As most of my posts recently have been pretty heavy on investments due to the growing market fears. I figured it would be a good time to mix it up this week and discuss my next travel assignment on my path to financial independence.
My previous assignment was my second stint in Boston during early 2019. This contract ended near the end of March and I had already decided that I was planning on leaving the state. About halfway through this assignment, I decided on Arizona as my landing spot.
Getting My Arizona License
So I started my transition process to begin this new assignment across the country. I began doing all my paperwork like normal, however, Arizona had a few extra hoops to jump through that made this transition a little bit slower than normal.
This was the first time I was required to get a fingerprint clearance card, take a state jurisprudence exam, and deal with a specific board meeting date to approve new licenses.
So what did this mean for me? The short answer was time.
The Board Meeting
In Arizona, like all states the board receives all of your required information and makes a decision on if they will issue you your PT license in their state. Very normal. However, in AZ the board only meets once a month. So if you miss this deadline, your inquiry won’t be looked at again for another month. So time is key.
And because Arizona has all of these extra hoops that aren’t hard but take time, I actually was unable to meet the March meeting deadline to get my license as I didn’t have all the material put together in time. My contract was up at the end of March so I was hoping to have my license in hand so I could start as soon as it ended, only taking a weekend of work off like usual.
This wasn’t happening, so the next goal was the April deadline. Which meant I had a month break from work.
Fingerprint Clearance Cards
A fingerprint clearance card is exactly as it sounds, it’s a card that verifies your identity. It’s like a drivers license, but it requires you to get fingerprinted before you are given your card. It makes sense but the process for obtaining this card could be improved.
Basically, the fingerprint clearance card for out of state inquiries required a phone call to get the fingerprint clearance packet mailed to you. This required several calls to the state and long wait times to speak with a representative who could clear you to receive your packet. The problem was that their office was only open during normal business hours and I worked full time. So I would call everyday at lunch and sit on hold for the entire hour waiting. This went on for almost a week before I got through and got the packet sent.
I received the packet and immediately scheduled an appointment to get fingerprinted in person at one of the approved locations. I got my prints in and now had to wait 4-6 weeks for these to get approved and for me to receive my fingerprint clearance card.
This 4-6 week wait almost made me miss the April board meeting as well. I actually had to call the Arizona Board of PT and ask them for an exception to still review my license inquiry as my fingerprint card still hadn’t arrived. Thankfully they agreed as I proved that they had at least been submitted.
State Jurisprudence Exam
Like I mentioned, Arizona required a state jurisprudence exam which basically is a test that assessed your knowledge of Arizona’s physical therapy specific laws. I had heard of other states having these but have never taken a formal one in the past. Formal meaning being required to take your exam at a testing facility as you would to get your physical therapy license or ACT score for example.
I had taken short online tests like this before for other states that were extremely easy and very obvious on which answers you were supposed to pick, so I thought this test was no different. I signed up for the first testing time slot available. I didn’t study at all and went to take my test. I didn’t pass.
I was shocked, I’d never really failed a test before. Even though this test didn’t mean a whole lot to my actual knowledge, it mattered for me getting my license. It was an extremely embarrassing call telling my recruiter that I needed to retake my exam. It also was a waste of $60 as your company will not reimburse you for retakes.
It was a tough lesson, especially during a time sensitive point in the process. So time sensitive that I actually needed to retake the test on my drive from Boston to AZ. I stopped in Knoxville, Tennessee to stay with a friend and break up the drive. So I scheduled my test that next morning. I woke up, took my test, and continued my drive. I studied this time around and passed easily.
I was able to take my test this late because all the Arizona Board of physical therapy needed to see was that I had signed up for them to approve my license. The only way I couldn’t have worked was if I couldn’t pass in time for my actual starting work date. I took my test on a Friday morning, and started working that Monday. So it was close.
Applying for Jobs
Throughout the entire above process, I was looking for a job in Arizona. As I have mentioned in the past, most jobs want a license in hand before they will even interview you for a position and I was nowhere near having my license at this time.
However, I actually found many more jobs that were willing to still interview me for positions than I thought was possible. Yes, some required license in hand, but many more didn’t.
I had 4 job interviews at locations throughout the state, 2 in the southern part of the state near the Mexico border and the others an hour or two out of Phoenix. I was offered all of them, so I had some options. Thankfully these places were still willing to sign a contract and wait on my license as they trusted that I would get it done in time.
1 Month Off
I signed my contract for a tentative start date near the end of April due to the timing of my licensure process which gave me nearly a month off. In the normal world this would have been horrible for me financially, but due to the nature of traveling healthcare, it was no big deal. Obviously I’d prefer to work but I didn’t need to.
The income I make as a traveler allows for this type of a break fairly easily. You can look at my 2019 financial summary if you don’t believe me. I still made well over a normal full time employee last year with taking an entire month off of work.
This month allowed me to get home to work on getting my required time at home necessary to maintain my tax home, it gave me more time to hike/explore Boston with my friends there, and it gave me time to really work on this blog/website. There are few jobs with the flexibility to have that much time off to do as you please.
Prescott, Arizona
I ended up deciding on an outpatient clinic attached to a large hospital in Prescott, AZ. I decided on it for a few reasons. During my interview, the manager sold me on all the hiking in the area as she was an avid hiker. And secondly, the position was only 36 working hours, 4 nine hour shifts and the money was comparable to all the other full time jobs I have worked.
It was not hard to sell me on a 4 day work week with Fridays off and a shortened shift with the same amount of pay…
This job was probably the most structured and organized place I have ever worked as a traveler. My supervisor was on top of things. I had a full orientation at the hospital like I was a full time employee. I had a caseload ramp up, periodic check in’s with my supervisor, and time built into my schedule for other therapists to help me with their documentation system as well as answer any other questions I had.
The clinic was 1 on 1 care, 45 minute treatment/eval time slots. It was extremely busy the entire time I worked there. I never had empty blocks, and rarely had cancels. If I did, these were often filled prior to that time slot. This clinic was a well oiled machine.
I was by far the youngest employee at the clinic with the exception of one other therapist who was 3-4 years older. So I had lots of learning experiences as a result of the wealth of knowledge and experience in one clinic.
The patient population was primarily geriatrics which really helped expand my skill set in this field. I worked with more neuro conditions than I was previously accustomed to treating which helped me to become a more rounded PT. I even worked with some lymphatic patients which I previously hadn’t.
My Living Situation
This is outlined in detail in my post about controlling your housing expense, so I won’t repeat myself again. This time around was very unique to say the least, let’s just say that it involved a snake house…
Contract Extension
I very much enjoyed my time at the clinic, so much so that I actually extended my contract an extra 8 weeks. I extended in part because it was truly a great clinic, but secondly because I had met someone in Arizona.
I had initially planned to leave AZ as soon as my contract was up but these plans changed quickly and I am actually working in AZ as I write this. I told myself I would be in the Pacific Northwest by now, but here I am, almost a year later. (but don’t worry, I did at least visit the Pacific NW)
This contract was truly a blessing for my life and led to so many more opportunities and experiences that I wouldn’t have had if I didn’t take this assignment. Below are just a few of the things I was able to do while on this assignment.
I thought Havasupai Falls was my favorite place that I have ever been until I went to the “Wave”…
Conclusion
This assignment outlined the importance of being prepared for your transition between jobs in the traveling healthcare field, especially if you aren’t looking to take any time off between assignments which I normally am not.
It also confirmed my experiences that most contract assignments get some sort of orientation and ramp up period as this is a very common fear of many new travelers.
Overall, Arizona has been the start of a lot of big changes in my career and my life. Changes that I wouldn’t have experienced if I hadn’t taken the jump and started traveling.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to comment below or email me directly at fiscaltherapist1@gmail.com
Also feel free to reach out if you have any questions about how to get started in traveling healthcare or want to know which traveling companies I recommend.
