Official Therapist Blog

Are you ready to begin an exciting Occupational Therapist Career?

Author Therapy Career Blogger | 07.07.2010 | Category Allied Healthcare, Career Tips, Occupational Therapy, Therapist Jobs, Therapy Jobs, Top Rehab Careers, rehabilitation therapy

Learn what to expect from Occupational Therapy Schools

Get Your Occupational Therapy Career Resources Here!

The road to occupational therapy is paved with the understanding that it’s up to you to ensure your patients live their lives to the fullest! How does an OT do that? By helping those they treat regain their independence and functionality.

Occupational therapists help patients with mental or physical disabilities improve their motor skills and better negotiate the challenges of home and work environments. If you’re reading this, it means you plan to jump start a successful occupational therapy career; you also intend to hit the ground running by reading up on the best occupational therapy schools, accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE).

The right occupational therapy school will prepare you for the national certification exam and board exam to be licensed to practice; your occupational therapy school will also help you use both theoretical and clinical skills to their utmost potential.

Come into this rewarding career by understanding the fundamental differences between being an OT and careers in physical therapy. Working in occupational therapy jobs means evaluating and improving your patient’s functional abilities, rather than directly treating the injury and its damaged muscles and tissues, like a PT.

Before getting acquainted with therapy career resources designed to launch your career into the occupational therapy jobs stratosphere, ask yourself if you have what it takes. Did you:

• Excel in your high school biology, chemistry and health classes?
• Major in a subject like biology, psychology, sociology, anthropology or anatomy in college?
• Are you in the midst of applying to a masters program with no less than a 3.3 GPA?

If you answered all three bullet points with a resounding “Yes!” than you’ll love attending occupational therapy school! But there’s more cause for budding OTs to get excited…

Prior to graduating from an accredited OT program, you can find work in occupational therapy assistant jobs, by earning a 2-year associate’s degree.

That’s just the icing on a whole cake’s worth of therapy career resources. Travel Force and other top staffing agencies for allied health professionals encourage occupational therapists to:

• Learn your state’s licensing policy so you don’t hit any bumps on the road on the way to earning the title of OTR: (Occupational Therapist Registered)
• Recognize what an employment edge you have as an OT! With the Baby Boomer population entering retirement and the elderly living longer, your services—as predicted by the US Bureau of Labor—are expected to rise by 26% between now and 2016!
• Before your occupational therapy career hunt begins, do some volunteer work in a health care facility and use that experience to help with the six months of clinical fieldwork necessary for graduation from most occupational therapy schools.

It also pays to know which age group or special needs group you wish to focus on as an OT. Your choices include:

• Patients who are permanently disabled with diseases like cerebral palsy or spinal cord injuries
• Children in schools
• Elderly patients in hospitals and nursing homes
• Patients who have trouble functioning in work settings
• Patients in mental health facilities or addiction centers

Whichever road you choose—and there are many—in your occupational therapy jobs, know that you are a living, breathing testimony to the American Occupational Therapy Association’s (AOTA) slogan. You and your patients are living life to its fullest!”

Travel Physical Therapist Jobs FAQs

Author Healthcare Jobs Blogger | 05.18.2010 | Category Allied Healthcare, Career Tips, Occupational Therapy, Respiratory Therapy, Therapist Jobs, Therapy Jobs, Top Rehab Careers, Travel Therapist, Travel physical therapy jobs, Traveling Therapist, physical therapist licensing, physical therapy, physical therapy job questions, rehabilitation therapy

Travel physical therapy jobs offer many advantages to physical therapist professionals. Some of the great benefits of travel physical therapy jobs are:

• Physical Therapists get to visit different exciting locations
• Career Advancement by gaining valuable experience in a variety of clinical settings
• Meet new and interesting people along the way and possibly make lasting friendships and career networking contacts

Travel Physical Therapy Job Career Fact: travel physical therapy jobs currently offer one of the fastest growing career opportunities for physical therapists. If you’re a PT who looks for adventure and professional challenges, a career as a traveling physical therapist might just be what you are looking for.

Q: Is there minimum experience required to start a career in travel physical therapy jobs?

Agencies like Travel Force cater to individuals in all stages of their physical therapy career from new grads to experienced working physical therapists alike. At Travel Force, we employ physical therapists including new grads, mid-career professionals, advanced professionals with DPT, to older PTs working through retirement.

Q: How long are travel physical therapist jobs?

Travel physical therapy jobs are typically 13-26 weeks in length. Physical therapists often renew their travel jobs to further explore favorite locations.

Q: Can I work full-time, year round as a travel physical therapist?

Yes, physical therapists can choose to be employed year round in travel physical therapist jobs or take time off between assignments if they wish. Travel Force presents you with PT jobs choices early in your assignment, so you have plenty of time to decide where you want to travel next. Many physical therapists have switched to a career in travel physical therapist jobs because it pays more, advances skills, and encourages travel to fabulous locations for free.

Q: What kind of work will I do in Physical Therapist Jobs with Travel Force?

Physical therapists working with Travel Force find PT jobs in facilities offering the latest technology and advancements as well as small to medium size outpatient clinics offering standard physical therapy services to patients. Travel Force is proud to have staffed therapists in several of America’s best hospitals ranked “Best Rehabilitation Hospitals” by the U.S. News & World Report.

Q: Does Travel Force offer Physical Therapy Jobs close to home?

Yes, Travel Force specializes in finding physical therapy jobs for physical therapists who wish to work close to home rather than relocate. In this case, your free private housing benefit would come in the form of a mortgage or rent subsidy added to your earnings.

Q: What is the pay range that I can expect to earn at Travel Force?

Physical therapist salary starts between $71,520 and $80,000 with a total compensation of $100,000 or more with benefits. Hourly wages for physical therapists average $35 per hour, and spike dramatically after five years on the job. The Travel Force tax advantage plan, coupled with the referral program and sign-on bonuses, plus reimbursement for meals and other travel incidentals means earning upwards of $100,000 a year or more in travel physical therapist jobs.

Q: Does travel physical therapist jobs include free healthcare insurance?

Travel Force is proud to offer a benefits package that includes free group health, dental and life insurance; our plan provides prescription drug benefits, along with a flexible health plan to healthcare needs, and is available to cover your dependents. For therapists who prefer to obtain their own insurance, Travel Force Staffing will assist in subsidizing the expense.

Q: Will  I get Professional Liability Insurance and Worker’s Compensation Insurance with a travel therapy job?

Yes. Travel Force Staffing provides professional liability malpractice insurance to all of our physical therapists, occupational therapists and other allied healthcare professionals on all travel therapy jobs.

Q: Are physical therapists provided a round trip travel allowance?

Yes, Travel Force provides a maximum round trip travel allowance on PT jobs – regardless of whether you travel by car, plane, train or bus.

Q: Do Travel Physical Therapist Jobs offer fully furnished housing?

Yes, physical therapists get fully-furnished free private housing; with upgrades such as fitness centers, pool and more at select properties.

Q: Do Travel Force jobs come with a 401(k) plan and retirement benefits?

Yes. The Travel Force’s company-matched 401(k) plan is generous. You can easily access your account online and individuals with vested retirement benefits may transfer them as they wish.

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Now that you know more  about travel physical therapist jobs; it’s time contact Travel Force Staffing to get your traveling physical therapist started right now. Call us at 800-617-0608 or Apply Online

The Travel Force mission is to provide you with the best career growth opportunities in assignments at facilities with the highest standards of clinical and professional excellence, while offering the most comprehensive support and compensation programs.

What Physical Therapists Need to Know about Top Ranking Hospitals

Author Therapy Career Blogger | 03.23.2010 | Category Allied Healthcare, Locations, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapist Jobs, Therapist Jobs, Therapy Jobs, Top Rehab Careers, Top Therapy Blogs, physical therapy, rehabilitation therapy

The best rehabilitation hospitals in America boil down to a “Top 25” list, and are chosen via recommendation of specialists who give their highest marks to facilities offering state of the art procedures and care.

In review of the crème de la crème, PTs and therapists of every stripe find the following consistency: the top 25 rehab hospitals share zip codes with some of the most metropolitan cities in the country; for some professionals living in these exciting environments, the cost of living is high—fortunately, this is not the case for employees of our Therapist Staffing Agency, where free private housing make physical therapy jobs infinitely more appealing.

Another reason therapists and folks in occupational therapy jobs will be glad they read this?

Travel Force matches qualified applicants with physical therapy jobs in the thick of our nation’s top rehab hospitals, named by U.S. News & World Report.

You can read more about the metro areas where top rehabilitation therapy facilities are located on online professional platform sites, like AfterCollege.com, which helps college students, alumni and employers utilize career networks across the country, ultimately landing the best Rehab Jobs.

Therapists craving city details—let’s say, for example you and the rest of your graduating class wanted to apply for physical therapist jobs in Florida—would be wise to click around and get more information on PT jobs in the sunshine state, where benefits and compensation are nice and high.

Let us once again remind you, though, that therapists perusing websites like Travel Force and AfterCollege —and subsequently finding scintillating photos of Top metro areas for rehab therapists, need not worry about pricey renter’s fees that have a way of making such cities notorious—notorious for skyscrapers and sky high costs in living that is—at Travel Force you don’t pay any rent—and, as a result, you do a LOT more living!

In closing, and because we think it resonates better this way, check out our list below, containing the ambitious therapist’s short list of cities we staff with allied health professionals. When you apply online for a job in one of these happening towns, or in a Travel Force staffed state close to the high ranking action, you’re likely to land at one of the Top 25—a fantastic move for your physical therapy career!

• Seattle, WA
• Columbus , OH
• Richmond, VA
• Cleveland, OH
• Texas
• Colorado
• Massachusetts
• North Carolina

How to Train for a Marathon - Valuable Tips from a Physical Therapist

Author Ellen Bloome - PT | 01.19.2010 | Category Allied Healthcare, Ellen Bloome-PT, How to Tips, Therapist Jobs, Therapy Jobs, Top Rehab Careers, Travel Therapist, Traveling Therapist, physical therapy, rehabilitation therapy

As a marathoner and a Physical Therapist, I would like to share some tips for training and conditioning for a first marathon…

First, it’s a good idea build up to being able to run 15-25 miles a week…(that’s running 3 -5 days) before beginning your marathon training program. If you already run 2 -3 miles a day, you have the basis to start preparing for your first marathon!

This base is important both physically and psychologically, because you can anticipate about 18 weeks of training. Here’s a a god tip: follow the ten percent rule for mileage building. Increasing your weekly mileage more than 10% from the previous week can cause injury and lead to burnout. So if you begin your program running 3.0 miles, 3-5 times a week, week 2 you might increase that to 3.3 miles each day you run. Week 3 would be 3.63 per day and so on.

To find more marathon training tips and to connect with other expert runners interested in running marathons go to www.runningtimes.com

4  Tips from a Physical Therapist & Avid Runner that focus the Mental Preparation:

1. Setting an appropriate time goal is important. Training at goal pace is the best way to run that pace in the latter part of your training. Most first time marathoners are looking to finish the race and enjoy the journey. Setting an unattainable goal will render that journey disappointing.
2. Visualization; another excellent tool. You can see the finish line, or what you will be feeling at mile 20… When you are out on the course, that déjà-vu helps! There is comfort in familiarity.
3. Joining a marathon training group will give you specific guidance from seasoned marathoners, and having a social peer group will increase the likelihood that you won’t skip those long runs……
4. Finally, and possibly most importantly…determination and discipline are part and parcel to successful training and performance. Be sure to bring them along as you lace up those running shoes.

If you have additional comments or suggestions, we would love to hear them! Running for fun and fitness is fantastic by itself and also a popular means to enjoy travel therapy jobs no matter where you are currently working!

Happy Running!

Top Rehab Jobs in 2009

Author Healthcare Jobs Blogger | 01.08.2010 | Category Allied Healthcare, Occupational Therapy, Therapist Jobs, Therapy Jobs, Top Rehab Careers, Travel Therapist, Traveling Therapist, physical therapist licensing, physical therapy, rehabilitation therapy

Travel Physical Therapy Jobs Earn 35% more Take Home Pay

While the national unemployment rate increased from 7% to 10% in 2009, employment opportunities in allied health careers continued to rise and are projected to increase by at least 20% before 2018. Pay rates for travel Physical Therapy Jobs have never been better.

The salaries and availabilities of rehab jobs depend on the particular type of therapy and on the job setting (hospital, in-home, clinic, etc.). The median salaries permanent full time positions for occupational therapists and physical therapists are $66,000 and $72,000, respectively.

Travel therapists, however, can earn significantly more than the national average.

Therapists working in travel rehab jobs generally take home over 35% more than those in permanent full-time positions. Travel therapists also earn great therapy job benefits, including free private housing and free continuing education classes. Travel rehab jobs are available throughout the country, but the most popular positions for 2009 were respiratory therapy jobs in New York, physical therapy jobs in Arizona and New Mexico, and occupational therapy jobs in Missouri.

Physical therapy is perhaps the most well-known of the rehab jobs. Licensure requirements for physical therapists can be difficult; most states now require a doctoral degree and passing scores on both national and state exams, as well as a number of continuing education credits. Once licensed, however, physical therapists diagnose and treat individuals of all ages to reduce pain and restore function and mobility after any number of illnesses and injuries, from fractures and sprains to strokes and multiple sclerosis. The majority of physical therapy jobs, as with most rehab jobs, are found in hospitals and private physician practices, but jobs are also available in outpatient clinics, nursing homes, schools, and private homes.

Physical therapists often work closely with occupational therapists, who help patients to improve their day-to-day lives by increasing their ability to perform particular functions, from dressing, eating, and using wheelchairs to communicating and decision-making. Occupational therapists work with patients who have some physical, mental, or developmental condition that hinders basic motor or reasoning abilities. Occupational therapy licensure generally requires a master’s degree or higher from an accredited program, a number of supervised clinical hours, and a passing score on a national exam.

The aging baby-boom generation is driving the need for rehabilitation specialists throughout the country, and physical therapists and occupational therapists are all in high demand.

For information about these locations and other travel rehab jobs, visit Travel Force.

Speech Language Pathologist - Rated in Top 20 Careers by Career Builder

Author Healthcare Jobs Blogger | 01.05.2010 | Category Allied Healthcare, Speech Language Pathologist, Therapy Jobs, Top Rehab Careers, Travel Therapist, Traveling Therapist, physical therapy, rehabilitation therapy

During this rough economy, choosing to start a new career can be a tough decision to make. However, there are a number of jobs in the health care field, and in physical therapy specifically, that are showing above average employment growth and job stability. Speech Language Pathology, for example, was recently named one of the top 20 careers to “work less, earn more” by Career Builder. According to Career Builder, speech language pathologists, also called speech pathologists or speech therapists work an average of 37.5 hours a week and earn over $53,000 annually. A Speech Pathologist working as a travel therapist can earn an even greater annual salary, averaging over $77,000, as well as free private housing accommodations, health insurance, and other travel therapy job benefits.

Speech therapists diagnose speech and communication difficulties and then develop specialized plans of treatment for each patient. They work with patients whose difficulties stem from learning or developmental disorders, cerebral palsy, hearing loss, stroke, brain injury, or any number of other congenital, developmental, or acquired problems. Speech therapists can find speech language pathology jobs in schools, hospitals, nursing homes, private homes, or other specialist practices.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a faster than average growth rate for speech pathologist employment, but there are a number of educational and licensure requirements required for speech therapists. Most speech pathology jobs require a master’s degree, and some states require that that degree be from a school accredited by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Required courses include, among others, physiology, anatomy, and acoustics. Additional requirements for speech language pathology licensure include a passing score on the national speech pathology test, over 300 hours of supervised clinical experience, and nine months of postgraduate professional clinical experience. Speech therapists working in educational settings may have additional requirements based on the state’s Department of Education.

For more information about beginning a career in speech language pathology, visit the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. To find travel speech pathology jobs or other travel therapy jobs, visit Travel Force.