There are a number of questions every therapist should consider when looking for a new job. On the surface, every outpatient physical therapy clinic may sound similar. You can separate them by physician owned clinics, hospital clinics, large volume clinics, and low volume clinics; cash-based, insurance-based and Medicare/Medicaid-based clinics. But there are a number of business models available and picking the right clinic can be confusing. Just as our clients have trouble finding the best physical therapy clinic, physical therapists themselves have trouble finding the best group to join.
Here are our suggestions on what a physical therapist should consider during interviews for a new job as a staff therapist:
- Continuing education – It’s something you have to do, but what does your clinic do to support you?
- Mentorship – Learning from more experienced people is a timeless and necessary tradition.
- Diagnostics and treatments – This is related to continuing education and mentorship.
- Style of Care – This gets at the business model of a clinic, as well as the clinic’s support of continuing education and mentorship.
- Client base – This is often determined by affordability of the clinic.
- Debt to income ratio – Chasing higher salaries might be necessary but can have repercussions on quality of life.
- Office environment and culture – You need to like coming to work everyday.
- Benefits – Often excluded from the financial package, it is incumbent on the applicant to tabulate the value of other benefits and prioritize which benefits are important to you.
Other blog entries here on the Rose Physical Therapy Group site discuss each of these considerations in detail and outline specific questions that you might weigh in choosing the right clinic environment for you.
If you are interested in applying to work at Rose, you can view our Careers page.