How to Overcome Travel Therapy Anxiety
Travel therapy is an awesome career option and one we highly recommend whether you’re a new grad or seasoned therapist. That being said, there are many anxieties that swell up at the thought of pursuing this unconventional lifestyle.
This includes:
STARTING AN ASSIGNMENT IN A SETTING YOU’RE UNFAMILIAR WITH
ENTERING A NEW WORK ENVIRONMENT
MEETING NEW CO-WORKERS
LIVING IN A FOREIGN TOWN
SURVIVING THE SCARY ON-BOARDING PROCESS, ETC.
The list can go on and on as your mind ponders the change from your “normal”. We totally understand where you’re coming from. We had a lot of the same worries, concerns, and (honestly) fears! What we’ve discovered during our time as travel physical therapists, is that the anxieties never truly go away. Not what you necessarily wanted to hear, but the best advice we can give you is the truth in order to prepare and equip you with the tools necessary to navigate through those murky waters of anxiety. We get that “new job, new facility/hospital, new co-workers, new setting, new challenges” feeling of anxiety every time we’re about to start a new contract. That’s a normal human response for so much change in one’s life!
BUT HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE?
This feeling usually lasts for the first 1-4 weeks for us and is similar to starting a new clinical rotation. After the initial bit of being uncomfortable, rising up to the new therapy challenges (which might require us to brush up on a topic or learn a new skill), and searching for our “rhythm” in a new place, we find that our confidence comes back and at times even stronger! We feel that our therapy skills have increased tremendously and what was once an “uncomfortable setting” for us is now one we feel confident helping patients in. Not all settings are our personal favorite, but we’ve ultimately conquered those initial fears. It turns out that that feeling of being “uncomfortable” is really our therapy skills being refined into something greater!
Ultimately, you may not want to take a contract in say…. pediatrics (typically rare in the travel therapy world) because you have absolutely zero experience and the location isn’t willing to train you. Great news! You as the traveler have the final say in which travel assignments you choose to take or not. You can always pass on that job and have your favorite/trusted recruiters continue looking for jobs. Having a recommended recruiter that was referred to you by a current traveling therapist is a great way to avoid amplifying these anxieties and ending up in an assignment that is going to be an unpleasant first travel contract experience. If you’re interested in the recruiters we trust and personally use, then fill-out our recruiter recommendation form. Despite the flexibility to say no to jobs, we always recommend to be flexible (especially in this COVID market) and have confidence in your therapy skills! You’d be surprised at how your skills transfer between settings with the right mindset.
CALL ON YOUR SUPPORT SYSTEM
Another way we navigate our anxieties, is that we lean heavily on each other during those first couple weeks of a new contract! We try to be the support each other needs and remind ourselves that this is a normal response to a crazy amount of change. This works great for travel teams like us. If you’re a solo traveler, this could look more like a supportive friend, family member, or professor that you keep in close contact with and are willing to confide in when you feel those anxieties swell up. We definitely lean on our family for support and that simple phrase of “you can do it” from a friend or family member really makes a difference.
I’M SCARED TO GET THROWN INTO THE FIRE AT MY NEW CONTRACT
As for how the first few weeks at a new contract goes, it depends. Classic/annoying answer if I’d say so myself! But it’s the truth! Every clinic, hospital, and facility is different. That's why it's important to ask about the facility in the interview! Interviews are not like permanent jobs. The facility wants to hire you. You’re interviewing the facility to see if you want to work there. So feel free to ask:
HOW MANY THERAPISTS WORK THERE?
HOW LONG HAVE THEY WORKED THERE?
WHAT DOES THE ON-BOARDING/TRAINING/ORIENTATION SPECIFICALLY LOOK LIKE?
WILL A THERAPIST BE AVAILABLE TO TRAIN ME?
HOW MANY DAYS OF TRAINING WILL I RECEIVE?
WHEN WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO BE ABLE TO SEE A FULL CASE-LOAD?
WHAT IS CONSIDERED A FULL CASE-LOAD?
I AM UNFAMILIAR WITH (WOUND CARE, CARDIAC REHAB, ETC.), WILL SOMEONE BE AVAILABLE TO TRAIN ME SPECIFICALLY ON THESE TREATMENTS AND ANSWER QUESTIONS DOWN THE ROAD IF THEY ARISE?
WHAT ARE THE HOURS?
WILL I BE WORKING IN MULTIPLE LOCATIONS OR SETTINGS?
WHAT EMR WILL I BE USING?
WHAT’S THE TYPICAL TIME IT TAKES FOR A THERAPIST FULLY ORIENTED TO DOCUMENT AN EVAL, TREATMENT, STANDARD NOTE, OR DISCHARGE?
DRESS CODE?
WHAT’S THE PATIENT POPULATION?
WHAT EQUIPMENT IS PROVIDED FOR THERAPISTS?
ARE THERE ANY HOUSING LEADS IN THE AREA?
The interview is the time to determine what the clinic environment will be like and to determine what support may or may not be present for you. Typically, our on-boarding has been anywhere from 1-3 weeks. We have experienced contracts with management who checks in with us to see where we are at in our comfort level. They have been flexible with us, asking if we feel ready to ramp up or if we need a bit more time. We've always been able to ask a fellow co-worker questions well after orientation with no judgment. They understand that it's all new to you, that you're wanting to do your very best, and honestly, they need your help as well. That's why the facility brought a traveler in! It feels good to be wanted! So far, we've never felt thrown into the fire on contract.
YOUR SAFETY NET
When we first started travel therapy, we told ourselves that the first contract is only 13 weeks. Basically, like one of our clinical rotations. We knew we could survive 13 weeks of anything and that was us thinking of the worst case scenario. At the end of the 13 weeks, we would decide if travel was for us or not. If not, then we could simply go back home and find permanent jobs.
We understood that we would be comfortable and even happy back home in permanent jobs. We had been living that lifestyle during our long clinicals towards the end of our schooling. But what we didn't know was what we hadn't tried yet and that was travel. So we felt that stepping outside our comfortable "normal" was a small risk to take for the possible pay-off that travel therapy offers. For us, it has been an amazing experience that we hope to continue and share with others.
- Written by Dr. Ryan J. O’Rear, PT, DPT
