The Ultimate Guide To Travel Therapy 

Do you love adventure, want to get paid to see America, while also getting to do what you love?! Then you have come to the right place 🙂 Keep reading to learn how you can take your healthcare job in therapy on the road!

My husband and I are both travel therapists. Devin is a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT/PT) and I am a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP). We are currently on our fourth travel therapy assignment- technically this is my husband’s second and my fourth! I completed two travel assignments while he was finishing his last clinicals for the DPT program and studying for the NPTE. We were able to travel together to my assignments. While I worked my contracted assignments, he completed his clinical and studied for the board exam. Now we both have a contract as travel therapists!

With this being our fourth assignment, we have learned SO much and have grown tremendously as therapists and personally. If travel therapy is something you are considering, then continue reading to learn more about this amazing experience! 

First, let’s learn the basics and answer some questions you may have about travel therapy!

What is Travel Therapy? 

Travel therapy is part of a specialized branch of healthcare services (there is also travel healthcare including nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals), where SLP’s (speech language pathologists- me), PT’s (doctors of physical therapy (Devin), and OT’s (occupational therapists) work on temporary assignments or contracts in various locations.

These types of services are often utilized to address staffing shortages, cover peak demand periods, or provide specialized care in underserved areas. Travel therapy professionals are typically employed by staffing agencies or organizations that specialize in recruiting and placing therapists on short-term assignments.

How do you Find Assignments? 

This can be answered in many different ways as there are different ways to find an assignment! What I would suggest is to first decide what you want out of travel therapy.

There are 2 main goals with travel therapy. It is important to keep these in mind when deciding where you want to take an assignment.

1. Goal 1: PAY

• This goal is to make as much money as possible. This means, you are basing your location and where you want to work off of what will be paying the most. Pay varies based on location and the setting you are serving (see below for an entire section on pay).
• If you are going for the assignment that has the most pay, you may be living in a location that is not very active and appealing. This might be the reason the pay is so high- to draw people in for an assignment because no one else wants to live/ work in that location. 

2. Goal 2: LOCATION

• This goal is to live in great places and experience as many exciting landmarks and adventures as possible while completing your assignment.
• This is what my husband and I do! We base our assignments off of where we want to live to meet our travel/ experience goals. If you are going with this goal, know that it might be harder to find an assignment and the pay might not be what you are expecting.
• It might be harder to find an assignment with this goal because everyone wants to live in these locations. So, assignments may not be needed.
• Same applies for pay. Because the demand is decreased in these areas, the pay is not as high. 

Once you have decided your goal with travel therapy, you can decide where you want to complete your assignment. If you are going for pay as your goal in travel, you will base your search off of what pays the most. If you are looking for location, you will base your search off of where you want to go. 

The next thing I would do is go to Google. Even though my husband and I are both happy with our recruiter, I still go to Google before each new assignment. I Google “Travel SLP job in __” and fill in the blank of the location we are wanting to go. Start here.

Look at what is on the market. I would then choose 3 companies that are on the Google/ Indeed job search that meet your needs. Call/ apply to that job to the travel contract company. 

Each travel contract company will assign you a recruiter. That recruiter’s job is to help you find an assignment based off of what you are looking for. They will become your mediator. After you apply, you will probably receive a phone call, text, and/ or email very soon from a recruiter from the companies you applied with.

It might feel like they are interviewing you, but take this time to interview them. This is the person you are going to be working with- their job is to advocate for you. If you do not feel like you are a good match with them, no biggie! You have the freedom to find a different recruiter.

Also, remember you applied to 2-3 different companies. So, you have 2-3 recruiters to try out. Just know, each company has a different pay breakdown. See below for more information on pay. 

Once you find recruiters that you are comfortable with, they can help find jobs that fit your description in their own network. There might be jobs that are not Google/ Indeed, but they have access to.  

Once your recruiter finds an assignment that meets your needs, you will do an interview with the facility that you will be working at. Again, take this time to interview them. Remember, you will be in a contract with them (see below for how long). If you do not feel comfortable in the interview, ask yourself if you will feel comfortable for 13+ weeks. 

After the interview with the facility, you will receive your contract to sign. Then you will be all set to start your first travel therapy assignment!

How Long do you Work? 

When you are applying/ submitting to assignments they will have the assignment length listed in the description. If you are wanting a medical setting (SNF, acute care, inpatient rehab, etc.), assignments are generally 13 weeks. If you are wanting a school setting, assignments are generally 1 school year (2 semesters from August- May), or 1 semester (January- May) if you apply in the second semester of the year.

My contracts in SNFs were for 13 weeks. My third assignment was in a school system so that was a semester (~16 weeks). I am currently working in home health where I initially had my contract to be 13 weeks but we extended 2 extra weeks to make it 15 week in total assignment.

If you enjoy your assignment and want to stay longer, you have the option to extend your contract. This means you are going longer than the set weeks in the contract. You can extend it to however many extra weeks you want to continue. 

If you are not enjoying your assignment and need to end your contract early, this is a possibility. During my first assignment, my grandfather passed away unexpectedly at my 11 week mark. I had 2 more weeks to go before going back home. We were in Utah during this assignment and our home was Tennessee. I really did not want to have to fly/ drive to TN for the funeral, go back to UT, then turn back around to go back to TN. I talked to my recruiter and DOR about this and they were very understanding. I was able to end my contract 2 weeks early to be home with my family for the passing of my grandfather.

So, even though you are in a contract, you are not bound to it forever. I have read stories of people being put on a ‘blacklist’ when they end their contract early. But if you are ending your contract early due to the care, maintenance, and lack of ethics in the facility, chances are it does not matter if you are black listed or not. 

Where Do You Live? 

Your living situation is based off of what you decide in your initial signing of your contract. You can either receive a housing stipend and you can choose where you want to live. You will take the stipend given to pay rent each month.

OR your company may offer to provide housing services for you if you decide to go this route. This would mean they would set up where you would be living for that assignment. 

My husband and I always choose the option to take the stipend and find our own housing. We do this to save money (if we find housing below the stipend, we get to pocket the extra income) and to ensure we like the place we will be living in. We want to make sure we are living in a safe, clean, and comfortable environment for that length of assignment. 

We have had the most success through the app/ website Furnished Finders. Furnished Finders is a site for 30- day, and longer, stays for short term renters who are on travel assignments. The listings are furnished so you do not have to worry about hauling your furniture throughout America!

Also, this resource does not house the lease agreement or charge any booking fees and rental payments. This is all through transactions between the renter and landlord. We are on our 4th housing from Furnished Finders and have had only wonderful things to say! We are so thankful for a resource like Furnished Finders!

How Much is the Pay? 

If you have heard anything about travel therapy, you have probably heard that the pay is amazing! Although the pay is much better than what you might be making at your current job, it all depends on many different aspects in travel therapy.

First, let’s talk about how you get paid: 

HOW YOU GET PAID

1. HOURLY:
   • The facility you work at will be paying you an hourly wage. This will probably be very low. And you will probably be concerned and confused. But do not be! This is okay. You want your hourly rate to be low and your stipends to be high. This is because your hourly wage is the only thing that is being taxed.
   • The facility and recruiter will discuss your hourly rate. It is not your job to negotiate with the facility. You can negotiate with your recruiter, but do not talk about the hourly rate with the ‘boss’ at the interview or during your assignment.
   • The hourly rate might be different for each company with the same facility. So do your homework, look on Google and Indeed for the weekly rates and compare!
   • If you like the recruiter you are working with and want to stay with them but you find a higher weekly rate with another company, tell your recruiter to see if they can match it! This has always been successful for us.
2. STIPENDS:
   • The contract company you will work with has a set calculator they use with the GSA to determine the stipends. The stipend is based on the GSA daily rate for ‘Lodging’ and ‘Meals & Incidentals’ per the county of your assignment. This is public knowledge and you are free to research on your own at this website.
   • One company I worked for did their paychecks every 2 weeks so the stipends were calculated over a 2 week period. The company we work for now does weekly paychecks. So, the stipends are calculated for weekly pay. The stipends are broken down in different categories based on your company.
   • I will give you the breakdown of both of the companies I have worked for!

Company 1: 

• Lodging
  • I received an email every 2 weeks with an excel sheet showing my daily lodging stipend that was summed together for my 2- week overall lodging stipend. 
• Meals, Incidentals, and Expenses (M&IE)
  • Again, I received an email every 2 weeks with an excel sheet showing my daily M&IE stipend that was summed together for my 2- week overall M&IE stipend. 
• Travel:
  • I received a one time travel stipend to pay for my moving to the new location and a separate travel stipend for my moving back home. 

Company 2: 

• Maximum Weekly Per Diem (aka stipend):
  • Lodging and Meals & Incidentals are summed together in one weekly stipend. 
• Reimbursements:
  • I was reimbursed for state licensure, drug screening, and physicals. 
• Travel:
  • I received a one time stipend for moving to the new location. 

Now let’s talk about how the location, setting, and company can determine your pay.

LOCATION

Where you decide to complete your assignment is going to base a lot of the hourly pay and weekly stipends. You should consider this in choosing your travel therapy assignment. If you are wanting somewhere that pays the best, you might not be in the best location. If you want the best location, you may not be getting the best pay. It is all about the demand of the job.

In locations that are not the best, they may pay more to entice people to come and work in that area. In places that are great locations, the demand for a travel therapist might be small since more people probably are going to live there. However, your housing, meals, and incidental stipends will be based off of the location according to the GSA.

SETTING

The facility you decide to work in will also determine your overall pay. This is not linear and consistent across different professions. This is due to the different reimbursement rates for each profession in therapy.

For example, I had a higher pay at a SNF than my husband did, but he had a higher pay at a home health offer than I did. If you are chasing the money, find out which setting pays the most for your specific profession. Your recruiter will be able to give you a list in order of settings that rank from highest to lowest pay in your profession, if you ask for it. 

THE COMPANY

The contract travel healthcare company you work for will also determine your overall pay. I have been with two companies so far. The one we are with currently has been able to pay the most in comparison to the other companies we have talked with.

Before each assignment, I look into other companies to make sure we can find the best paying for that location. However, we have been so blessed with the company we are currently with to continue paying the most.  Although most will base their stipends off of the GSA, some companies will be able to pay more in stipends! Or they may be able to negotiate the hourly pay with the facility you are working at. But remember, if the hourly pay goes up, this is what you are taxed. 

With all this said, I cannot give an exact amount of how much you will be paid. But, from our experiences, I have made almost double what I was being paid as an SLP at my previous job in outpatient. What I was making in two weeks, is less than what I am now making weekly. This is all public knowledge (except in my contract I have signed not to discuss my pay) on the internet, so just google the travel job you are looking for and look at the pay!

What are the Cons? 

When someone asks me if I want to hear the good or bad news first, I always opt for the bad news first so that there is something good afterward. So I am going to do that here 🙂 

FINDING AN ASSIGNMENT

Not going to lie, this can be very stressful in the beginning stages of the process. If you are doing travel therapy for the location, this is going to be your biggest barrier. My first assignment was in Utah. My husband already signed his contract with an outpatient facility to complete his final clinical for DPT program. So, we had to go to Utah. However, I could not find a travel assignment in that state! Utah is specific with their travel healthcare opportunities. It is very hard to find something there. The Lord provided, as He always does, and opened a door to an internal travel position with a SNF company. That contract came through the week we left for Utah. Talk about last minute! 

I should note that if you are a Type A, Enneagram 1 personality, you will be forced to learn how to let go and let God in a lot of circumstances with travel therapy. I am a Type A, Enneagram 1 girl. I like having my tasks completed way before due dates, everything orderly and organized, and my boxes checked off my to do lists. But, in the world of travel therapy, you have to learn to go with the flow. Because the majority of the assignments are jobs listed in ASAP need of a therapist, you cannot apply/ submit to an assignment until ~4-6 weeks beforehand. Which means, you cannot align housing until ~4-6 weeks beforehand. When you are moving to a completely different region, state, and city, this can be intimidating!

Every facility that is hiring a travel therapist is actively looking to hire a permanent, full time therapist. With that being said, if you submit before the 4-6 week range, they may find someone permanently to fill that position leaving you back to square one.

Also, if while you are completing your assignment the facility hires a full time, permanent therapist, your contract could be ended early. This has thankfully never happened to either of us. However, the first week of my 2nd travel therapy assignment, the facility brought a SLP in for an interview. I was so nervous! I had only worked there 4 days and they already found someone to interview to possibly fill my position. Thankfully it all worked out and the interviewee did not accept the job.

FINDING HOUSING

Depending on where your assignment location is, and when you sign the contract for your assignment, it might be difficult to find housing. We had some difficulty finding housing in Utah because we had to have a very specific city that we lived in. Where my husband was completing his final clinical to where I was working was over an hour apart. So, we had to find housing at the halfway point. This was difficult! But again, the Lord came through and we found a great apartment with a wonderful landlord. 

For our Naples, FL assignment, we signed our contract 2 weeks before the start date. We had to find housing FAST!! In the area we were looking at, it was peak season for snow birds. We were frantically trying to find housing. We were looking on Furnished Finders, Zillow, Facebook Market, and Google searches. Finally, we prayed together (like we had done multiple times, but this time with heavy prayer) checked Furnished Finders one last time before giving up hope, and found an apartment! I immediately called the landlord and she told me that she had just posted that listing. Again, the Lord provided! Why do I ever doubt Him?!

SETTINGS

Remember above when we talked about one of the needs facilities have for travel therapy is because they cannot find a permanent therapist to fill that position? Weelllll, there might be a reason they are unable to fill the position. One of the cons to travel therapy is the setting you will be working in might not be the *best*. Being completely transparent, you may be put in a setting that does not have supportive nursing staff, team collaboration, and a clean environment. This can be very hard for the therapist who is brand new to the facility.  

DIFFERENT METHODS

To go along with the challenges in settings, every facility is going to have very different ways they conduct therapy, collaborations, regulations, routines, etc. Even though the settings may use the same EMR, they will have different requirements and ways of using it.

You have to learn to be adaptable every 13 weeks.  

Do not get it in your mind that how one facility operates is how every facility operates. You are always encouraged to bring ideas that can help with efficiency, ethics, and care for the patients that you may have learned from a different facility.

It might take some time getting used to the new way of doing things at your new assignment. However, you may not have the support or as much time allotted as you would like to learn the new material. At one assignment, I met the DOR, they gave me my caseload and schedule for the day, showed me the therapy gym, and sent me on my way. I had no idea where anything was! It took me the first few days to get my bearings and learn the orientation of the building. That does not count the extra details like supply closets, nursing stations, nourishment rooms, EMR etc. 

With all this being said, stop people and ask questions. They would rather you ask first so they can quickly show you rather than have to follow behind to fix mistakes you made because you did not ask.  

EFFICIENCY STANDARDS

Because you are a travel therapist, you are costing the facility more than if they hired a full time, permanent therapist. With this being said, you are held to a higher standard than a permanent therapist. You have higher efficiency (productivity) standards than the rest of your team might have. This also varies according to the DOR/ facility, but it is pretty well known across the board. In fact, your contract might have an efficiency standard written in the document that was set by the facility. 

TIME OFF

This is solely based on the contract company you work for whether you get PTO and holidays. The first company I worked for provided holidays off (and holiday pay if you decided to work on that holiday) and PTO based off of accrued time. However, the current company I work for does not offer PTO and holidays. If you take a day off, you simply do not get paid for that day. Again, this may vary with different contract companies.

BEING AWAY FROM HOME/ FAMILY

One of the hardest parts about travel therapy for us, is being away from our family during the assignments. We both value our families so much. So, it can be hard being away from them for a set amount of time. It is even more hard when you are first arriving to your new city not knowing anyone!

Also, so much happens, changes, and grows in the amount of time you are away that you will be missing. For our first assignment, I missed the last 3 months of my grandfather’s life. We also missed the birth of our nephew and niece. We have also missed being there for a lot of their milestones like their first birthdays.

Even though these moments are hard, they make the times we are back home and with family so much more special. Thankfully, our families have also come to our locations to visit for vacations. That always helps us with homesickness and breaking up the assignment length.

What are the Pros? 

Now that we know the ‘bad’ side of travel therapy, let’s dive into the good! The good always outweighs the bad 🙂 

GROWTH

This is the biggest pro to travel therapy. No matter if you go to a dream location and facility or if you are in an unpleasant setting, you will grow. Every 13 weeks, you are in a new location, starting in a new setting, meeting new co- workers, interacting with new clients, learning a new routine, adapting to new methods, and emerging yourself in a new community. You will find growth in yourself.

You will be forced to learn how to quickly adapt, go with the flow, and how to advocate for yourself.

You will also grow in your career and profession. You will be forced to learn how to advocate for your clients and profession, quickly make decisions for your patients, modify tasks and activities based on diverse patient needs, research new methods for diverse medically complex cases, how to collaborate with other professionals, etc. 

Being completely transparent again, the beginning can be so tough when you first start your assignment. I question everything those first few day! But it gets easier. You come out stronger. You GROW!!

MEETING NEW PEOPLE

One of the many perks to travel therapy is the amazing people you will meet along the way! The team you work with will quickly become your family. Stick together and work together! You will continue your relationship with them long after your leave and are completing more travel therapy assignments.

You will also meet great patients and clients that you will never forget. They will be the reason you stay after that first day. They need YOU! So show up and be the best version of yourself for them.

Depending on what type of personality you have, immersing yourself in a new community can either be exciting or frightening. To me, it is always frightening. However, I always meet wonderful people that make being away from home not so bad. We have found our great friends in the community through church, events, and of course co- workers. It is always a benefit to make and have connections nationwide!  

SEEING NEW PLACES

The main reason Devin and I decided to start travel therapy was because of the opportunity it gave us to see America! We love to travel, hike, paddleboard, mountain bike, and experience God’s beautiful creation! Travel can be expensive. And if you take PTO at your regular job, you only have the amount of days you took off to explore the area you are traveling to. However, with travel therapy, you have at least 13 weeks to explore the area! This is the best way to get paid to see America. 

Our first travel therapy assignment was in Utah. Oh my goodness, I have NEVER experienced anything like Utah. Everywhere you go, there is beauty beyond description surrounding you. We road tripped to Utah from our home state of TN and was able to spend a few days in Colorado and Moab before adventuring in to where we would be living in Utah. Utah has different scenery only a few hours apart. You will see snow peaked mountains, deserts, and rolling green hills all within the same state! 

Our next 2 travel assignments were both in Florida. The first was Pensacola and the second in Naples. Pensacola was not really what we were envisioning with Florida. We went in winter with hopes that it would be warm… but it was not :(. So for our next assignment, we made sure we moved further south of Florida to get the warm sun. And that is exactly what Naples, Florida provided. There is constant sunshine and warm weather!! The area is very nice and the people are very sweet. The beaches are also beautiful! 

We are currently in Northwest Montana and we are absolutely amazed everyday at God’s creation. If you have never been to Montana, I would HIGHLY suggest you plan a trip to Glacier National Park. The views will amaze you!

PAY

Like stated before, if you know anything about travel therapy, you have probably heard it pays well. It definitely pays much better than what my regular job at an outpatient clinic was paying! You will fall in love with the pay that comes with the other benefits of travel therapy! 

Other Tips?

The last set of tips I would give you for travel therapy all revolve around money 🙂 You will learn you have to advocate for yourself in this job.

Be bold and brave because the worst anyone can say is ‘no’ to your requests.

Ask for a high number of guaranteed hours:

When you read over your contract, check the guaranteed hours. Guaranteed hours are what the facility is required to pay for even if you do not actually work these hours. Now, keep in mind that this is for days that you actually work. So, if your guaranteed hours are 36 hours for 5 days/ week and you only work 3 days that week, you cannot receive the pay of guaranteed 36 hours. This is mainly used in medical settings that do not have set ‘office’ hours like outpatient clinics and schools do.

In SNF’s and other medical settings, you can pretty much make your own hours as long as you serve your scheduled caseload for the day. With one contract, I had 36 as my guaranteed hours but rarely even met the 36 hour mark. My caseload and the SNFs the bed count was very low at that time. I would only clock in ~30-34 hours but get paid for 36 because the facility agreed to 36 hours being my guaranteed. 

With all this being said, use the guaranteed hours to your advantage. Negotiate and push for a high guaranteed hours amount! This will cover yourself and ensure you are getting paid well. 

NEGOTIATE

To piggyback off of what I mentioned above, always negotiate if you are not happy with something in the contract. Again, the worst they can say is ‘no’. And they will probably find a way to say ‘no’. Find a way to counter offer their ‘no’.

They are probably expecting a negotiation anyway. Also, your recruiter is not the one setting your stipends, hourly rate, etc. but they are your mediator. That always helps me not feel as intimidated when I negotiate with my recruiter. 

ASK FOR REIMBURSEMENTS

You will figure out quickly that there will be a lot of things you will have to pay for on the front end before starting your contract. This includes state licensures, physical exams, drug screening, TB skin tests, fingerprinting, etc. It all adds up very fast. Make sure you keep a receipt from every transaction you complete for the contract. I immediately send all my receipts to my recruiter for reimbursement. Thankfully, I have had great success with this as my recruiter always reimburses anything I need to pay for that is required by the company before starting my assignment. 

REFERRAL BONUS

If you refer someone to sign a contract with your contract company, you will receive a referral bonus once they begin their assignment! This is so nice and an extra incentive to being a travel therapist. I was able to receive a referral bonus from my husband signing a contract with the company we currently work for.

Should I do it? 

YES!

Like most things in life, if you do not like it, at least your tried! The great thing about travel therapy is, it is not permanent. You just have to make it through 13 weeks which equals out to about 3 months. You can do anything for that amount of time! Then, if you try it and do not like it, you can always decide to not sign a new contract! 

I believe you will LOVE it though! Once you get the thrill of experiencing beautiful landmarks, meeting new and amazing people, and seeing yourself GROW in so many ways, you will want to continue signing contracts for new assignments 🙂