Getting the Most from Your Rehab Travel Career

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Part 3: Gathering Your Paperwork

If you've worked at least one travel or local contract rehab therapy assignment, you're familiar with the documentation you need in order to work in the profession. What many rehab professionals may not know, however, is that medical staffing firms like MDI Medical are required to be just as thorough as any hospital that employs therapists, and are held to the same stringent guidelines. As such, it is important to submit your completed paperwork as early in the process as possible. Background checks and drug screens can take several business days, and some facilities require your file up to a week before you can start.

Gathering all of this documentation and keeping it current isn't a big deal, particularly if you start the process early and leverage your recruiter for help. In this article, we offer you some insight and a few resources to help you gather and consistently update your 'schtuff' so that you can be ready to take that sweet new assignment on a moment's notice.

What You'll Need

While there may be some minor differences in what medical facilities (and staffing firms) require when it comes to documentation, in general, most recruiters and the clients they work with are required to have the same types of documents on file. They need an updated skills inventory, your experience, where you've worked, equipment you've used and what you've done. They need proof that your licenses are current and to be reassured they won't see you on the next edition of America's Most Wanted. In order to conduct an interview and submit you to potential rehab travel or local contract assignment opportunities, most rehab therapy staffing firms only need brief information. Your current resume should be enough. However, some medical facilities also want to see your skills checklist and references to consider you for the position.

Here’s a quick list of the types of information you'll need on hand to be considered for and start your next assignment:
For the Submittal:

Updated resume

Skills checklist

References

Staying Current

Rehab therapy professionals not only need to keep their work history current, but many potential employers want to see very detailed updates, including the types of settings in which you've worked, case loads you're accustomed to, and equipment you're trained on and have experience using. Of course, your license needs to be up to date and in good standing, but if you're a traveling professional you may need to maintain licenses in many different states. Once you have been confirmed to the assignment, new employees need to submit the following:

Medical Information

Annual drug screen
Annual physical
Annual TB test
Hepatitis B or signed Declination Form
MMR shot record or titers showing immunity

HR Information

Orientation Acknowledgement Form
Orientation Review Form
Policies and Procedures Checklist
Employment Agreement
Confidentiality Agreement
Handbook Acknowledgement Form
I9 Form
W4 Form
State Tax Form (if applicable)
Copy of Driver's License
Copy of Social Security Card

Credentialing

Copies of any active state licenses you hold
National Certification Card
CPR Card

Job Specific
Sometimes clients have specific requirements, such as:

2-step TB
Varicella titer
Drug screen within 30 days of start date

Tips for Keeping Your Files Up to Date

If you're a rehab therapy travel or local contract professional that frequently moves from assignment to assignment, you'll want an easy way to have updated files on hand at all times. Here are some tips to help make this a breeze with each new assignment you take:

Set up a system – decide when you'll update
Use a calendar & reminders for license expirations.
Know which state licenses require CEUs, and look for classes that are approved in each state for which you hold a license.
Ask your recruiter for help in obtaining new licenses. If you work for MDI Medical, you'll get reimbursed!
Do a quick refresh half way through your assignment – review your resume and licenses.
Fill in any missed details at the end of your assignment, being careful to update newly acquired skills, productivity targets, modalities, caseloads you managed, computerized charting systems or other equipment you learned to use.
Gather reference information before your assignment ends – names, titles & phone numbers.
Ask your managers for a letter of recommendation at least 2 weeks before your assignment ends.
Notify your recruiter if you take any prescriptions that could affect your drug screen results.
Obtain a copy of your drug screen, titers, physical results for your files.
Keep a hard copy of your entire file with you on every assignment
Store electronic files of your documents on your computer at home or the laptop you travel with, and put a copy on a removable jump drive to take with you to your assignment. You never know what you'll need to produce quickly.

Keeping Your Recruiter Up to Speed

MDI Medical strives to start helping you identify your next assignment about 6-8 weeks before the end of your current job. In order to find the best assignments for you, your recruiter must be kept up to date on how your experience changes and grows over time. Your recruiter should contact you with assignments they believe you'll find interesting. However, if you've acquired a license in Nevada but your recruiters don’t know it, you may never be notified when an assignment becomes available in Las Vegas.

Set reminders for updating your recruiter after the end of each assignment, or at least 3 times per year. Craft a standard email and save it on your computer. When it comes time to inform the recruiters you work with that your information has changed, attach your new files and blast it off. You'll be ready to entertain that next rehab therapy assignment opportunity when it comes available, and you’ll have a system for making sure your professional life is documented and well organized.

About MDI Medical

MDI Medical, a Cirrus Medical Staffing, Inc. company, is a JCAHO certified, national healthcare staffing company located in Atlanta, GA. We specialize in contract and permanent placement of rehabilitation therapists and other allied healthcare professionals. MDI Medical’s sister company, Cirrus Medical Staffing, LLC, provides national travel and permanent placement for nurses. Cirrus Medical Staffing, LLC is ranked as one of the top 10 travel nurse companies in the U.S. In addition, Cirrus and MDI Medical provide international staffing augmentation services to our client facilities through our sister company, Medtivia. Medtivia is continuously ranked as the most outstanding nurse and therapist recruitment organization of Filipino nurses.

Find out more at www.MDIMedical.com or call 866-518-1750.

MDI Medical is certified by the Joint Commission MDI Medical has earned The Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval^TM. Certification recognizes MDI Medical's dedication to providing rehab therapists that are qualified to provide safe, high-quality care to patients.

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