This school often takes students with or without IEPs. Teacher2PT, thanks for your advice and best of luck to you too! Many new grads get into positions where they are the only OT, or even the only therapist at times. These cookies do not store any personal information. The therapeutic relationship can be difficult if there is a personality clash. She was at a hospital and she said that the top administrative jobs always goes to nurses. Audio. Please feel free to email me at sarah@myotspot.com if youd like to discuss this further. I love her OT and PT. I hate how OT services are viewed as a "privilege," creating a lack of accessibility, especially for clients living in rural areas. Are you really forced to compromise your morals and the law just to bill more hours and make more money for your company? This is super common. Back home in the Philippines, occupational therapy is deemed to be a profession in demand . It may not display this or other websites correctly. Education staff can contact the School Advice Line: 0300 421 6976 on Tuesdays 1.30pm-4pm (term time only). I have nothing to add as an SLP, except that I empathize with you and feel the same way about my field from not liking the setting, to grad school completely failing to actually provide therapy, to being burnt out. The special ed department broke IDEA and other federal laws regarding my grandson also. In my 40 years I never regretted my career choice. Yikes. Fewer and fewer settings are paying for this, so expect to pay for the courses. Or inpatient rehab. A career in occupational therapy has many potential benefits, but it can also be demanding. I feel you. Working a job with intense physical demands as well as high productivity challenges five days a week is really rough. Hybrid remote. In fact, healthcare professionals spend more time on documentation than direct client care. There is a big difference between the two. I wouldn't base an opinion in rankings. Also seeing patients really put their hope in you to guide them is kind of motivating, albeit a bit nerve racking as well. Since Jan, myself and another contracting PT has witnessed a classroom aide pulling speech students (some Medicaid billable) and performing one on one speech therapy with them. Let me know what you guys think about this. This list isnt meant to scare you away from becoming an OT! Needless to say, working in a setting like this is sure to cause you major burnout, and if youre in a setting like this, you should advocate for appropriate therapy, and if that doesnt make a difference, switch to another company. The post covers the most prevalent situations that occupational therapists may find themselves in, especially as new grads. Some can leave you feeling frustrated or even downright miserable. It will make you a more well rounded applicant. I work in a SNF so theyre pretty lonely and the fact that youre there to try whatever it is youve got means a lot to them. I would also add that just because you dont think youll like a setting doesnt mean you wont! Therapy should be treated as the helping profession that it is, and not a factory with demands so high many therapists dont even have time to eat or use the bathroom. When interviewing for a new position, be sure to ask about productivity requirements, expected caseload, hours you will actually get, mentorship, etc. Spending several hours in there, however, changed my mind entirely. Thank you so much! Mental health. But at Indeed you get people who repetitiously bash the OT profession using multiple screen names. Getting the degree is an investment. ), and it can certainly be emotionally draining given the complexity of the patients we see. Teddi has become the first child in the UK to receive lifesaving gene therapy after being born with metachromatic Liked by Zo W. Hand therapist Augusta has been fitting splints for 25+ years - supporting or immobilising the hand for medical needs, such as arthritis, trauma Occupational therapy is the practice of using specific activities to help treat physical and psychological conditions in order to promote well being and prevent disability. Anyway, best of luck to you! Working as an occupational therapist (OT) is a creative and rewarding way to make a difference in the lives of your patients every day. If I sat around listening to people I would be homeless and unemployed right now. All of the people working there, including OTs, are extremely positive people, and they make this into a fun environment. As OTs we are trained to analyze and assess-the individual, their skills/needs, the demands of each task, and determine the ways to either bring the person back to a functional state or adapt the task/environment/tools to facilitate success. I just like to be open-minded and hear all sides and weigh it all out. They found where they belong and stayed there. We have next to zero phd faculty members and my program is in the top 20 in the country, how that happened is beyond me. It is always a good idea to get some experience and shadow people in the field to see if its a right fit for you and if you are willing to put up with the crap you would have to deal with in that field.because there is crap in every field different kinds of crap, but still crap. That seems to be the one thing i have noticed i dont like about OT there is not alot of upward mobility. I hope the kiddies heard us loud and clear on this one. It's always good to go into a profession knowing the downsides of it. I might have to see 80 students in. If you dont mind me asking, what kind of OT dream job did you land? 11. Would I personally change my career choice? All of this is very true! In order to practice in the United States, you must pass the National Board of Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) examination. Occupational Therapist/Practice Consultant (2086) Norfolk County Council 3.7. Oh man, I really feel you buddy. A CNA is there to dress, help with toileting, etc. I am feeling discouraged and jaded about the field of OT. I worked in SNFs for over a dozen years, and the productivity expectations were ridiculous, in addition to blatant fraud. Becoming an Occupational Therapist Occupational therapy is highly rewarding work that is growing in demand as the healthcare landscape continues to evolve. In order to be marketable as an academic- it is preferable by most departments to have a PhD, or a related are of study MS. For example a masters in public health, a PhD in sociology, etc etc. Im discussed and fed up with the entire system. Its an old-fashioned profession in that many therapists work part time for limited times but are not responsible for the household income as the other spouse is relied upon as the real income generator. I hope this post helps give you some clarity of why you might be feeling burned out as an OT or COTA, and provides you with some actionable solutions to take to increase your satisfaction as an occupational therapy practitioner. Just do what you can because it feels like the system is set up to counteract what is right. I'm just trying to get feedback from practicing OTs and I want to know both the positives and the negatives, what to watch out for, and how to maximize my potential. This is a subreddit to celebrate all things Occupational Therapy. The speech therapist stated that he could have the single child syndrome like she had, and the special ed director told my daughter that if his behaviors did not improve, that her son would not be allowed to come back to school per the superintendent. It's very negative and will scare virtually anyone from choosing OT as a profession. Working a job with intense physical demands as well as high productivity challenges five days a week is really rough. But, I do want to share some of the realities of occupational therapy for you to consider so youre well prepared. I taught, I educated, and hopefully, I inspired those who attended to make changes and take control of their rehabilitative process. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. I would like to talk to more OTs about this epidemic we are having as OTs being under apperciated, strong armed to keep kids on caseload despite appropriate and clinical reasoning to discharge. This was one of the schools where I contracted OT services. You can certainly find a position, whether permanent or travel, but you might have to make the choice to leave a bigger city. It is a relief to encounter other people who feel the same. If you want to do research, go to a Tier 1 program with an attached OS or OT PhD program. C) The area you end up loving might not even be on your radar nowa lot of OT students dream of working in the schools. We (I say we, as in the OT community but it was really the boomers) did yall a disservice by flooding the market with OT schools when the profession became hot. Or do a lot of on-line con Ed. Evidence-based practice trumps your gut feelings. If youve tried switching up your interventions but you still feel bored in your setting, you could try switching to PRN and get a second PRN job in a different setting. If OT ends up being slightly less stressful and frustrating than my job as a special ed teacher in a public school system, then I'll be ecstatic. I applied for a few rehab positions, but did not get an interviews. Less expensive state schools are harder to get into, so you may have to choose a private school and pay an average of $80,000+ for your Masters degree, and over $100,000 for your Doctorate. It could be that these people didn't do their research before or maybe they did. The disparity in financial compensation is just awful, honestly. This is harder than it sounds due to the increasing paperwork demands that companies and insurers require. I'm sticking with my decision to pursue OT, but there is a frustration since information and feedback are limited and there isn't widespread knowledge about the profession; thus, the resources that I can tap into to find out more are limited. I agree that you should take what you read on the Internet with a grain of salt. Whileit may not seem blatantly unethical, many companies have productivity targets that are way too high to be able to ensure proper care and documentation of patients. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. I've also chatted with many OTs. Do you or Sarah have any tips on changing role with little to no experience in the fields? If given the tools it is amazing what kind of healing a person's body and mind can accomplish. But just know that everyone has rough days (or weeks, or months!) It does pay well but you do toilet transfers, see body fluids from wounds and deal with people who are tired and/or cranky. Almost every setting has productivity requirements, with some settings less strict than others. I've heard of this notorious indeed forum from Reddit and people say to pay it no mind. Are you or someone youre close to interested in becoming an occupational therapist? The hourly price you pay depends on the type . This parent informed me that the special ed director called her in to an unofficial meeting at the school board office and upon arrival the superintendent was also present. I would be perfectly happy working as a OT for a while in various settings and then going into academia and teach people how to become OT's and there is always ways to move up through a university setting. Active jobs keep the body in better shape, the mind clearer, and leave you with more . Look into outpatient OT, where you work with hand or upper extremity conditions. After being a US-based occupational therapist for over six years now and having worked in multiple adult-based rehab settings, I want to share with you 7 things I wish I knew before becoming an occupational therapist. Carrie Madigan, an occupational therapist who worked for Kindred at Home in Omaha, Nebraska, said she was laid off in November as the company the largest U.S. home health provider cut. I see many people on here complaining. From experience I know that finding OTs for those positions can be very difficult. Due to the demand for therapy, full-time, part-time and contract positions are often available. I worked in a school and realized that it's definitely not for me. Maybe you need to think about how to leverage that skillset outside of traditional healthcare? I wish there were more OT forums out there. I personally love working PRN three or four days a week at times, while earning more hourly than the full time rate. In this paper, I reflect upon two aspects of the human as an occupational being: 1) the biological need for occupation, and 2) tempo and temporality as a way of beginning to generate a blueprint for global health. Like many things in life, consistency is key. I have a 7 yr. old grandson who has Autism, ADHD, and sensory dysfunction. Also I got into an MOT but plan to get my post professional doctorate so I can possibly teach someday. Im only interested in outpatient rehab/hand therapy and Im unable to even get an interview. If anyone can provide further insight on that, I'd appreciate it. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. I welcome all replies. Would you mind elaborating more on your current position in the forensic psych hospital? Any input or suggestions for this? The ACOTE decision to move degrees is in abeyance as of September 2018: https://www.aota.org/Education-Careers/Accreditation/acote-doctoral-mandate-2027.aspx. Also, if you work in long term care care, there is significant pressure to be at a productivity rate that is often unattainable if you are really practicing ethically. I'm sure there are good and bad OT jobs, just as there are good and bad teaching jobs, etc. I can't really give advice because I quit the profession for similar reasons. You can check an occupational therapist is qualified and registered with the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) using its online register of health and care professionals. And if you do decide to go back to school for something else later on, you'll still be able to make decent money doing home health on the weekends or per diem work as an OT. Hello! OT came to me like an epiphany and for the past two years I thought I was preparing for my dream career. I've had to abandon Indeed. Crystal Smith, Occupational Therapist - Contact: csmith@skusd.k12.ca.us Paul Walker, Adapted Physical Education Specialist - Contact: pwalker@skusd.k12.ca.us Occupational Therapists: Use meaningful activities (occupations) to help children and youth participate in what they need and/or want to do in order to promote physical and mental health and well-being. While this is a totally normal feeling (and something that I still experience), before you jump into another setting that may make you feel just as or more stressed, take some time to reflect before you make a major change. The is NO accountability, no ethics, and certainly no remorse over the illegal activity. Your input will help me one cope and 2 fight for change. The job flexibility and variety of job options combined with knowing you are truly making a difference in peoples lives makes it a great career choice as long as youre prepared and you know the potential drawbacks you might encounter. Thats where I got my mentorship. Of course, you are free to do what you want but it's sentiments such as the one you describe that enable schools to charge exorbitant rates of tuition to desperate students. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. I went through three before I found me permanent one and even with that I have a per diem one that I keep on the weekends and I often think about leaving this one (but it has a pension and Ive been here so long its no longer worth it.) I work for the government now. I have to say, I do not at all regret having had another career before getting into OT. That's an exhausting list of things to do to get a job. Many spokes on a wheel: Using our training, expertise, & skills to meet our clients' needs Our Values Learn how your comment data is processed. Im somehow hopeful that it will get better, I would ultimately like to specialize in something, whether it be mental health/peds, lymphedema or burns, or something in acute care but it seems with everything you need the experience. Any particular reason why you want to ditch and what you might go into? Welcome to r/OccupationalTherapy!This is an automatic comment on every post. what rehab occupational therapists do. (Especially if you are in a small rural setting) so try to network with any other OTs in your area. I have 20+ years as an OT. Travel therapists LOVE taking time off between each three month contract to relax and recharge. How occupational therapy can help you. Thanks for all the replies. Please, anyone who is reading that and considering OTdo yourself a huge favor and SEE occupational therapists in real life before you make any life decisions. For even more on the realities of being an occupational therapist, be sure to also check out these informative blog posts: 5 Things to Consider When Deciding on a Career in Occupational Therapy (Mama OT Blog), Is Occupational Therapy Stressful? I graduated with a MAOT in 2009 and am currently working in a SNF. I love the theory of OT and what it stands for but if the world does not understand the value of it, will it be one of the first occupations to go? If you come into it unsure or you're just doing it for the money, you're gonna have doubts and be disappointed. I let a client not pay for a session. Almost every OT setting has productivity requirements, with some settings having less strict standards than others. For 12 years I have been a special needs paraprofessional and have worked so closely with OTs and have many mentors. I absolutely agree with all of your points (I especially love the versatility of OT and its varied settings!). 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