The Second Assignment - Ocala/Leesburg, Florida

The Second Assignment Trail Guide

Our 2nd travel assignment took us back to Florida for the late winter to early spring. We took this assignment with another travel agency, Fiber Staffing, at two general outpatient clinics from the same company. Andrew worked in West Ocala and Alyssa worked in Leesburg, while our housing was in Weirsdale. We were eager to get back into clinic life after taking about 4 weeks off for the holidays. This trail guide will take us from the beginning of our search to the end of our 2nd assignment.

The Search

We began searching for this assignment during late October to early November, when we were on our first travel assignment. We were being very picky about our location, and were striking out. We decided we wanted to be in Florida for this contract, so Alyssa could be closer to her family. We originally wanted to be closer to the Gulf Coast of Florida, since we could have free housing with family nearby. We would never see more than 1 job listing within a 45 minute drive. We were using 4 of our recruiters from 4 different travel agencies, but could not come across an opening. We even considered the Naples region, but the cost of rent and the pay packages available were not worth it for us (think net weekly take home pay between $1400-1700).

After finding no success with our desired region, we decided to look elsewhere. By this time, it was early December. We started to look at the panhandle of Florida, in which we were submitted for openings, but never received an interview from those choices. By the middle of December, we had already received our Florida license (more to come on this in a later paragraph).

We wanted to begin at the start of the new year. Ugh yes, we knew this time of the year was the “high season” of Florida, and we knew other travelers wanted to be in Florida for the winter (think snowbirds), and most people would want to start at the beginning of the new year to get by the holiday season. We also did not want our weekly net take home pay to be less than 1700$. Many things were not working out for us until… boom we heard directly from one of our recruiters that one of their company contacts had 2 outpatient clinic openings within 35 minutes of each other in Central Florida, and eventually those became our 2nd assignments.

Accepting the 2nd Contract Assignment

As soon as we heard about the openings in Central Florida, we searched the internet for 1) Distance, 2) Gyms, 3) Housing. The distance between the two clinics was less than 40 miles, plenty of gyms, and quick search of potential housing available (even though pricey). Those are the 3 main things we have been looking at when we are provided with job opening locations. This search took less than 10 minutes.

We asked to be submitted and within 24 hours we set up a phone call for an evening. We did our phone interview together, which lasted over 45 minutes of chit chatting. We were offered our contracts that night, then officially accepted them in the morning. This scenario took place during December 12-14th. This was all a big relief, but our starting date was less than 24 days away, with the Holidays rolling in. Our first priority was to complete all the required documents/exams before the Holidays while simultaneously searching for housing.

Finding our Home #5 - Weirsdale, Florida

Since it was the “high season” for the snowbirds, it was most difficult finding affordable housing. We searched AirBnB,VRBO, and Furnished Finders. Many places were priced $1000 over their regular price. The affordable places were booked. We mainly look for 3 things: 1) Entire unit for ourselves, 2) washer/dryer, and 3) full kitchen.

We messaged many places who never got back to us. We finally messaged a place on Furnished Finders asking for $800 less per month off their asking price for a huge house and they said DEAL! Wow, never be afraid to ask as a healthcare traveler, because most people would love to help and have any of your stipend haha. 

The location we landed in was called Weirsdale, Florida. A very hilly, farm land and wilderness, right near Lake Weir, North of The Villages. The place was definitely too big for us, but it had its own yard with a firepit, a screen-in back porch with furniture, and plenty of space for friends and family to come visit. 

Our Contract Experience

This was our first contract working at different clinics. We did work together the first day for training at Andrew’s clinic, but that's about it. Alyssa worked in a clinic that was mainly her, a PTA that was their 3 days of the week, and another PT who was their 2-3 days of the week. Alyssa worked with 2-4 people per hour. Andrew worked in a clinic with full-time PTAs, a PT aide, 2 full-time PTs, an occasional float PTA, and another PTA and OT for a bit. Andrew saw 2-4 people an hour, but mostly it was 2-3 people.

We both had a fun time, and everyone was so welcoming and helpful throughout. Two contracts in a row that it was hard to leave when the time came. We also used this contract to travel back to see Alyssa’s family and around Florida. More to come!

Tips for an Easy Contract Search

1. Be open to rural areas

2. Travel to regions where it’s not the “high season” for travelers

3. Begin looking for new assignments 4-6 weeks before your anticipated start date

4. Perform a broad housing search of the market before getting too serious about options

Florida Licencse Process

We applied for our Florida PT License through endorsement since we already had our Virginia PT license. We filled out an application, sent our official transcripts to the Florida Board of PT, sent our NPTE scores from FSBPT, and had to schedule the in-person Florida Laws and Rules Examination. We looked over a short study guide for the law exam a few times and took the exam. After we took the law exam, we got our license about 3 days after learning we passed.

Best Wishes,

ATB & AJS