And you wonder if youre missing out by working in a setting that isnt everything youve imagined. 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. 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. 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. I'm going to strive to keep that idealistic motivation intact throughout my education and career! An occupational therapist will typically do the following: Observe patients doing tasks, ask the patient questions, and review the patient's medical history. Work Environment About half of occupational therapists work in offices of occupational therapy or in hospitals. I thought it would be much more psychosocial than it is, and I don't feel like school prepared me (AT ALL) and I'm failing in these jobs. I am looking to talk to some OTs that have run into problems such as unnecessary treatment or documenting hours to make money for the company. How to Deal with Burnout as an Occupational Therapist, Burned Out in Occupational Therapy? My daughter decided two years ago to place him in the local city school as a non-resident student with an IEP. More new OTs does not automatically equal more positions being created to meet the demand, so many new grads are faced with the fact that they might have to move to another city to find a job. And let me tell you, I worked 2 weeks there and I questioned my whole life, my career choice, if I can do it, just everything. Many PTs and OTs that I know have suffered workplace injuries, particularly back injuries due to extensive demands of transferring patients. Were there any profs you connected with? It took forever to get into it. Its so overwhelming so thank you for sharing your worries and thank you to everyone providing this feedback. and we come out thinking every job will be fantastic. Im so glad I did, because I finally got that call back and am so grateful to be an OT in the hospital-setting. Others work in schools, nursing homes, and home health services. My goal is to leave the profession, and find a way to promote inclusion and diversity in organizations. Ive found that hospital and clinic settings are the best for learning and for being around other therapists to help show you the ropes. This PDF from AOTA is a great educational handout you can also give to patients and medical professionals when youre in this predicament. (Especially if you are in a small rural setting) so try to network with any other OTs in your area. Yikes. 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. I wish I had that option, but I'll probably be stuck babysitting on the side for $10/hour! Creating safety at home and in at work is they key to read more. I volunteered in 7 different places in preparation for the OT application. Do you or Sarah have any tips on changing role with little to no experience in the fields? I've had to abandon Indeed. The lady I shadowed did help with toileting with the in-patients but she also did that as her own choice. Thats where I got my mentorship. But honestly, being an occupational therapist is hard. 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? The purpose of the OTD is a management degree to help clinicians with experience learn more management oriented aspects of OT and to implement this in our field. Something what helps me is to think about what Ive done right during the day. I have to say, do listen to the people from indeed. If you have any additional strategies that have helped you combat burnout in your practice, please be sure to share them in the comments below. There is a raging debate about the OTD within our field. He lost his family preservation counselor that contracted to the school because of federal cutbacks and he was not given any additional support in the classroom. Your student loan amount has no impact on your decision to be an OT? Why. You can whine and complain or you can make it better. Before asking yourself, "is being a physical therapist worth it?" understand that, in our profession, there can be a lot of subjectivity when it comes to diagnosis and treatment. I really do not want to complain, especially with so much heartbreak and loss in the current world situation. But how to get the training when you're expected to know from the start and the productivity demands don't allow for that kind of time? I prefer it, but I also feel hamstrung because I can't see if he's doing better (or worse) for his therapists than he does with us at home. Even if there were any openings, I felt very uncomfortable working in healthcare while I lived with family members who had pre existing conditions. The is NO accountability, no ethics, and certainly no remorse over the illegal activity. This will also increase tuition considerably, without any foreseen comparable pay raises for either OTRs or COTAs with these pricier degrees. Do you hate the phrase, "that's not my job!"? 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. A Master's degree takes two to three years to finish, and a doctoral degree about 3.5. Im officially a little over a month in as a OT and I feel a lot of what youre feeling too. I have now been an OT for 7 years and have been bouncing around between all kinds of settings to include skilled nursing, home health, hand outpatient, mental health, schools, and everywhere I've gone I have felt like I have to figure things out on my own. Occupational therapists have a Master's degree in occupational therapy. Because of this, your application has to be really strong to stand out among the massive number of applicants. It is really what you make of it. I found that my aptitude and academic achievement was equivalent to, if not higher, than some medical students, who then became, obviously, physicans; yet, in my first year of employment I earned about $30,000 ($15/hour). Your training as an OT was about learning to identify and solve problems in holistic ways most others cant. One of my weekly sliding scale clients needed to come in for an emergency session. Thats vocational rehab! Make a new food more appetizing by pairing it with something you enjoy. Maybe you need to think about how to leverage that skillset outside of traditional healthcare? In any profession there are upsides and downsides. You are using an out of date browser. While the Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the average salary for OTRs is $86,280, the average for new grads is quite a bit less (tens of thousands of dollars less). Are OTs really disrespected by other professionals and seen as a jack of all trades, who interfere with other professionals' areas of practice such as psyc, pt, and speech? Luckily, therapy usually happens between 9-5 on weekdays. Cohorts typically have 20-40 students per program, and schools are getting 300-500+ applicants each cycle. Attitude counts a lot. Especially important if you are a new grad. Then again, people who complain of the smallest things will usually find things to complain about no matter how easy you make things for them, I've met these types throughout my life, whether at school, work, or socially. 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. Join us, and you'll help more people live better lives by achieving their individual breakthroughs. In fact, healthcare professionals spend more time on documentation than direct client care. I am feeling discouraged and jaded about the field of OT. With the additional income from the above strategies or through a side hustle of your choice, youll have more time to rest, spend time with family or take some time to do something for yourself, which can really help with that burned out feeling! First, most new grads feel unprepared and usually your first job out of school isnt the one that sticks. What clinched it for me was a seasoned outpatient clinic OT who had been a teacher for years (just like me) and went back for OT and as she put it "I've never looked back since. All of this is very true! Any particular reason why you want to ditch and what you might go into? Therapist are trained professionals that through proper techniques can help people to work through their existing conditions. Ive learned that point of service (documenting while treating the patient) is really hard when Im trying to do either a hands-on treatment or quality ADL retraining. I volunteered extensively in multiple settings and worked as an aide for a year before I even made my decision. I might have to see 80 students in. Non-profits supporting people with disabilities? Welcome to r/OccupationalTherapy!This is an automatic comment on every post. The profession can be very physically demanding, which I did not know upon my entrance into school. Many new grads get into positions where they are the only OT, or even the only therapist at times. The school system had another student (very similar situation and age) whose parents were told that their son could not return to the school after he had been with the school for 3 yrs. Almost every OT setting has productivity requirements, with some settings having less strict standards than others. Your therapist might be an ultimate sweetheart. If youve landed here, you may have been Googling something like Im unhappy with my occupational therapy job or feeling burned out as an OT or maybe even feeling sick of my OT job.. 10. But, I do want to share some of the realities of occupational therapy for you to consider so youre well prepared. Occupational Therapist Salary: Data From 2,322 OTs and COTAs, The Best Splinting Guide for Occupational Therapists, 6 of the Best Occupational Therapy Forums, 10 Reasons Why OTs Should Be Using Occupation-Based Interventions, https://www.aota.org/Education-Careers/Accreditation/acote-doctoral-mandate-2027.aspx. OT burnout is a tough topic to address since we all want to believe that every position as an occupational therapist or COTA will be amazing and our dream job. what rehab occupational therapists do. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Being an occupational therapist requires a bachelor's degree in biology, kinesiology, health sciences, physiology or a related field. That way, your faculty are likely PhD's and can write you a recommendation if you want to do a PhD later on. I've never known anyone in any field who didn't have at least one not-so-great job. Hi Carolyn thank you your comment was helpful! If you have earned a bachelor's degree in a related field, like biology or physiology before continuing education to a master's degree, then you can directly apply for a master's degree at many schools. Whether you are an OT, know an OT, want to be an OT, or just want to hang out with some OT's, you are welcome here. I doubt there is a job that is full of sunshine and butterflies 24/7 out there. Your input will help me one cope and 2 fight for change. 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. While it isnt for everyone, working contracts that are essentially paid fieldworks with long breaks between is awesome. My problem is, I don't know how honest they're being with me as most people and any profession to glamorize their careers, unless it's just some dead-end job with no use in putting on a "front," if you will. Thats part of being a novice. But Im hoping to love every minute of my future career as well. 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. No, we actually dont work on getting people jobs. OT definitely has better work life balance and shifts etc. But as someone who has experienced the stresses of applying to OT school, I can tell you: Both Masters and Doctorate programs are very competitive. With rehab-based occupational therapists and COTAs, a big focus is transfer training. MOT4ME, you've offered some helpful advice on these forums but this particular comment was very condescending and unnecessary. The client-centered nature of this job can be both intrinsically enriching, as you are in a position to provide care and help to patients, but it can also lead to physical and emotional stress. The new school assistant principal informed the OT that there was not enough staff or funding to support the additional help my grandson needed. Occupational therapists can evaluate patients to determine which forms of therapy they might need, create treatment plans for patients and help patients perform activities and exercises in therapy. Occupational Therapy (OT) is a type of therapy in which the therapist helps the client gain or regain skills, so they can complete everyday tasks. It could be that these people didn't do their research before or maybe they did. But there are certain things about OT that concern me. 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