Occupational Physical Therapy: Occupational and Physical Therapy Travel Jobs Abound

There are many jobs that people might call their dream job, but for an occupational or a physical therapist, it just may be the ability to see the country and get paid to do so. In these fields of employment, there is a demand for short term employment. That demand is not very appealing to anyone looking to stay put at home. No one wants to become unemployed every 13 weeks or so.

That demand and lack of willing local applicants has created a new industry of travel occupational therapy and travel physical therapy. There are demands for traveling therapist in other therapy fields as well. However, to keep this article focused, we will limit it to these two and recommend that you look further into your therapy field if you are interested in the prospect of traveling and getting paid to do it.

On these travel assignments, occupational and physical therapist will generally be gone for a period of 13 weeks, though the time of each assignment can vary some. It is up to each therapist if they would like to jump straight from one assignment to another or if they would like to have some time off between assignments.

The salary for a traveling therapist is very competitive to the salary of a traditional office therapist. However, once you consider the chance to travel to locations that you choose (from a list), have your housing compensated, meals paid for, and insurance benefits, the concept of becoming a travel therapist becomes more inviting.

This job is not the dream job for everybody. If you prefer to stay at home over traveling, then this job may not be for you. If you have anything, such as church assignments, local government responsibilities, family concerns, or anything else that ties you down to your location, then again this may not be for you.

If you are a therapist and none of these limitations apply to you and you love to travel, then consider the industry of travel therapy.

John E. Bonaroti, PT, ATC – For more than 25 years ESSMC has been a premier resource for physical therapy, occupational therapy, athletic training and health education for communities a…