfect professional arena. Permanent PTs enjoy all the benefits, excitement and prestige of their traveling counterparts, with strong likelihood of making a recognized name for themselves locally. Start a physical therapy job—custom made for those who like to stay—or go—by applying at any of these top staffing agencies: Travel Force Staffing, American Traveler or 50 States Staffing

Travel Therapist Career
Oh, the places you’ll go! Let’s start by describing what you can expect from a Travel therapist career—our details are just a sampling of limitless possibilities; it is said of physical therapy jobs, after all, that it’s more than just a career—it’s a lifestyle! PTs on the road, traveling America as they heal and comfort their patients, experience plenty of advantages, like the excitement of a new location as often as every 8 weeks, or after 6 months. What happens if you like it too much to leave? At Travel Force, PTs often have the option of going permanent.

PT Private Practice
An independent physical therapist career is a testimony to the exceptional growth and evolution of physical therapy in the last 50 years. The APTA site offers a PT in motion page that advises on how to overcome the challenges of private practice start-up. Remember the title that 1970s book popularized, “What color is your parachute?” Well, the great thing about your physical therapy career is that you already know—you just have to pick the best career choice and apply it, so that you can touch a patient’s life today!

Physical Therapy Career Path
No matter where your physical therapy jobs take you—and diversity and potential abound as staffing agencies work with individuals in all stages of their physical therapy career—it’s a good idea to commit yourself to lifetime learning. With the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicting a 27% climb in the PT field through 2016, PTs are expected—now more than ever—to keep their competitive edge via continued competency and learning.

Career Resources a Terrible Thing to Waste
Travel Force offers a wealth of information on the DPT degree, as well as how to specialize in one of 8 physical therapy certifications that open up a world of possibility for your physical therapist salary, hiring potential, and, most importantly, the ability to provide your patients with the superior level of care they deserve. Don’t forget to look toward the APTA for career resources. Their Vision 2020 plan—one that would like to see the majority of PTs earn their DPT degrees by 2020 has been acknowledged as a leading reason some may look to opening a PT private practice.

Physical Therapy Students Prepare for the Real World via Virtual Reality Training

Author Therapy Career Blogger | 06.17.2010 | Category Allied Healthcare, Career Tips, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapist Jobs, physical therapy, rehabilitation therapy

Avatars Hit the Physical Therapy Job Scene

Physical therapy students at the University of Kansas Medical Center are among the hi-tech wave of entrepreneurs, engineering and medical professionals to take advantage of Second Life — an online community computer program where participants create their own avatars and manipulate them in job training drills, business conferences and group study projects.

So far the software lives up to its hype, dramatically cutting costs for businesses (like hospitals and clinics) accustomed to the transportation and lodging expenses associated with more traditional methods of preparing PTs for physical therapy jobs.

Educating groups face-to-face takes a toll on the environment, using more of the planet’s resources to ensure everyone meets; the School of Occupational Therapy at Thomas Jefferson University dodged this by using Second Life in its Backpack Awareness week.

Sometimes what starts with a flicker results in a flame—more occupational therapy jobs may be pleasantly impacted by cutting-edge technologies just like this.

Thanks to Second Life, increasing numbers of allied healthcare professionals—those in physical therapy jobs being no exception—are given enviable access to virtual reality training, and its making a huge difference in the span of what they can learn—as well as who they learn it with; that is to say that Second Life makes it possible to train with students from all over the world at the same time; read more about it in the Kansan.com!

OTs and physical therapists new to the virtual reality training scene will be happy to know that learning is a matter of manipulating standard contemporary office equipment, such as headsets, the keyboard and computer mouse; a class instructor will be present as an avatar as well, creating situations inside your shared virtual clinics, or perhaps something on a much larger scale—what Second Life creators call “an island”.

What does an island look like?

If you’re imaging something from Gilligan’s Island, think again. For physical therapy students at Kansas Medical Center, a Second Life Island features fully equipped exam rooms, furnished lobbies and realistic operating equipment. These aspiring PTs train in houses, specially designed for conducting home assessments for handicapped patients, which better prepare them for preventing patient falls before they happen.

Once a PT logs into the virtual world, he or she can walk the corridors of a true-to-life hospital, clicking on different objects, such as blood pressure cuffs, oxygen masks and laryngoscopes; learning how to attach such items is an important part of the virtual reality training journey.

Hospitals can’t help comparing a virtual world education to more traditional methods; Kansas is leading by example, with their physical therapy students and instructors finding that Second Life benefits don’t just cut costs, but promote more rapid learning in a more secure environment—worrying about security is a thing of the past, as virtual reality training requires no advanced booking or threat of vandalism and theft.

Who knows? Physical therapy schools near you could acquire—if you’ll pardon the turn of phrase—a Second Life—and use virtual reality training for student poster presentations and simulations of Community Living Centers, filled with virtual patients. Tell your instructors about this article.

Faculty awareness is how new learning systems like this find their way into the classroom—real or virtual!

Physical Therapy Career Advancement Tips

Author Therapy Career Blogger | 06.10.2010 | Category Allied Healthcare, Career Tips, How to Tips, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapist Jobs, Respiratory Therapy, Therapist Jobs, Therapist Jobs Postings, Therapy Jobs, Travel Therapist, Travel physical therapy jobs, physical therapist licensing, physical therapy, physical therapy job questions, rehabilitation therapy

How to activate your job search

Physical therapy careers come in all shapes and sizes; some PTs travel from one assignment to the next, while others hold permanent positions. There are seasoned therapists earning close to—or topping—six figure salaries, and others just beginning a physical therapy career with nowhere to go but up.

No matter where you are in your physical therapy career, the job search is everything—particularly if you’re looking to make a positive change. Travel Force offers therapy career resources that help you launch the ideal job search, matching your career skills and education to the very best physical therapy jobs.

Our physical therapy network can supply the perfect job match. Search from the best allied healthcare careers America has to offer by clicking on the Activate your Job Search Agent for the fastest results.

By activating a job search, you can choose from existing positions and get your first pick of well-paid, highly compensated physical therapy jobs, virtually anywhere and everywhere in North America. You specify the city, whether your interest is in a permanent and/or travel physical therapist job and take your pick among a wide variety of possibilities. If a job is not available in the exact location you wish, we will seek out a plum position on your behalf to meet your job requests in the next best location.

The Job Search Agent is for  physical therapy careers and allied healthcare jobs in all professions:

• Physical Therapy
• Physical Therapy Assistant
• Occupational Therapy
• COTA
• Pulmonary
• Respiratory Therapy
• Polysomnographer
• Diagnostic Imaging
• Medical Laboratory
• Radiation Oncology

Get started today and we will have you on the road to professional and financial success! The great thing about letting a #1 therapist staffing agency help you advance in your physical therapy career is that you’ll be working in an expert allied healthcare staffing organization. We comply with Joint Commission policies that ensure the education, licensing, training and work experience of our team has been verified inside and out.

Our expertise is  anticipating  every possible question regarding physical therapy careers; check out this link and physical therapy job questions about what to expect straight out of school with a DPT.

We cover these topics regarding successful physical therapy careers as well:

• Top Physical Therapy Certifications by Specialty
• Physical Therapy Job FAQs every working and/or aspiring PT should know
• Therapy career resources -get links to licensing boards, blogs, social media sites and more

As a physical therapist, you’ve worked hard to stay current on the latest technologies, marked your calendar with events that help you network (i.e. the APTA Conference), and absorbed Top 40 PT career tips that let you connect with your patients in ways that benefit them beyond recovering independence and mobility.

The great thing about a physical therapy career—deemed not just a job, but a lifestyle—is that career advancement doesn’t stop once you’re hired. Our therapy career resources place no limits on how high your star might rise professionally—look to Travel Force for all your physical therapy career advancement and career planning needs.

We’ve got you covered from the time you first sit down to interview, from the time you sit down to enjoy your retirement!

Annual APTA Conference & Expo coming to Boston this June!

Author Therapy Career Blogger | 06.01.2010 | Category Allied Healthcare, Career Tips, Fun Events, Monthly Events, Physical Therapist Jobs, Travel Therapist, physical therapy

Get your registration information here!

Attention all allied health care workers looking for PT events close to your Massachusetts Physical Therapist Jobs: if you’re anywhere near Bean Town this June, you can look forward to the 2010 APTA Conference featuring the who’s who of physical therapy associations around the world!

The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) is holding its annual conference and exposition in Boston, June 16-19, 2010 at the Hynes Convention Center—a well-known venue in the Back Bay section of town, overlooking the Charles River. Besides an exciting program schedule of the most recognized names in American physical therapy, this event puts you close to premier Beacon Hill dining and shopping, amidst streets lined with Victorian brownstones.

When you register for the 2010 APTA Conference, it’s a way of signing on for so much more than a mini-vacation in one of the oldest, most charming destinations in the country—it’s also a great opportunity to enhance physical therapy jobs and Massachusetts physical therapist jobs with the following career highlights:

• Participation in hot topic debates
• Networking opportunities with APTA leadership
• Exposure to cutting edge products & services
• Seeing old and new colleagues and friends again

Being part of this year’s APTA Conference benefits patients, too. Ask them to save the date, June 19, for the ultimate consumer event, “Staying on Your Feet.” We’ve blogged before about helping patients fall-proof their homes, but this PT event brings those words to life, with free Balance Testing and Strength & Blood Pressure Evaluations. Registration is free and invaluable—as it addresses falls before they happen, and encourages public awareness about healthy and safe aging—critical in a world population averaging longer life spans. PTs are encouraged to take notes and pack their camera phones; there will be an exhibit hall showcasing mobility aids, assistive devices for home safety, exercise equipment and more.

Just to give you a visual: Starting Wednesday, June 16th and through Saturday of that week, more than 2,500 physical therapy professionals will congregate at the Hynes Convention Center to learn more about physical therapy jobs. Because the APTA Conference is opening the exhibition hall to the general public on its last day, PTs get the rare opportunity to access their target market, as well as better understand purchasing decisions at the medical facility where they hold travel nursing jobs.

Students of physical therapy may also want to participate in this PT event, as it will help them gain momentum in their physical therapy jobs healthcare career. The APTA Conference lets them see how physical therapy association decisions are made by giving stage to the APTA House of Delegates.

Watch Senator Tom Daschle deliver the keynote address during opening ceremonies and enjoy a packed week of PT events that include parties, mingling, and star spangled affairs, ensuring that in the course of your physical therapy career and physical therapy jobs this summer, YOU are cookin’ with gas!