By Christine Whitmarsh, RN, BSN

If you love being a rehab therapist, whether in physical or occupational therapy or speech language pathology, but working in a hospital or other traditional clinical setting is not for you, consider the more intimate atmosphere of a career or a travel therapy career in home health. There are a variety of reasons for the growing number of patients requiring rehabilitation therapy at home, from the aging population of America and their complex medical needs to insurance limitations on inpatient and therefore in-house therapy time.

Home health rehabilitation therapy assignments may include helping the stroke patient restore function and ability, providing range of motion and flexibility exercises for hospice or bed bound patients or speech therapy for children with disabilities such as Autism.  Working with patients in the familiarity and comfort of their own home may also increase patient compliance with the treatment objectives. Another perk is ensuring that at the very least, your patient will show up for treatment.

Fast Facts*:

• Average Home Health Physical Therapist Salary: $54,000
• Average Home Health Occupational Therapist Salary: $53,000
• Average Home Health Speech Language Pathologist salary: $59,000

A travel physical therapist, travel  occupational therapist or travel speech language pathologist working in home health will see several patients in the course of their 6-8 hour work day. With an expanding population of patients requiring home health rehabilitation services, there is a growing demand for rehabilitation therapists, including those in travel careers. Recruiters are accepting applications from both new and experienced physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech language pathologists who prefer working with patients in the privacy and comfort of their own home. If this is you, be sure and visit our “apply now” page and get matched with a travel agency that best fits your needs.

*Simplyhired.com; salaries vary based on therapist experience and location of assignment.

Christine Whitmarsh is a Registered Nurse with a BSN from the University of Rhode Island. She is a freelance health journalist and medical writer and a contributor to Travel Nurse Source and Allied Travel Careers.

By Christine Whitmarsh, RN, BSN

While it’s true that the majority of career opportunities for occupational therapists and travel occupational therapists lie in hospital settings, there are also a variety of opportunities in community based rehab therapy. Occupational therapists with a desire to take their passion for helping people and serving the community to the next level will find many enticing options in this area of healthcare. Those pursuing careers in travel occupational therapy expand their options even further, with the opportunity to serve a variety of different communities around the country.

Opportunities to explore in community centered occupational therapy exist in the school or other education settings, at homeless shelters, at daycare centers, in the area of health promotion as a community educator, and in the workplace where a role as teacher and advocate is key in preventing workplace injuries. Although salaries vary depending on the setting, employer and experience level of the occupational therapist, one of the main draws of the community setting is fulfilling the universal desire of healthcare providers to help and serve those who need it the most.

A traveling occupational therapist on a community based assignment has the opportunity to experience and gain knowledge from working with a variety of patient demographics in all sizes of rural towns to big cities. Every patient population has its own set of unique rehab therapy needs and the town or city that surrounds them often plays a major factor in determining those needs. A travel occupational therapist in Florida for instance, may work with a great number of patients recovering from strokes, simply because of the older age demographic in that state.

• If you are an occupational therapist (new or experienced) with a strong desire to be involved in community health, then a career in travel occupational therapy may be an ideal solution that allows you to serve patients in many different communities across the country.

Christine Whitmarsh is a Registered Nurse with a BSN from the University of Rhode Island. She is a freelance health journalist and medical writer and a contributor to Travel Nurse Source and Allied Travel Careers.

By Christine Whitmarsh, RN, BSN

Speech therapists and occupational therapists in Utah (and traveling therapists in these professions) could start seeing the benefits of legislation meant to help in the treatment of autistic children, by July 2010. Utah Senator Howard Stephenson co-sponsored the bill, called Clay’s Law for a Utah boy who no longer suffers from autism following two years of intensive rehabilitation therapy. The bill dictates that private health insurance companies cover the diagnosis and treatment of all disorders within the autism spectrum and specifically to patients under 17 years old. Clay’s Law, if passed, will specifically cover rehabilitation therapy for autism patients, including occupational therapy and speech therapy along with behavior therapy, pharmaceuticals and psychological care.

Eight other U.S. states currently have similar legislation in place to assist families of patients with autism fund the often expensive care required, by some estimates up to $45,000 per year. 28 other states are also working on such legislation, including most recently Virginia and Missouri.

If legislation similar to Clay’s Laws is passed in these states and spreads around the country, it could create new career opportunities for speech therapists, occupational therapists, travel speech language pathologists and those working in travel occupational therapy careers.  Autism and its related spectrum of disorders require intensive rehabilitation therapy, frequently occurring in the school environment. With additional funding made available to patients and their families, there will be an increased need for speech therapists and occupational therapist to fill these very important roles in improving the quality of life for children with autism.

Christine Whitmarsh is a Registered Nurse with a BSN from the University of Rhode Island. She is a freelance health journalist and medical writer and a contributor to Travel Nurse Source and Allied Travel Careers.

By Christine Whitmarsh, RN, BSN

(Blogger disclaimer: this information is intended to report a trend in rehabilitation therapy and does not constitute a product endorsement of any kind).

Traveling physical therapists and traveling occupational therapists may have noticed a new type of rehabilitation system called the Primus RS during the course of their travel assignments. The Primus is a computer-based piece of therapy equipment that produces 3D images to chart the performance of physical therapy, athletic training and exercise therapy patients. The system can replicate daily personal and work related functional activities, has testing and treatment capabilities, and allows the rehabilitation therapist to customize their patient’s treatment regimen. Hospitals, nursing homes and other rehabilitation therapy settings across the country are reportedly installing the Primus to keep pace with the rapid progress of rehabilitation therapy and remain competitive with other facilities and programs.

Travel therapists ultimately benefit from this type of healthy competition, enjoying the perks of using the latest and greatest in rehabilitation technology with their patients. Equipment in all areas of medicine is going digital, becoming increasingly fine tuned, multi-functional and providing instant feedback for the therapist and patient. Computer driven systems like the Primus allow rehab therapists to chart patients progress, monitor results in real time and share data with the rest of the patient care team including the physician. As medical technology advances, physical and occupational therapists could potentially see better patient therapy outcomes than ever before.

Traveling therapists: Have you encountered the Primus RS or similarly cutting edge rehabilitation equipment? Share your experiences with technological advances in your field that excite you the most.

Christine Whitmarsh is a Registered Nurse with a BSN from the University of Rhode Island. She is a freelance health journalist and medical writer and a contributor to Travel Nurse Source and Allied Travel Careers.

By Christine Whitmarsh RN, BSN

Employment opportunities for traveling occupational therapists, a career with an extremely positive career outlook, are projected to increase by 23 percent by 2016. This is a much faster increase than average compared to other occupations charted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Similar to other rehabilitation professions such as physical therapy and speech language pathology, one of the greatest attractions of a career in occupational therapy is the flexibility of working environment. Because of the occupational therapist’s broad-based role in assisting individuals of all ages and from all walks of life, restore a maximum level of health and independent living skills, their skills are required in a variety of clinical settings. Here are some examples of career opportunities for occupational therapists, and for those with a taste for travel and new experiences, traveling occupational therapists.

Similar to physical therapists, the services of occupational therapists are very much in demand in settings such as hospitals, schools, doctor’s offices, private occupational therapy practices, home health care, and long term care facilities such as nursing homes. In my previous blog addressing work settings for physical therapists, I elaborated more on these settings.

Occupational therapists are also utilized in these settings.

Mental Health Facilities: In this setting, the OT coordinates case management and cares for inpatients and outpatients, while also working with vocations such as recreation therapists and other rehabilitation therapists with similar therapeutic objectives.

Job Training Centers: Occupational therapists are trained to help individuals, especially those with disabilities, improve essential job skills such as decision-making, reasoning, problem-solving, memory, and coordination. They can also teach individuals with disabilities to use special adaptive equipment needed at work and in some cases help to design this equipment.

Community Centers and Adult Day Care Programs: Occupational therapists play an important role in achieving the benefits of these programs, such as improving mental and physical health for the elderly participants, increasing or maintaining participants’ level of independence, and leading mental stimulation and exercise programs.

If you’re having trouble deciding on just one work environment, it is worth noting that 1 in 10 occupational therapists hold jobs in multiple work settings. As a travel occupational therapist, that flexibility increases as the number and variety of assignments increases.

Christine Whitmarsh is a Registered Nurse with a BSN from the University of Rhode Island. She is a freelance health journalist and medical writer and a contributor to Travel Nurse Source and Allied Travel Careers.