Hey everyone!

I’m a licensed Physical Therapist in Virginia, and I’m interested in starting a small cash-based outpatient PT side hustle on weekends while keeping my regular job.

I already have 1–2 friends or family members interested in receiving treatment, so I’d like to use this as an opportunity to test the waters before investing too much money into a business.

I’m also interested in attending local CrossFit competitions, fitness throwdowns, and similar events as a vendor, offering brief soft tissue treatments to athletes for a fee.

For those who have started their own cash-based or mobile PT practice, especially in Virginia, I’d love to hear how you got started.

Thanks in advance!

Check this out, couldn't repost it in the sub so copied the link: https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTokCringe/s/8TsglcGz2O

My travel PT person sent me a contract located at a Select Physical Therapy clinic. The description I was sent stated “60 minute eval + treatment”. I’ve only really ever known of Select as a mill. Are there some out there that do 1:1 or will I be overlapped even though they are 60 minute appointments? I would really prefer to not take a contract at a mill but if it’s my only option I think I can manage 13 weeks. Thanks!

Edit to add: this is my first time doing travel PT so any and all advice is appreciated!

I am a relatively new grad and a little over a month into my first travel contract. I work 3 days/week in hospital based OP and 2 days/week acute care. I was in a private OP clinic in a small town before this, so this is pretty different in terms of flow and patient population. I evaluated a patient recently who underwent ORIF after a tibial fracture a few years ago. She had two surgeries afterwards to "clean up scar tissue", which she says she builds easily. Her total ROM in her knee is like 0-20-25 deg, not kidding. Stiff end feel and lots of pain if I try to push it. She said she went to PT for a year and a half before coming here, and they worked on "walking" (??) Of note, she doesn't speak English, so some things may be lost in translation. Her referral was for her ankle, which also has limited ROM, but did not undergo surgery and is not the biggest problem here. I want to help her but don't know if I realistically can... I don't want to bullshit her and waste her time and money. So far we've only done STM, mobilization (can't tolerate much), stretching for her hamstrings, calves, quads, and gentle OKC exercises. How would you manage this patient?

Hey everyone! I’m a Florida PTA (licensed since 2019) with experience in acute care, inpatient rehab, and outpatient, mostly PRN lately. I’m interested in travel therapy but haven’t done it yet, and I want to avoid expensive rookie mistakes. I’d especially love to hear from other traveling PTAs, since I know our pay and opportunities can differ from PTs’.

I only hold a Florida license right now, and I’m open to both big cities and rural areas. I’d prefer to stay in hospital settings (acute care or inpatient rehab) if possible, but I’m open to learning what the opportunities are actually like.

A few things I’d love advice on:

• Agencies: Which ones are worth looking into, and which should I avoid?
• Hospital contracts: How common are hospital contracts for PTAs compared to SNFs? Is productivity pressure generally lower in hospitals, or does it depend on the facility? How much experience do facilities typically expect from traveling PTAs?
• Pay and contracts: What does realistic take-home pay look like after taxes, housing, and insurance? How can I tell if a contract is actually a good deal?
• Housing: Agency-provided housing, a stipend, or finding my own? What has worked best for you?
• Licensure: How difficult is it to get licensed in other states, and is it worth getting additional licenses before an assignment is lined up?
• Gaps and flexibility: How much time do you typically have between contracts, and how do you handle gaps in income? Does being flexible about location make a real difference in job availability or pay?

I want to see different parts of the country while making travel therapy financially worthwhile. Advice about red flags with recruiters or contracts is also welcome, along with any resources you’d recommend.

Thanks in advance! Personal experiences and agency recommendations are especially appreciated.

Hello! I am seeking some advice as a new grad. I was offered 3 jobs. To give some insight to the storm inside my brain, my primary thought is which one would set me up for success long term and build my confidence as a clinician. Option A and B have the same schedule, benefits and salary. Both are acute care positions: Option A is level 1 and option B is level 3. I loved everything about my acute care rotation that was a level 1 and it is where I fell in love working with trauma and neuro patients. Option A obviously has these populations; however, as a whole was very different in a way I feel diminishes a lot of the reasons I loved my rotation. On the other hand, option B has significantly less of neuro populations but is a place that I see myself working well with and long term. As a new grad I feel it’s so important to maximize the opportunity for mentorship and gain confidence with all sorts of complexity. I am between choosing a place for the environment/culture with less complex patients or high complexity patients that make me excited in a less desirable environment that could potentially lead to burn out. Finally Option C, a neuro outpatient clinic with phenomenal equipment, 1 on 1 sessions and mentorship, but the salary is almost 25k less. In your opinion and experience, which would you choose for your first job and why?

The 6th edition of Current Concepts just launched and I am curious for those who have purchased it before feel like it is a worthy investment. I am not currently planning on taking the OCS, just seeking continuing ed to be more competent in orthopedics as I've spent more time in acute the last few years. Would love any and all thoughts if this is a worthy educational resource or if you have another favorite you'd pick instead.

Hi everyone, I’ve decided to go PRN for flexibility. Thanks for your help!

[edit]: question has been resolved 3x10 hour PT (Thurs-Sat) vs PRN 8 hour shifts.

I can’t stand it how the patients who actually want to do the work, want to get better, get up, dressed, ready get a nomnc just have to hang around all day and do absolutely nothing.

They watch me go room by room like a sales person getting “no! get out. No! go away” from their room mate and others who won’t do shit. They say “i wish i could still do therapy” to the room mate or when they hear me get refusals.

Months and months of the snf slow walking them “helping” find a place to live. They may or may not get “restorative.”

I am so sick of this bs that I let the good people come in the gym and I go over their exercises and work out with them.

I have been saying this to myself for a while: some day history will shine a light on the American health”care” system and study this. We are like the days of the civil war where you preemptively saw off a limb and hope for the best.

SNFs in my state are becoming a dumping ground, meat storage for alcoholic drug addicts to be milked for every red cent. I work in ones filled with 80% completely uninterested smokers, methadone, chronic weed users, psyche head cases and low life people who could not give a single fuck about doing therapy.

Why do they get assigned to all of us (PT, OT ) then the actual people who want to get better get railroaded?

I am not even bothering to look for a new job elsewhere. This PDPM system and the people who invented it are terrible people. I hate this.

I have had discussion with few HH agencies and mostly are doing 1099 with pay per visit at mostly $70-$75 per PT Eval and 60-65 for treatment. In some companies, Evan’s and treats and discharges are the same rate and no mileage reimbursement. There was just one agency (company A) who offered point system but wanted me to cover atleast 40 miles radius to be even considered.
1. Company A rates as PRN therapist- Point system and per point rate is $70. PT OASIS (2.5 points- $175), PT resumption of care (2 points ($140), Pt eval- 1.25 points (87.50), Pt treatment (1 point- 70), pT recertification (1.75 points. (122.50), PT discharge (1.15 points- 80.50). Mileage counted after 1st patient till Last patient at 0.506 cents/ mile
2. Company B- PRN (no mileage reimbursement) and 1099- area based- Treatment - $65, discharge- $75, Eval and rev-eval (local- $75, rural- $80, rural+ ($85), oasis- $125.
3. Company C - 1099 PRN (no mileage reimbursement), $70 Eval and discharge and treatment for $60
4. Company D- 1099 PRN (no mileage reimbursement) flat rate of 70.
5. Company E- 1099- $70-76 flat rate.

Are there any better rates available? Any good home health agency recommendations? Right now most want me to expand my coverage to atleast 40 miles radius in houston. I have seen previous companies making me to west to east 55 min drive using toll to see one patient. It’s been horrible. Any advise from local PTs?
Thanks in advance

I’m a physical therapist assistant in my late 20s, who’s been in the game for almost 6 years now; started in acute care straight out of school and then moved on to TIRR Memorial Hermann for about 1.5 years. There, I found the work utterly exhausting and essentially back-breaking, but it absolutely changed me as a therapist in the best way possible (skill-wise). After my short time in HTX, I moved back home and am now working PRN at a more SNF-like IPR (in comparison to TIRR), as there is a mostly geriatric, and very deconditioned, patient population.

I genuinely miss the young TBI/ABI, neurobehavorial, and DOC patient populations & am now searching for an IPR full-time position with those populations (that hires PTAs).

Any suggestions / words of advice would be greatly appreciated!

tl;dr a bored PTA who misses the TBI/ABI, neurobehavorial, DOC patient populations and thusly, is searching for job openings in a highly-ranked/recognized IPR, that doesn’t haven’t a reputation for burnout and low-pay (asking a lot in this current day and age, I know)

Hey guys! I currently live in Phoenix and have been treating 8 years and doing HH in the east valley for 4. Really enjoy the workflow, travel between patients, and autonomy. Can’t really see myself working in a clinic or a rehab again but it’s not completely out of the question.

I’m planning to move to Brooklyn in a little more than a year and I’m hoping to continue doing home health. I understand supervision rules for PTAs are changing in November which will allow for this. Anybody here do home health in NY? How does it work? Do you travel via public transit? (This is an exciting prospect to me) Whats the rate look like for subsequent visits for you PT folks so I can estimate what I’d be able to negotiate.

I already see some promising job postings when I look but I’d like some insight from anybody who’s got experience with the profession in NYC.

Thanks in advance!

Hello yall. I’m in outpatient PT and my Apple Watch is likely going to die soon. I’m looking for something to replace it but it needs to be able to tell time, use as a timer, read messages and record workouts. I don’t love the Apple Watch due to its bulky nature so I would really love the Oura ring because it’s so discreet but don’t think it has any of those features. Tell me what you love and if I need to just buy another Apple Watch. TIA!!

Hello everybody,

I’m finishing my first clinical this week and every person there has been so nice to me. They have had so many celebrations since I’ve been there and they have included me in everything and supported me so much. I’d like to get my CIs something and some kind of group gift for the clinic, any ideas of something I could get? I’ve already gotten desserts one day.

Thanks so much

Hey all, I’m a PT. I’ve only ever worked OP and HH. Well my husband’s uncle had a major medical event and has been in ICU for 2 weeks- finally getting better now that he is stable and will move to a step down unit soon. Our task now as a family is to find a short term rehab facility for him that is in network. I’m new to our area and do not have ANY opinions on where he should go for rehab. With that said, I don’t know if he will need more skilled nursing yet, if SNF would be appropriate vs IPR. Can you guys help me with general tips on how to pick a “good” one? What kind of questions do I need to ask the facilities to ensure he is going to get the volume of PT/OT he’ll need? Walk me through this please 🙏🏼. I love what we do, I feel like we’re the shit, so i want to make sure he gets all the PT he needs and I want to support the POC and make sure he’s doing the work (lol). I also understand that we can have wonderful clinicians in poorly managed facilities. How do I navigate that? Thank youuuu

I have a couple of questions for the hive mind. Are there any other good free sites for HEP building? We started with HEP2go, but our IT blocked the site after the hack and is unlikely to unblock it. We then switched to theraXpro, but they are switching to a subscription Nov 1st and won't support a free version anymore. I just signed up for myHEP.io but their exercise bank is not the biggest. So does anyone know of any others out there, and for myhep do they have a support email that we could suggest additions to the exercise bank?

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone has any experience taking NAIOMT’s or Aspire’s COMT/Fellowship courses? I understand they’re both similar, but I am stuck between the 2 schools! Any suggestions or reviews?

Has anyone worked for a remote company doing AI clinical reviews or training AI models for clinical purposes? Or something similar of that nature?

If so, what was your experience like? Is it a scam or something actually worth applying for as a side gig?

Hi! Anyone here from ph who knows the rate of pedia pt in quezon city? Thank you

I’ve been lucky to try out a variety of settings in my career. Started with continuing care type facility that had inpatient rehab + independent living and assisted living, a couple other IPR settings, acute then eventually found my way to home health for several years. I loved the flexibility that home health gave and the pay was good as a contractor. My whole career, I’ve avoided outpatient because of my experience in PTA school as clinical rotation.

Wrapping up my first travel assessment (acute) in Tucson, my goal was to experience summer in Washington. So I took a 6 month travel contract. A mill.

The amount of work and caseload they have me doing is unreal. They started with gradual ramp up to 13 patients after a couple weeks. Then started enforcing going from 2 double booked slots a day to 3 doubles double booked slots. Getting to 17-18 patients start of a 8 hr day.

Never in my 12 years in the profession have I been this mentally drained after a days work.

Even when doing home health, seeing 10 patients and driving on some days or when doing 8 1:1 treats in sub acute setting and having to do an occasional group therapy session has never left me feeling this exhausted.

On top of that, the constant reminder of productivity (which doesn’t apply to me because I’m a contractor, but always was brought up), saying I need to do 3 double patient slots but then a 4th double gets added, or saying I can put the doubles where ever I want and then they change it all for “scheduling”. I thought OP was just hard to get accustomed to, but I def was just being taken advantage. Just saw 74 patients in a week.

Summer was amazing getting to be more outdoors, but this setting is cooked. Me too as well lol

Evaluating an offer for an outpatient orthopedic clinic that uses a base salary + per-visit productivity bonus structure.

Coming from a high-volume background, this will be my first time in a clinic where caseload density depends heavily on cash-pay buy-in and practice marketing. Because onboarding and initial scheduling volume are outside a new hire's control, I want to counter with a guaranteed ramp-up rate (higher flat base compensation) for the first 90 days before the lower base + bonus model kicks in at Month 4.

For clinic owners and clinicians:

1. Is a 60–90 day guaranteed flat rate (or non-recoverable draw) common when onboarding into a productivity model?
2. Do owners prefer a guaranteed rate for the first 3 months, or temporarily lowering the monthly visit threshold for bonus calculations while ramping up?
3. How is this request typically received, and what is the cleanest way to frame it?

I am a PT student in my final rotations before graduation. I am a bigger guy (6’ / 245lbs) but would really like to work on bettering my body mechanics and just am not certain on how to go about doing so. I am currently at a SNF, and there is nothing I haven’t been capable of doing, but am feeling like I’m lifting with my back on occasion or otherwise just doing things that won’t work long term. My school always emphasizes using good body mechanics, but never taught it… my track into PT wasn’t from being an athlete, and I don’t have much training in lifting outside of general concepts. Having good mechanics often feels easier said than done. Anyone have any good strategies or suggestions? I appreciate any and all advice!

ive wanted to be a pt since i was in hs. everyone on here is so negative about it (maybe rightfully so), but its so discouraging. ofc anyone can say i dont need to be reading posts but i just want to know why everyone is saying to choose nursing over pt that isnt about the salary. i live in nj and the pay here is better than most but what exactly is wrong with pt? i go to seton hall (undergrad & grad)