Your first travel contract, part three: mentorship questions to ask
A travel contract does not come with a mentor built in, so ask before you sign who will review your work, how often, and who you can call when a case is beyond you. SLP clinical fellows have a firmer test, because ASHA sets out who can be a CF mentor and how much observation each one must provide.
Is a mentor the same as a supervisor?
No, and the difference matters when you ask. The APTA Guide to Successful Mentoring defines mentoring as “a mutually beneficial relationship between mentor and mentee that promotes the mentee’s integration of knowledge, skills, and attributes toward defined and evolving goals.” It adds that “Mentorship is different from instructing and precepting; however, these three activities can coexist during an individual’s professional development.”
Supervision, by contrast, can be a legal requirement: a board may require it while you work on a temporary license, and a PT directs and supervises PTAs under state law. Ask about both. A building can meet every supervision rule and still leave you with nobody to learn from.
Mentoring is also not only clinical. APTA’s guide says that in the health professions it covers “not only developing the mentee’s expertise in knowledge, skills, and behaviors within clinical practice but also includes honing their ability to successfully communicate and interact with others in different situations.” On a new contract every few months, that second half matters as much as the first.
What should I ask about support in the building?
- Who is the senior therapist in my discipline on site, and are they permanent staff or another traveler?
- Will someone look over my evaluations and notes in my first weeks, and how often?
- Who do I call with a clinical question when that person is not on shift?
- Is there a team meeting or case review I can join?
- Has this facility had a new graduate on contract before, and how did it go?
Our mentorship tips for new grads cover how to find mentors once you are there. These questions tell you whether there is anyone to find.
If you want a first contract where these questions already have answers, ask a ProTherapy recruiter: Find my next contract.
What should an SLP clinical fellow ask before accepting a contract?
ASHA says “you must work at least 36 weeks and 1,260 hours to meet the ASHA CF experience requirement,” divided into three segments. Your CF mentor must hold a current CCC-SLP throughout, have at least 9 months of full-time clinical experience after earning it, and have completed at least 2 hours of professional development in supervision. Each mentor provides at least 6 hours of direct and 6 hours of indirect observation in every segment.
That turns into questions with yes-or-no answers:
- Who will be my CF mentor, and do they meet ASHA’s requirements today?
- Can they give the direct observation each segment needs, at this site?
- Will this setting give me at least 5 hours a week, as ASHA tells fellows to confirm?
- What are the company and state rules for billing and for signing off my documentation?
- If this contract ends before my fellowship does, how will my mentor’s evaluation of this segment be completed?
ASHA says “Clinical Fellows may work in more than one location and they may have more than one CF mentor,” which can suit a traveler, but a mentor must evaluate all your skills in each setting during each segment.
What can a mentor outside the building help with?
A lot, though not the supervision your license or fellowship requires. An outside mentor can help you think through a type of case in general terms, plan which setting to try next, or prepare for the questions in this guide. Our sister site explains what a first conversation with a mentor covers.
APTA’s guide puts work on the mentee too. It says the mentee “Commits to being an active collaborator in the mentoring relationship” and “Takes the initiative to maximize learning opportunities and engage in the discovery process.” Arrive with questions, not only a request for help.
How do I use the answers when I compare contracts?
Treat a missing answer as an answer. A recruiter who cannot tell you who will be on site, or a facility that cannot name a senior therapist, has told you how much support to expect. Ask the same questions of every contract you are offered and write the answers side by side, so you compare support as carefully as you compare pay. Weigh that against the pay in part four, pay expectations, and go back to part two, what facilities expect, for the standards a mentor will help you meet.
Frequently asked questions
Do travel contracts include a mentor?
Not as a rule. Ask before you sign who will review your work, how often, and who you can call with a clinical question when that person is not on shift.
Can I do my SLP Clinical Fellowship on travel contracts?
ASHA says clinical fellows may work in more than one location and have more than one CF mentor, but each mentor must meet ASHA's requirements and evaluate all your skills in each setting during each segment.
What does ASHA require of a CF mentor?
A current CCC-SLP throughout the fellowship, at least 9 months of full-time clinical experience after earning it, and at least 2 hours of professional development in supervision.
Sources
- APTA Guide to Successful Mentoring, read October 24, 2026
- ASHA, A Guide to the ASHA Clinical Fellowship Experience, read October 24, 2026