Landing a career in travel therapy takes a certain kind of medical traveler—someone with in-depth knowledge on patient rehabilitation in physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech language pathology, or maybe all of the above! When you choose the therapy travel life, you have the chance to learn on the job in different settings to gain a wide variety of experience as you go, increasing your value as a therapy professional in a competitive job market. Having a leg up in the healthcare industry can really help you be more successful and land the travel therapy job you want.
Therapy travelers are members of a fully-vetted, elite team of professionals who make a huge impact in patient recovery and long-term care. Whether a patient has a chronic condition, a serious injury or illness, or other ailment, traveling therapy workers help facilitate treatments and preventions unique to each individual patient’s needs.
There are three primary travel therapy divisions: physical therapy (PT), occupational therapy (OT), and speech language pathology (SLP). Within these divisions live specialties that allow you to funnel your interest and education to one therapy department.
Physical therapists focus on the movement of a patient’s body and help to improve, maintain, and promote optimal physical functions, plus optimal wellness, and fitness. Typically, PTs will use physical agents and modalities to augment your therapy and achieve your personal goals.
Similar to PTs, occupational therapists help improve patient mobility. The big difference is OTs focus on skills needed for daily living or working—occupational therapy is the only job that helps people do the things they want and need to do by therapeutic use of daily activities. OTs help patients of all ages live their best lives, including young children, middle-aged individuals, or geriatric patients.
Lastly, speech language pathologists, or speech therapists, are specialized in human communication and assess patient speech, language, cognitive-communication, and oral/swallowing skills. Helping those of all ages, SLPs enhance patient verbal and written expressions, processing skills, auditory and reading comprehension, attention spans, memories, and more.
The therapy profession continues to skyrocket due to a rapid increase in aging Americans, medical advancements that improve the survival rate of premature births, as well as trauma and stroke patients, an increase in elementary and secondary-school enrollments, plus an increasing demand in medical care and private practice settings.
As humankind evolves and matures, so does the tech resources we use. Rehabilitation technologies are used by travel therapists to improve patient function after injury or illness. These cutting-edge tech advancements have changed the way PTs, OTs and SLPs treat their patients.
The social and medical overhaul of the COVID-19 pandemic led patients to seek and use alternative care methods such as telehealth or virtual appointments—and therapy is no different. Online PT, OT, and SLP programs became increasingly available as the virus made its way through the U.S. As patients practiced their movement plans at home, therapists focused on creative ways to solve ailments, reduce pain, increase range of motion, and ultimately, get the patient back to 100 percent.
Therapy travelers also use a range of tools and technology to provide patient care. These systems help cut barriers to give more opportunities to those in treatment. Some commonly used technologies (and super cool ones too!) in the therapy field include:
To assist in health improvement, strength training, and maintaining function, technology plays an integral role in therapeutic care.
You should start traveling with Fusion Medical Staffing.
Austin, a PT, graduated in December 2020 from Saint Augustine University in Austin, Texas, and now he’s finally where he wants to be.
With more than 900 open therapy positions across the U.S., a team of savvy and caring recruiters, your own personal mentor, and a $5,000 new grad bonus, Fusion is here to get your travel therapy career started.
Fusion offers every traveling therapy professional additional perks and advantages like:
With nearly 70 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964 and an increase in diverse treatments, the demand for therapy jobs is on the rise. As individuals get older, and as the rate for diabetes and obesity climbs, we’re bound to see more physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech language pathologists enter the medical workforce. Apply now to get your travel therapy career started!