One of the great opportunities in travel therapy is the ability to explore new locations throughout the country. Something that could enhance that experience is traveling with a friend/significant other that also happens to be a therapist. Many benefits come with traveling as a pair such as comfort in knowing you won’t be alone, having a support system by your side, having an on-sight photo taker, and more.
When traveling as a pair though, there are some factors that come into play. There are some things you must consider. Below are the main factors that differ when traveling as a therapy pair compared to a solo traveler.
Job Market
As travel therapists, it is your role to fill vacancies in facilities throughout the country. With that being said, finding two vacancies in the same facility could pose a great challenge. Because of this, many therapy pairs look for positions that are not necessarily in the same facility, but close to each other. To help you in finding a position with or near your friend/significant other, it is best to be as open as possible. This means being open not only to different facilities, but also multiple states. The more options you are willing to consider, the better chances you have at traveling as a pair. Perhaps to help identify new opportunities, each partner selects their top three states and find some locations that overlap.
Housing
When it comes to housing, flexibility is key to ensure both therapists will be satisfied in their stay. If therapists accept contracts at facilities one hour apart, you must be flexible in terms of the housing location between those facilities. It is very important to be aware that if housing is shared and one contract happens to be canceled, the other therapist will be responsible for the costs of the shared home. Other important factors when it comes to housing as a pair is compromise and sacrifice, including distance to and from one’s job location, the type of housing that may be in that market, and overall having a roommate through the duration of your contract.
Costs
As many of us know from our college years, having a roommate is a much cheaper route when it comes to living. With travel therapy, this is no different. Typical expenses will be much cheaper throughout your assignment as you will have another person to split costs with. Expenses expected to decrease are groceries, housing, travel, and gas. A therapist could come out of their assignment with much more money in their wallet for traveling as a pair. When traveling as a pair, it might be beneficial to have a plan in place as to how you split the costs associated.
Communication
Travel therapy has many moving parts, so traveling as a pair enhances that greatly. Though you will be working with the same recruiter, over-communicating with your travel buddy and recruiter will be very beneficial. There may be some days when your recruiter only speaks to one of you; if everyone isn’t on the same page, this could complicate the process extremely. Make sure to always know what was discussed by recapping all prior conversations. This will prevent any miscommunication when finding your travel assignment. Also, it is very important to ask your recruiter any questions that you may have.
Overall, traveling as a therapy pair is a great opportunity to explore new sights and sounds with someone you care about. Having that great support system throughout your travel career will make your experience that much better. Just be sure to take the items above into consideration when looking to travel as a pair. Safe travels!
Brady Garza is a Social Media Recruiter for the Rehab Therapy division of Aureus Medical Group.