Most Recent Travel Therapy Jobs

Travel Physical Therapist

Company: multiple
City: multiple
State: multiple
  Apply Now!

Travel Occupational Therapist

Company: multiple
City: multiple
State: multiple
  Apply Now!

Travel Speech Therapist

Company: multiple
City: multiple
State: multiple
  Apply Now!
Please enter the code below: Captcha

Posts Tagged ‘travel rehab’

Early Physical Therapy Helps ICU Patients

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

By Christine Whitmarsh, RN, BSN

Physical therapists are needed across a range of specialty areas and departments in hospitals. Intensive care units (ICU’s) are one of the places where PT’s and traveling physical therapists on physical therapy travel job assignment are needed the most. Research and studies are now showing the benefit of early physical therapy in the rehabilitation of critically ill patients in the ICU.

A University of Chicago study showed that patients who underwent physical and occupational regimens of exercise and mobilization within 72 hours of being placed on a ventilator, experienced improved levels of independent function by time they were discharged from the hospital. Patients receiving physical therapy interventions also experienced more days off of ventilators. ICU patients frequently experience long term complications after surviving a life threatening illness, such as weakness and neuropsychiatric diseases. Rehabilitation therapy interventions can help prevent these complications. The interventions in the study included passive range of motion exercises in the extremities of unresponsive patients and in alert patients, assisted range of motion exercises while still in bed. The physical and occupational therapy interventions then progressed to sitting up in bed and performing balance activities, activities of daily living, sitting and standing transfers and eventually ambulation.

The study revealed that there are benefits to incorporating physical and occupational therapy in the treatment of ICU patients. Therapy interventions help to reorient patients who have been sedated on a ventilator. Assisting patients to ambulate early in the ICU led to a decrease in muscle atrophy and an increase in independent function. Traveling physical therapists and travel occupational therapy job seekers with an interest in assisting ICU patients should contact a travel recruiter today to check on the availability of assignments in this area.

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.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Allied Travel Jobs, Occupational Therapy, PT Blogs, Physical Therapy | No Comments »

Trends in Long Term Facility Rehab Programs

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

By Christine Whitmarsh, RN, BSN

As the population ages and requires more complex rehabilitation therapy, the services offered by long term care facilities are moving forward with the times. For example, the roles of physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists and their travel therapy counterparts are expanding in nursing homes and other extended care facilities. Rehab therapists in these facilities no longer only care for the long term needs of permanent residents. Skilled nursing facilities also offer transitional therapies for residents that often reside there for thirty days or less. Many patients recovering from stroke, head trauma or other serious conditions are now recovering in long term care facilities. This creates another dimension of patient care for the physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists who work in these facilities.

Rehab therapists working in skilled nursing facilities are also seeing their job descriptions expand. In addition to putting their patients through the paces of conventional therapy programs, all areas of therapy are discovering positive therapeutic outcomes in many new areas of treatment. Some of these areas include alternative medicine (or what was once considered “alternative”) such as pilates, yoga, and tai chi (popular especially in the elderly population). Other treatment areas fall under the category of technology like Nintendo Wii, virtual reality that mimics a patient’s home and computer cognitive training programs.

In addition to adding value to the way they treat patients, therapists and their colleagues at these facilities are also taking advantage of advances in technology to make their own jobs more efficient. Electronic documentation, web based case management software and robotic machines that assist with patient transfers, ensuring the health and safety of staff, are also results of technological advancements. As the advancement of trends in long term care facilities mirrors the demand for new traveling therapists, the need for travel physical therapists, traveling occupational therapists and travel speech therapists is expected to continue rising.

* April 2009, McKnight’s Long Term Care News

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.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Allied Travel Jobs, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Speech/Language Pathology | No Comments »

Fun Forms of Physical Therapy

Thursday, June 4th, 2009

By Christine Whitmarsh, RN, BSN

Floating in the pool, going for a horse ride or walking a dog may not exactly sound like the most formal methods of physical therapy and occupational therapy.  However, when proven therapy techniques and the skill of a rehab therapist are combined with these activities, they become aquatic physical therapy, equestrian therapy (or therapeutic riding) and pet therapy. Attention therapists, traveling physical therapists and travel occupational therapists looking for a fresh way to apply your skills and expertise: One or more of these practice areas may be for you.

Aquatic Physical Therapy
The basic premise is physical therapy with conventional physical therapy goals, carried out in an aquatic environment. A water environment such as a swimming pool offers properties such as natural buoyancy and resistance that would require special equipment to achieve on dry land. Physical therapy in water benefits a variety of conditions including musculoskeletal, neuromuscular, cardiovascular and more in all ages of patients.

Pet Therapy
Specially trained animals are used many different ways in therapeutic patient interventions. Overall, it has been proven the petting an animal releases endorphins, the calming, miracle chemical produced by the human body. From a therapy standpoint, this helps physical therapists with rehabilitating patients who would rather not go for their daily walk around the nurse’s station. Therapists have found that stubborn patients have a much harder time saying no to a dog than to them. Nothing against the therapists I’m sure.

Equestrian Therapy
Occupational therapists and physical therapists are a key component of equestrian therapy, also called “therapeutic riding.”  This form of therapy, carried out at special rehabilitation centers with specifically selected and trained horses, has been proven very therapeutic in patients with brain or spinal cord injuries as well as developmental disorders such as cerebral palsy. The motions of riding a horse imitate the same physical movements involved in walking and therefore can retrain the muscles of the trunk and upper body to move this way.

Music therapy has also been known to help special needs children improve their memory attention and motor abilities.

Therapists with a taste for learning something new and an urge to break free from hospital settings, even if just on a part time basis, may find a whole new set of learning experiences in these cutting edge forms of treatment by beginning a career as a traveling physical therapist.

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.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Allied Travel Jobs, OT Travel, Occupational Therapy, PT Blogs, Physical Therapy | No Comments »

Early Exposure to Therapy Can Detect Development Disabilities

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009

By Christine Whitmarsh, RN, BSN

In most U.S. schools, budgets are strained and educators are looking for creative solutions to juggle all the responsibilities on their already crowded plates. Therefore, identifying potential developmental disorders and learning disabilities in children may unfortunately fall through the cracks. This is where physical therapists and occupational therapists and especially speech language pathologists working even part time in schools, can play a critical role in spotting disabilities and positively affecting a child’s future.

Common early childhood developmental disorders include cerebral palsy, hearing loss, mental retardation, vision impairment and the autism spectrum disorders. Funding for autism care is a hot button issue among educators, parents, primary care providers and rehab therapists now. Travel speech therapists and traveling speech language pathologists may soon see the benefits, in the form of increased assignments, from autism treatment funding legislation.  Eight states – Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Texas - have currently passed some form of the bill. Twenty-four additional states have introduced similar bills.

Therapists and traveling rehabilitation therapists working in schools have the experience and knowledge to see things in children that teachers and parents may not immediately pick up on.  Early detection may lessen the severity or slow the progress of developmental disabilities or learning disorders so it is well worth the therapist’s time to conduct thorough assessments and screenings. Traveling therapists in all three disciplines – speech therapy, physical therapy and occupational therapy – are greatly needed in all areas of the country.  Fill out the quick application on our “Apply Now” page to find a traveling therapy agency that best suits your needs and goals.

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.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Allied Travel Jobs, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Speech/Language Pathology | No Comments »

More Wounded War Vets Means More Rehabilitation Needs

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

By Christine Whitmarsh

America’s courageous fighting men and women confront a variety of physical and occupational rehabilitation needs upon their return home. With wars being fought in many locations around the world, in addition to the daily dangers faced by our soldiers protecting several other international outposts, the number and severity of injuries are veterans are coming home with require comprehensive medical care.

Occupational and physical therapists play a critical role in caring for and rehabilitating our wounded veterans. Very often, injuries sustained in battle result in a drastic change in the quality of life for the returning vet. In those cases, the role of the rehabilitation therapist is to help the individual reintegrate back into their life as best as possible and with the best new quality of life possible. Another physical and occupational therapy need of recovering soldiers is learning to use prosthetic devices in cases of amputation.

In some ways, the job description of a physical or occupational therapist working with military patients hardly differs from the work they do with civilian patients. Military.com reports that back pain, whether chronic or from acute battle injuries, is a common reason soldiers are treated by physical therapists. These rehabilitation focused members of the medical team are a valuable addition to the military. Many physical therapists travel to the places where soldiers need them the most, whether in domestic clinical settings like Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C. or international posts. As long as our soldiers are risking life and limb to defend America, traveling physical therapists and travel occupational therapists will be an integral part of transition back to civilian life.

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.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Allied Travel Jobs, Occupational Therapy | 1 Comment »