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Posts from the ‘Travel Therapy’ Category

Apr 18

De-stress During OT Month

Relaxed_LOccupational therapists help individuals in all life stages by playing a vital role in the outcome of their care and recovery. Through occupational engagement, these healthcare professionals promote the health and wellness of those who are affected by injury, illness, or disease.

Like many healthcare careers, an occupational therapist can at times find themselves in a fast-paced and changeable environment. The same applies to those who hold positions as travel therapists. An Occupational Therapist (OT) who is a traveler can experience the same high demands as those who are working in a permanent setting, but may not have a local emotional support structure to help them weather the storm.

If you or a loved one is a traveling OT, then you know firsthand how important it is to take time for yourself to de-stress during those difficult days that keep you on the run. As April is National Occupational Therapy Month, make it a point to sit-back, relax, and spend a little extra time focusing on yourself.  Here are a few simple techniques that can help you de-stress.  Read More

Apr 1

It’s National Occupational Therapy Month!

OT-360_LWelcome to National Occupational Therapy Month, an annual celebration during the month of April that brings awareness to the benefits and importance of occupational therapy. We would like to thank the occupational therapists and certified occupational therapy assistants who directly affect the lives of their patients and are such an important part of our business. At 360 Healthcare Staffing we could not do our jobs without the willingness and dedication of traveling occupational, physical, and speech therapists.

Occupational therapists are a valuable part of the patient care team. These healthcare professionals help individuals recover quickly from injury or illness through therapeutic activities. They also educate patients with disabilities on the ways to safely perform day-to-day tasks. By motivating patients to achieve personal goals, occupational therapists help individuals live independently and comfortably through all stages of life. Occupational therapists are trained in several areas of patient care including but not limited to educational settings, mental health settings, acute care, and skilled nursing facilities.

Travel therapists keep healthcare settings across the nation staffed with professionals that directly impact patient care and recovery. Travel therapy is a key factor for the success of many healthcare facilities. This form of employment ensures that hospitals, clinics, and skilled nursing facilities retain the correct number of staff to sufficiently evaluate all patients. When a hospital patient load suddenly increases, it is appropriate for that facility to hire on a temporary basis, as the number of patients could decrease just as quickly. Read More

Aug 6

Wisconsin travel therapy jobs hit the spot

For the adventurous travel therapist, a 13-week assignment in Wisconsin offers a state full of varied and interesting sites. From romantic cabins with cliff-side seclusion to sandy beaches to urban hot spots with exciting nightlife, Wisconsin offers a full range of fun activities and beautiful scenery, to boot.

Physical therapists, physical therapy assistants and speech-language pathologists are high-demand positions in Wisconsin right now. Three of the hottest areas for these jobs are Marshfield, Richland Center and Niagara. These opportunities include completion bonuses, sometimes up to $5,000, and many 360 Healthcare Staffing employees enjoy their Wisconsin experience so much that they “re-book” and stay for two or three more rotations.

360 Healthcare Staffing also offers temporary-to-permanent placements in Wisconsin, giving each employee an opportunity to “try out” a location before committing to a permanent placement.

So let’s take a closer look at this state and what makes it great.

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Aug 1

Ten ways to manage stress as a travel therapist

For physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists, helping others is a way of life. Day in and day out, these professionals provide compassionate, quality care with dozens of patients on a one-on-one basis. But caring for others can make them vulnerable to depletion, stress and fatigue. So how do these helpers help themselves?

Learning to manage the pressure is key because if they don’t keep themselves strong and in balance, they are not able to be there others. In fact, if therapists are stressed and don’t have a good outlet for that stress, they can potentially put their patients at risk. This is because people are more error-prone when they’re stressed, burned out, fatigued or ill.

Here are ten sure-fire ways to cope effectively with stress:

1. Exercise. This earns a top spot on the list because it’s such a powerful tool for reducing stress and increasing a sense of well-being. Study after study points out this fact. And you don’t have to run a marathon to reap the benefits—moderate, regular exercise is sufficient, from walking and yoga to gardening and swimming.

2. Keep a gratitude journal. Counting life’s blessings is an ancient practice. Almost 2,000 years ago, Roman poet Ovid said, “Thanks are justly due for boons unbought.” So buy yourself a small journal at your local bookstore, put it in your purse or bag and start keeping track of the wonderful things in your life. Do it every day and don’t repeat yourself. You’ll discover all manner of big and small things that make your heart grateful. Plus, this journal is a comfort when you’re feeling down—it’s a reminder that even in tough times, you are luckier than you think.

3. Identify stressors. The same things don’t stress everybody out. So know your stressors, acknowledge those triggers and develop a plan to deal with them. Some events are out of your control and require acceptance. Others respond to action.

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Jul 25

The Golden State offers golden opportunities for travel therapists

For occupational therapists and physical therapists, travel therapy in California is an exciting proposition. These are hot positions in high demand, particularly in the Fresno, Merced, Madera, Sanger, Bakersfield and Shafter areas, fantastic locations between Los Angeles and the Bay area.

These locations often offer completion bonuses, sometimes up to $15,000, after a 13-week assignment. Pay is quite competitive, and at 360 Healthcare Staffing, we also offer temporary-to-permanent placements in California. Essentially, it is a 13-week “try out” for an assignment before committing to a permanent position.

Here’s more about these cities with positions in high demand:

Fresno: This is the largest metropolitan city in Central California’s San Joaquin Valley with half a million people, and Fresno County is the top agricultural producer in the nation. The area has gorgeous weather year-round and, like the other cities listed here, easy access to Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon national parks.

From the Fresno Art Museum to the Philharmonic, the arts calendar is full. The city attracts world-renown headline entertainers from Andrea Bocelli to Bon Jovi. And, it’s pedestrian-friendly: A 2011 study by Walk Score ranked Fresno the 26th most walkable of the fifty largest U.S. cities.

Merced: With more than 80,000 people, Merced is located in the Central Valley of California, about 110 miles southeast of San Francisco and 310 miles northwest of Los Angeles. The city offers a wide variety of attractions, historical sites, shopping and dining opportunities for the traveling therapist. The city is particularly proud of its arts and culture, from galleries at their Multicultural Center to live performances at Playhouse Merced. Be sure to check out the Big Valley Arts & Culture Festival, Central Valley Blues Festival and MERCO Cycling Classic.

Madera: Also located in the picturesque San Joaquin Valley, Madera has more than 61,000 residents and draws visitors from around the world. The area has a colorful history and heritage reflected in events like the Sierra Arts Trail, Coarsegold Peddlers Fair, Indian Fair Days and Madera Wine Trail Weekends.

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Jul 6

Feedback from travel therapists essential for improved experiences

When you accept a travel therapy position with 360 Healthcare Staffing, we value your experience and feedback. Throughout your assignment, we will stay in regular contact with you to assist with your transition and gauge any needs you may have in your new position. This blog reviews the information we request from you and how we use it to better your travel experience with 360.

Your feedback helps 360 when you tell us:

• How can we help make travel experience better

• Specific types of situations that were positive and negative on assignment

• Feedback for the 360 internal staff on our performance

• What you would like to be different on your next assignment

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Jun 20

Sunshine and fun: travel therapy in Florida

For occupational and physical therapists interested in fun in the sun, Florida is hot, hot, hot. The Sunshine State is one of only nine U.S. states that doesn’t charge a state income tax, and it has the longest coastline in the contiguous United States, about 1,350 miles of sandy beaches and sunshine. Sounds like paradise for your occupational therapy or physical therapy practice.

From the whooping crane to the West Indian manatee, Florida offers exciting wildlife, too. Florida is the fourth most populous and the eighth most densely populated of the 50 states. The state capital is Tallahassee, the largest city is Jacksonville and the Miami metropolitan area is the largest metropolitan area in the southeastern U.S.

See all of this during a 13-week assignment in one of our in-demand areas. These include:

  • Fort Myers
  • Tampa Bay: including all of Pinellas and Hillsborough counties
  • Sarasota/Bradenton/Venice
  • Springhill/Brooksville
  • Central Florida: especially Winter Haven, Eustis and Titusville

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May 11

Be proactive when it comes to your licenses

When you’re an on-the-go travel therapist, staying on top of your licensure is an important task. Interim jobs have quick starts, most inside of a week, and having your license in place is critical. But some licenses take up to four weeks to be activated. So what’s the smart job hunter to do? Be proactive and begin the licensing procedure while you’re still on assignment at your current job. And remember, 360 Healthcare Staffing will reimburse the licensure cost, even if your license is not used immediately after it is received.

As a speech-language pathologist, occupational therapist, or physical therapist, your licensure is state-by-state. Talk to a 360 Healthcare Staffing recruiter about which states have the most opportunities and where you might want to work in the future.

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Apr 2

Top five reasons we appreciate occupational therapists

It’s Occupational Therapy Month in April and we want to say “thank you” to all of our occupational therapists who travel with us and bring their expertise to facilities around the United States.

Here are the top five reasons we appreciate occupational therapists and the work they do.

1. They help patients of all kinds live a better life.

Occupational therapy’s holistic and customized approach to evaluations, interventions and outcomes help in so many ways: people with disabilities become able to participate in social situations; a person recovering from an injury regains skills; older adults stay as independent as possible; and people of all ages and in all circumstances can get specialized support and services that only these professionals can provide.

2. The whole goal and concept of the profession is to help patients be more capable, independent and fulfilled.

Occupational therapists are part of a vitally important profession that helps people of all ages participate in the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of everyday activities.

3. Occupational therapists make valuable contributions in helping people master “skills for the job of living” after an illness or injury.

Occupational therapists are experts at understanding the interrelationships among the physical, psychological and social aspects of illness, injury and aging. For this reason, they are often the ones we call on after an injury or illness to help us regain any lost function.

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Mar 27

Conferences offer chance for learning, fun for travel therapists

The excitement is building and the opportunity to learn and develop skills and relationships has arrived. Are you ready to take advantage of the educational sessions, tour the expos and network with your peers at conferences this year?

For allied health professionals – such as speech, physical and occupational therapists - these professional development events offer unique opportunities to expand knowledge, meet new people, and learn about the latest advances in the field.

Additionally, attending a professional conference provides traveling therapists with a chance to step back and reflect on their work and look at the big picture. It can be a much-needed holiday from day-to-day activities and routine.

Finally, these conferences offer therapists the chance to network, network, network! One of the greatest benefits of conference attendance is simply meeting other folks in the field and sharing stories, information, and wisdom.

So get out your calendar and mark these “must attend” conferences.

Occupational therapists and assistants

The American Occupational Therapy Association Annual Conference & Expo, April 26-29, 2012, in Indianapolis, Ind. http://www.aota.org/conference

Why you should attend: This conference offers advanced-level learning in topic-focused pre-conference institutes and seminars. It’s one-stop CE learning with more than 700 sessions and up to 24 contact hours. There’s an exciting opening night at the welcome ceremony and expo reception and attendees will get insight and energy boost from Florence Clark’s presidential address. This is also home to popular special events and wonderful networking opportunities.

Physical therapists and assistants

American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) hosts three distinct national conferences each year.

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