Your first travel contract, part two: what facilities expect from a new grad
No national rule lists what a facility may expect of a new-grad traveler, so the firm floor is what your profession says every graduate can do, what your license requires, and what your contract says. Everything above that floor is set building by building, and the reliable way to learn it is to ask before you sign.
What does APTA say every new PT graduate can do?
The American Physical Therapy Association’s Minimum Required Skills of Physical Therapist Graduates at Entry-Level defines its minimum skills as “foundational skills that are indispensable for a new graduate physical therapist to perform on patients/clients in a competent and coordinated manner.” Four of them bear directly on a first assignment:
- Documentation: “Conform to documentation requirements of the practice setting and the reimbursement system.”
- Productivity: “Analyze personal productivity using the clinical facility’s system and implement strategies to improve when necessary.”
- Knowing your limits: “Recognize scope of limitations” and “Consult additional resources, as needed, including other physical therapists.”
- Working with assistants: “Follow legal and ethical requirements for direction and supervision” of PTAs and support personnel.
It is a floor, not a job description; APTA says programs can prepare graduates to go beyond it. OTs and SLPs answer to their own professional bodies, AOTA and ASHA, and the same approach works: know what your profession expects of a graduate, then ask what the building expects on top.
What does my license require of me and of the facility?
Your license sets rules the facility has to plan around. If you start on a temporary license or permit, the board’s conditions travel with you. The Texas board, for one, says an applicant with a temporary license “must have onsite supervision when providing physical therapy services by a PT licensed in Texas and working at the same location.” A building without that person on site cannot use you on that license, however much it needs the help.
On a compact privilege, the PT Compact Commission says a privilege “is the legal equivalent to a state-issued license” and that “the compact privilege holder is responsible for following the scope of practice where the patient is located.” Expect to work to the rules of the state you are in, not the state you trained in.
What will the facility check before I start?
That your license is valid for the assignment’s state, and that you have the records its own policies require. No official body publishes a single list; our readiness checklist sets out what facilities commonly ask for, so gather it before anyone asks. Part one of this guide, the licensing timeline, covers when the license itself arrives.
If you want first-contract offers you can test against these questions, ask a ProTherapy recruiter: Find my next contract.
What should I ask a facility about its expectations?
The interview is where expectations become specific. Our interview questions cover the team, the caseload and orientation. Add these, which turn the APTA skills above into this building’s answers:
- How is productivity measured here, and what will I be held to in my first weeks?
- Which documentation system do you use, and can I see a note template before my first day?
- Who reviews or co-signs my notes, if anyone, and who do I ask when a case is beyond me?
- If I am the PT, will I direct PTAs or aides, and what does this state require of me when I do?
- What would a successful first month look like to you?
If you are a new PTA or COTA, ask the mirror question: who is the supervising PT or OT, how often are they on site, and how do you reach them when they are not? For PTAs, APTA lists jurisdictional law among the things a PT weighs when directing care to an assistant, so the answer depends on the state as well as the building; COTAs should check the OT board’s rules in the state they will work in.
Write the answers down. They are your reference point if the job turns out to be different, which part five, the first thirty days, comes back to.
What if a facility expects more than I can safely do?
Say so before you sign, not after. Recognizing the limits of your skills and consulting others are on APTA’s own list, so asking about support is part of the skill set, not a weakness. If the answers suggest you would be alone with a caseload you are not ready for, the honest step is to pass on that contract and keep looking.
Listen for how the facility answers, too. A building that can tell you its productivity measure, its documentation system and who you would ask for help has thought about having a new person on site. One that cannot answer those yet has given you a reason to ask more before you agree to anything.
Part three of this guide lists the mentorship and supervision questions to ask before you accept.
Frequently asked questions
Do facilities expect a new grad to be as productive as an experienced therapist?
No national rule sets a target. APTA's entry-level skills ask a new PT to analyze personal productivity using the facility's own system and improve when necessary, so ask each facility how it measures productivity and what it expects in your first weeks.
Can a facility use me on a temporary license?
Only on the board's conditions. Texas, for example, requires an applicant on a temporary license to have onsite supervision by a PT licensed in Texas and working at the same location.
Is a compact privilege treated differently from a license at work?
No. The PT Compact Commission says a compact privilege is the legal equivalent to a state-issued license, and the holder must follow the scope of practice where the patient is located.
Sources
- APTA, Minimum Required Skills of Physical Therapist Graduates at Entry-Level, read October 24, 2026
- Texas Board of Physical Therapy Examiners (ECPTOTE), PT Temporary License, read October 6, 2026
- PT Compact Commission: What is a Compact Privilege?, read October 22, 2026