We are on the road again and are finalizing everything for our next contracts! This week we are going to share more about our job searching process, what we did at our last contracts, and where we are going next. (These pictures are from our travels this past week)
For most travel therapists or other locum healthcare workers employment is found with the help of contract staffing companies. These companies serve as the middlemen … which means they cut out a lot of the difficult parts of job searching, contract negotiation, etc… however they do get a cut of your contract pay.
Through research we have considered our options and utilizing staffing agencies is the best for us. To get started we followed other travelers recommendations to work with 2 to 3 companies to ensure we had the most employment opportunities. We started out with 3 and narrowed it down to 2 based on opportunities and communication experiences we had with each company.
The key is to find the right fit for you based on locations, benefits, and personality. So far we have worked with AMN Med Travelers and Fusion Medical Staffing:
Med Travelers – AMN is a LARGE staffing company that encompases Med Travelers, Club Staffing, Nurses RX, and many many more. We have found that Med Travelers offers a huge volume of contracts, established relationships with many employers, and good benefits. One disadvantage of working with Med Travelers for us is that we have been bounced around between recruiters, and other contract personnel which has made it difficult at times to maintain good communication. Overall we have had a great experience! We worked with Med Travelers for our first contract and will definitely be working with them again.
Fusion Medical Staffing – Fusion is a smaller company that started in 2009. Patrick and I both had great experiences with the company at conferences and events in college which led us to pursue working with them. As a smaller company you can tell that your experience is more personalized when searching for a job. Our recruiter is great and we can tell she has really spent time to find use the best opportunities. Unfortunately, they do not have as many exclusive contracts which equates to a decreased volume of contracts compared to larger companies. This being said we have been offered many opportunities through Fusion and will be working with them for our second contract.
(If you happen to pursue one of these companies because of our post let them know that we sent you! We get a referral bonus and would be happy to share it with you)
Tips For Working with Travel Staffing Companies
1. Consider Where the Company is Based AND Their Contract Radius – Some companies deal with certain parts of the country while others contract in all 50 states. There are advantages to both!
2. Work With More Than One Company – This is normal and advantageous when working as a traveling health care professional! It allows you to negotiate, reach more employment opportunities, and motivates the companies to find you the best position. Just be transparent about it with your recruiters and maintain positive relationships. (Don’t work with a million companies or you will be bombarded with more emails and texts than you can handle)
3. Talk With Current Travelers – Fellow travelers are the BEST resource when it comes to vetting offers, and companies. Recruiters play up the good and sugar coat the bad… this is their job! There are many traver communities online and they provide support for anyone who has questions about fair pay, benefits negotiation, and red flags.
4. Make Sure Everything is in Your Contract – We are still big newbies in this category, but we have learned that there are a few things to always ensure are in your contract including: Guaranteed Hours (Minimum 35-40), Overtime Pay Rate, Floating Expectations (Including mileage radius and reimbursement), Approved Dates of Time Off, Benefits
Our First Contracts
Erin: I worked in a small skilled nursing facility (SNF) in Hermiston. While there I supervised 3 COTAs (certified occupational therapy assistant) and was the only OTR consistently in the building. My patient caseload included orthopedic injuries (primarily from falls), overall weakness/decline, and recovery from large medical events including CVA, myocardial infarct, and sepsis. My patients skill level and recovery time varried widely. I enjoyed working with the patients and loved getting to know them during my time there.
Working in a SNF was a new experience for me and it took me a bit to get used to the flow and guidelines. Thanks to the supportive therapy team I learned the ropes. Starting my first travel contract was very different than starting my prior full-time job. Learning a new documentation system and care environment without any prior experience or orientation was definitely the hardest part of this placement. Overall I think that the hiccups I faced really helped me to grow as a therapist and pushed me outside of my comfort zone. Thanks to all my coworkers in Hermiston for helping me along my way!
Patrick: My first contract was at an outpatient facility inside of a VERY large assisted living facility. I treated patients with everything from a rotator cuff repair to balance/transfer deficits. My patients were all geriatric, and I estimate the average age of my patients was 85 years or older. I saw a large variety of people with differing levels of health and independence. Some could perfectly take care of themselves, and came to me for help relieving their back pain. Others needed help getting out of chair. My supervisor was a physical therapists assistant, and helped me to care for some of my patients. Thanks Kim!
I found the experience humbling, as at the end of my contract not one- but two- lady’s cried at the ceremonial pizza party. I could have called either my grandmother. I got to know some of the most amazing people. To share with someone the gift of walking and standing, after being told for years by others that they cannot and probably will not be able to, is one of the strongest human experiences that I have had.
Thank you Erin for being an almost endless sponge for my sass, and thank you Kim for helping me so much on my first “real world PT” experience.
Our Job Search
We shared about our initial job search experience several months ago. Stressful is an understatement! We were both anxious about undergoing the process for our second time. We started about 6 weeks out from our contract end date to ensure we weren’t waiting weeks and weeks to get paid again.
We set out with the priorities of being near a major city or in a major city, decreased commute time, and being in a different climate (not eastern WA/OR). In the end we got everything we wanted, but of course there were bumps along the way.
Consistently between our two job searching experiences we have had a period of panic with seemingly few job prospects and then a rush of interviews/opportunities. Within travel therapy there seems to be a lot of fluctuations between job demand, locations, and communication. We were flexible when we could be and stuck to what we really wanted. Now we get to share where we will be working next…
Contract #2 - Tacoma, WA
Tacoma, WA is located about 30 miles south of Seattle on the banks of the Puget Sound. We are excited to be close to Mt. Rainier National Park, Seattle, and Crystal Mountain Ski Resort. We are also thrilled to have a city with a lot of culture, food, and nature within its limits to call our home!
Yes, we will be living in the rainy part of Washington State now… but we aren’t so worried about it. After some googling we found that Harrisburg, PA has an average of 10-12 rainy days per month during the winter, and Tacoma, WA has an average of 16-18. We also compared average high temperatures. The average high in Jan/Feb for Harrisburg is 37-40 degrees and in Tacoma it is 48-51 degrees. We decided it is was well worth a little extra rain for some more mild winter temperatures and a quick drive to the mountains.
In Tacoma we will be working together in a Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF). We will be working a very nontraditional week that we are excited about! Our scheduled will be 10 hour workdays Friday through Monday. This gives us an extra day off and the middle of the week free to travel when it’s less crowded. Fingers crossed that everything continues to go smoothly as we transition to living in Tacoma and take some time off before starting in February.
Sneak Peak: Next weeks post is going to be about our time between contracts and what new places we got to explore! This picture is of the Oregon coast where we got lucky with 2 days of full sun in a row! Thanks for reading!!
Erin and Patrick, I am really enjoying your travel adventures and also the different things you highlight in your learning experiences. Sounds like you are having a very exciting time. Looking forward to to your next blog.
Thanks for reading! We have really enjoyed working on this blog and sharing our experiences