Steps to Take After Deciding to Become a Travel Physical Therapist
- Kristen
- Sep 18
- 3 min read
These are the steps I would recommend to get you started once you determine you want to start your travel healthcare journey.
Establish a tax home to become eligible for tax-free stipends
See Tax Home blog
Determine what is most important to you
Pay, location, or setting
Clinical mentorship
Reach out to recruiters to see who will best suit your needs
You can reach out anytime, but I would recommend about 3 months in advance of when you want to start traveling.
I would reach out to 3-4 recruiters and interview each one to see who you flow with.
Everyone is different, but I typically work with no more than 2 recruiters for a given contract. In my opinion, anything more than that is overwhelming.
See How to Find a Recruiter blog
Think about where you want to travel
If you are confident you want to be in a specific state, look into the state license application process (assuming you are not part of the PT compact states).
If you don't know where you want to go, ask other travelers for their favorite city/ contract location for ideas. You can also ask your recruiter if they have any popular and/or high paying contracts.
Gather the items your recruiter needs to apply you for jobs
They will ask for your intended start date and any time off you will need during that contract.
See Items to Send to your Recruiter blog
Keep in touch with your recruiter so they can apply you for jobs as they come up
I personally like when my recruiter texts me the location, setting, and pay for a job, and I will respond yes or no to submit my application to that location.
Some recruiters will also send you an excel sheet of potential job opportunities so that you can look through and find any you would like to apply to.
Some recruiting companies have apps/ websites where you can search for jobs that they have available.
Often times, the pay posted is not the exact pay you will be offered but it depends on the client (clinic).
Look out for phone calls from companies once your recruiter starts sending your application out
Phone calls are the interviews, and I would make sure you have a phone call or some type of contact with the company before you accept anything (speaking from experience).
See Interview blog
You should find out if you got an offer from an interview fairly quickly. I typically hear back within 1-2 days unless otherwise stated on the phone call. If it has been a couple days and you have not heard back, follow up with your recruiter.
Your recruiter will be the one who sends you the job offer along with the pay package offered and from here you can accept or decline the job. You can always try and negotiate.
Make sure all the items in your contract are correct before signing it.
Once you accept a job, there is typically a long list of onboarding items you must complete before starting
Your recruiting company usually pays for this/ will reimburse you and will tell you exactly what they need from you.
This typically includes physicals, background checks, TB tests, drug screens, signed documentation, proof of your state license, NPI, online modules/HIPAA courses, etc.
Some companies will help you apply for the state license, others do not.`
This is just the general process of how things typically go! Some contracts require more steps than others so give yourself enough time if you want to start on an exact date. Please reach out if you need any help getting started or have any questions! Let me know if you would like my recruiter recommendations!
