Respiratory therapists had a hard time during COVID. The original panic led many to losing their jobs or essentially being placed on standby as hospitals struggled for funding and room to treat the immediate needs of COVID. As we learned more about the disease and saw its long-term effects on the respiratory system, the need for RTs skyrocketed and practitioners were able to pick and choose lucrative travel opportunities and short-term contracts to make up for the time without work.

Now that it has been three years since the start of the pandemic, things are starting to change. Keep reading below to learn why we are encouraging RTs to start looking for permanent roles soon.

Healthcare is Stabilizing

It is odd to say when referring to such a hectic field, but the world of healthcare is finally starting to stabilize again. Healthcare groups are looking to bring in more permanent placement positions and create consistent core workforces instead of depending on travel or contracts as much as they have in recent years.

While a glimpse at the general healthcare job board might still show that there is a fair amount of travel roles left, the truth is that the majority of these are focusing on finding registered nurses or more generalized practitioners to help hold down healthcare groups while they find, hire, and train incoming staff. These roles might look like they are still thriving with the help of COVID-funding, but there has been a significant decrease in the amount and the pay of these opportunities in the last few months alone.

Other healthcare professionals are in similar boats that are sinking much faster. Changes to insurance and healthcare programs such as CMS have put an additional strain on patients and practitioners of all specialties and created the need for groups to settle down.

With this in mind, it is especially important for groups like RTs to begin looking for stable opportunities as it will allow them to reintegrate into a permanent setting. It may not feel terribly different as a practitioner, but hiring teams for permanent roles are often more favorable to resumes that show practitioners who stayed a step ahead of the market.

An exit from travel jobs now might feel preemptive, but it will come off as savvy and aware when recruiters and hiring managers are looking for their next hire. Additionally, a late exit from the trend of travel jobs could make finding a job at all incredibly difficult as companies are likely to mistakenly assume that you would be looking for travel pay in a permanent role and may not react as quickly as they otherwise would to your application.

Of course, the best way to ensure that you are finding the right job, no matter what, is to work with a dedicated team. Our recruiters at Radius Staffing Solutions are highly specialized and have job openings and contacts all across the country. If you are interested in applying for a role now, then check out our job board here or send us an updated resume here and talk to a recruiter as soon as today!