ProTrax Competition and Other Influences Several channels currently exist through which physical and occupational therapy, respiratory therapy, nursing and other related health care employment positions are advertised. These include various web-sites and employment agencies as well as specialized journals and conferences. Other Web Sites The only direct competitor we currently have is a web site called TherapyNet12. This site was only established in February 1997, and currently has about sixty facilities advertising for physical therapists. It possesses several common features with HealthWanted: it is an advertising service for job openings for physical therapists throughout North America; positions are classified by geographical location and facility. However, it lacks some of the features offered by HealthWanted. It carries advertisements for physical therapists only, while our web site carries ads for several types of health professionals. TherapyNet does not offer links to provide city information, or other information in which prospective candidates would be interested. Furthermore, the company does not staff their office on a full-time basis, resulting in poor customer service. Other Internet sites, including those from employment agencies, can be used to search for general employment positions. These sites advertise mostly computer-related positions and do not contain listings of health care or other specialized positions.

Various other web-sites that currently exist are decentralized, disorganized, limited in scope and difficult to find. Most consist of positions posted within an individual organization's home page. Yet there is no efficient search mechanism for guiding those looking for specific employment positions within the health care field. Recruiters, students and other job-seekers generally do not realize that these sites exist, and also do not know where they are located on the Internet.

Printed Professional Journals

The APTA Journal for Physical Therapists and Advance are two journals in which recruiters can advertise. There are 71,000 APTA (American Physical Therapy Association) members within the United States that subscribe to its monthly journal. The APTA does not attempt to estimate the number of pass along readers. Advance is a weekly publication is geared toward various health care professionals and free to subscribers. This weekly journal does not circulate outside the United States. The Canadian Nurse is a professional journal that is published ten times a year by the Canadian Nurses Association. Academic Medicine, published monthly by the Association of the American Medical Colleges, charges $70 per year for a subscription, $30 per year for a student subscription and $120 for a subscription to be sent outside of the U.S. The Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy is published by the Canadian Occupational Therapy Association and is circulated to 600 readers. The advertising costs are recorded below for each journal:

Conferences
In addition, the APTA provides advertising opportunities at its three annual conferences: the Student Conclave, the Scientific Meeting & Exposition and the Combined Sections Meeting. In general, only the Student Conclave is attended by students, and the students who participate are residents of the city in which the event is held. The costs of advertising at these conferences are summarized in the following table:

12 http://www.tpta.org:80/re_ma.htm
13 All prices in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted.
14 If an advertiser purchases space for three weeks, it receives one additional week of advertising space free of charge.