By Christine Whitmarsh, RN, BSN

The demand for healthcare providers including speech-language pathologists is not confined to hospitals and clinical settings. SLPs and traveling speech therapists are also needed by elementary and secondary schools. Public school systems are no strangers to employee shortages with the less than abundant supply of teachers (and quality teachers at that) threatening the integrity of a solid education. Similar to teaching, an innate love of the job is a requirement to be a speech-language pathologist or traveling speech-language pathologist on assignment at a school. SLPs working in hospitals and other skilled nursing settings earn an average of $80,000 while those working in schools take in around $53,000.

For speech therapists who love working with children and understand the value of dramatically impacting a child’s future, a school assignment may be a perfect match of passion and paycheck. Speech language pathologists working in the school help children with a variety of communication impediments including stuttering and enunciating of certain sounds or words. They also help to diagnose as early as possible and treat students who experience learning disabilities, hearing loss and developmental disorders such as autism. The steadily rising reported incidences of autism are creating a significant need for speech language pathologists in schools across the country. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a quickly increasing demand for SLPs in the schools to identify and diagnose speech and language disorders as early as possible in a child’s life, to improve their prognosis. If you are either a new or experienced speech language pathologist and are interested in helping children in a school setting, talk to your travel agency allied recruiter about possible assignments in one of the many schools across the country that need your services.

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

Physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists who take advantage of stimulating travel therapy assignments to exciting destinations, also experience many opportunities to give back to the communities they visit. Rehab therapists regularly accept assignments working in all-sized communities from the most bustling cities to the most rural town settings. Travel therapists can act as an objective set of eyes and ears as well as an educational resource for the people of the community.

True to its name, World Autism Day, marked earlier this month on April 2nd raises worldwide awareness about the prevalence of Autism and its associated spectrum of disorders. Travel rehab therapists work with children who suffer from autism on a regular basis and therefore are in a unique position to raise awareness year round. There is a proven special need for raising autism awareness in smaller communities. Without the proper medical guidance and availability of public health information, the behavioral, speech and physical symptoms of autism are often misconstrued as a shy or misbehaving child. The travel therapist is in the valuable position to separate fact from myth and connect the child with the help they need to improve their prognosis and quality of life.

Every travel assignment taken on by a physical therapist, occupational therapist and speech therapist comes with its own distinctive set of challenges as well as caregiving opportunities. The power to educate members of a smaller town or community is the power to improve the lives of the residents in it.

Physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists who take advantage of stimulating travel therapy assignments to exciting destinations, also experience many opportunities to give back to the communities they visit. Rehab therapists regularly accept assignments working in all-sized communities from the most bustling cities to the most rural town settings. Travel therapists can act as an objective set of eyes and ears as well as an educational resource for the people of the community.

True to its name, World Autism Day, marked earlier this month on April 2nd raises worldwide awareness about the prevalence of Autism and its associated spectrum of disorders. Travel rehab therapists work with children who suffer from autism on a regular basis and therefore are in a unique position to raise awareness year round. There is a proven special need for raising autism awareness in smaller communities. Without the proper medical guidance and availability of public health information, the behavioral, speech and physical symptoms of autism are often misconstrued as a shy or misbehaving child. The travel therapist is in the valuable position to separate fact from myth and connect the child with the help they need to improve their prognosis and quality of life.

Every travel assignment taken on by a physical therapist, occupational therapist and speech therapist comes with its own distinctive set of challenges as well as caregiving opportunities. The power to educate members of a smaller town or community is the power to improve the lives of the residents in it.

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

The demand for traveling rehabilitation therapists – in physical, occupational and speech therapy – has not been even remotely hampered by these challenging economic times. Travel professionals in these fields have more career choices than ever. Healthcare providers in these vital and rewarding fields have earned opportunities through extensive education, dedication to their patients and a commitment to gaining continuous experience rehabilitation patients and improving their quality of life. Therefore, rehabilitation therapists might enjoy considering passing along some of their knowledge and passion for their profession, to the next generation.

Whether they choose to personally mentor a physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech language pathology assistant or student in training or participate in a high school career day, acting as a professional role model for aspiring therapists can be a mutually rewarding endeavor. For the traveling rehabilitation therapist, mentoring can be an excellent way to pass the time between assignments while investing in the physical, occupational or speech therapy profession and giving back.

Volunteer Ideas:

• Contact your local school system and get their schedule of upcoming career day events; volunteer to participate!

• Contact the Career Services department of local colleges and universities and do the same. I can attest from personal experience that folks at Career services love to involve professionals from the community in fun career oriented student outreach events!

• Look up any local job skill training and development programs and do the same

• Contact any physical therapy, occupational therapy or speech therapy schools in your area and volunteer your services as an in class guest speaker (as needed of course)

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, MD, BSN

Considering a career as a speech therapist (or as its officially titled, speech-language pathologist) or as a traveling speech therapist in these areas?  The opportunities for professionals, new graduates, and experienced professionals alike, in this area of rehabilitation therapy extend well beyond the restoration of speaking abilities that many may associate with speech therapy.

The median annual earnings of a speech-language pathologist is $57,710 per year.**  SLPs work with patients suffering from disorders that impact their ability to make sounds (ex. patients with aphasia), those with difficulty in the areas of speech rhythm and fluency (stuttering), people with specific voice disorders and individuals such as stroke patients who have swallowing difficulties. Spanish and English bilingual therapists are especially in demand.

Spotlighted Work settings for SLPs/Speech Therapists:

Schools: Speech therapists have the opportunity to diagnose and treat children with speech and voice disorders while working in pre-schools, elementary and secondary schools. When I recently interviewed the mother of an autistic child (see previous blog), she emphasized the great work done by the speech therapists at her son’s school. This is definitely a work setting where skilled and passionate professionals can make a difference in the life of a child and that child’s family.

Self-Employment/Private Practice: Being self-employed is an excellent way to define the parameters of your speech therapy career and what kind of patients you most prefer to work with. However, most SLPs who are self-employed are also affiliated with a hospital or similar medical setting.

Speech Therapists also are in high demand in these settings:

• Hospitals

• Long term care facilities/nursing homes

• Home health services

• Outpatient care centers

• Child day care services

** U.S. Department of Labor Statistics

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

Traveling speech pathology jobs, and related positions such as speech therapists and speech language pathologists, are becoming increasingly available. Speech therapists have more opportunities than ever, to hone their craft and sharpen their skills while traveling to exciting destinations around America.

While you’re here on the site, be sure and take a moment to fill out our brief, simple application (“Apply now”). We not only want to learn about your professional background, but also about your career goals as a traveling speech pathologist and therapist. Still undecided about whether a travel career is right for you? Here are some exciting statistics about the rapidly growing field of speech therapy, to help make up your mind.

*Average Salary: $48,000 per/year*
*Travel career agencies offer competitive salaries, comprehensive benefits including stock sharing and 401K opportunities
*Agencies also assist with relocation and reimburse expenses
*The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics predicts “excellent” opportunities for speech-language pathologists in the coming year, especially for those who can speak a second language and those willing to relocate to geographic areas with great hiring needs
*The Bureau is predicting 11% growth in speech-language pathologist employment by 2016

Attention traveling speech pathologists, traveling speech therapists and other vocations within this career: I want to hear from you. What benefits have you found in a travel career versus a traditional career in one location? Or if you are a speech therapist considering a travel career, what are your questions and concerns? Thank you for your contributions and comments!

*Simplyhired.com

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.