Where Will You Work Workplace Settings for Allied Travelers
“You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go!
The wise old doctor could have written that quote just for allied healthcare travelers. In fact, allied health professionals have a variety of options and choices to build their career--regardless of their discipline and specialty. And that is because the skills of therapists, therapy assistants, technicians, imaging professionals and other allied specialists are needed at different types of facilities across the nation.
“Because we do have such a diversity of settings, it really allows clinicians to experience different patient populations, therapy teams and practices,” explained Megan Halsch, senior recruiter with Club Staffing. “In addition to this, contract positions provide the flexibility to explore geographically and try different settings to build a résumé. Furthermore, our allied travelers often have the option to renew or extend their assignments, so if the clinician loves the placement, he or she may stay for six months or longer!”
Skilled nursing and long-term care
One of the most common workplace settings for allied healthcare professionals is in the long-term care environment. From skilled nursing facilities to other inpatient rehabilitation clinics, long-term care continues to grow as America ages. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 4 million Americans are admitted to or reside in nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities each year, and nearly 1 million people reside in assisted living facilities. This means that demand for allied travelers in these settings should remain strong.
“I would say for occupational therapists, the highest demand is within skilled nursing facilities and long-term care,” Halsch said.
Acute care / Hospitals
With more than 5,600 registered hospitals across the United States, according to the American Hospital Association, acute care provides many opportunities for allied clinicians. From working as a certified respiratory therapist in one of our nation’s top teaching hospitals, to working in sonography in a community hospital, the acute care setting provides excellent, high-paying allied health travel jobs for therapists and other healthcare professionals.
“Club Staffing is part of AMN Healthcare, which is the largest healthcare staffing and workforce solutions company in the country. As a result of this, we have a number of exclusive clients which means our travelers get first try at their job openings. In addition, we are a national allied staffing agency, so we have openings in all 50 states and in various settings,” Halsch explained.
Schools and home health
Club Staffing also sees a number of opportunities within schools and home health, Halsch said. “In addition, we have client management teams specifically designated to settings such as home health or schools to acquire new opportunities for our clinicians.”
Physical therapy and occupational therapy are commonly found in both the school and home health setting, as professionals in these disciplines work with individuals recovering and/or adapting to injuries or disabling conditions. Speech therapy jobs are also in high demand in the school setting.
Offices and clinics
A variety of allied travelers, including therapists, imaging technicians, lab technicians, etc., can also find temporary assignments in physician offices and outpatient clinics. These professionals may work with patients who come into the primary care setting for office visits and need tests, images or lab work completed. Speech, occupational and physical therapy professionals often work in the clinic setting with patients who are dealing with a chronic impairment or recovering from an injury, stroke or other major health event.
The value of varied travel assignments
“Not only does doing contract work demonstrate flexibility, which is important to employers, but it also exposes clinicians to different patient populations and potential challenges or obstacles with these populations,” said Halsch. “In addition to this, working with different therapy team members, such as physical or speech therapists, allows traveling allied health professionals to learn from these clinicians’ diverse backgrounds and learn to work well with different team dynamics.”
“Lastly, it allows clinicians to really determine what settings they excel in; if they have never tried a school or long-term care facility, they will never know if they love it! Furthermore, if for some reason they don’t like it, they are not committing long term; it is just 13 weeks, and they can move on, yet remain working with Club Staffing, so they do not appear to change jobs a lot.”
“Overall, allied health travel jobs enable clinicians to explore the healthcare field professionally as well as personally through working in different geographical locations,” Halsch concluded.
Where will you find your next career opportunity? Search Club Staffing’s extensive database of allied health travel jobs, or apply today to start working with one of our allied staffing specialists.